Author: Erskine, David
Biography:
ERSKINE, David (1772-1837: ODNB)
He was the illegitimate son of David Steuart [Stewart] Erskine, eleventh Earl of Buchan (q.v.). He became captain in the 31st Regiment in 1794 and, from 1820, was a professor at the Royal Military College. He was twice married: to his cousin, Elizabeth Erskine, in 1798 and, after her death in 1800, to Ann Ellis. At the Royal Military College, he tutored William IV’s children; he was knighted in 1830 on their request. He wrote Annals and Antiquities of Dryburgh (1828 and 1836) and, when his father died in 1829, he inherited his disentailed estates, including Dryburgh Abbey where he took up residence. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland, director of the Edinburgh Royal Academy, and a founding member of the Scottish Naval and Military Academy. He died at Edinburgh on 22 Oct. 1837. (MM; ODNB 18 Nov 2018) SR
Other Names:
- Capt. D. Erskine
- Captain D. Erskine