MAR. 235 df nomination of that dignity, which power lie exercised in favour of his 3d son, Henry Erskine. (See " Cardross " Barony [s.]) He m. firstly Anne, da. of David (Dhi'mmond), 2d Loud Diti'MUoND [S.], by his second wife. Lilias, ,1a. of William ilvUTHVBN i, 2d IjOKD Kcthvkx [S.] He m. secondly, before 211 May 1593, Mary, 2d da. of Esme (Sti'aut), 1st DlKE ok Lkxxox [8.1 by Katharine, da. of Guillaume dk Balsac, Skioxki h D'Exthaoies. He d. at Stirling, U Dec. 1631, aged 77, and was bur. 7 April 1635, at Alloa. He was sue. in the Bauoxy ok C'auduoss [S.J according to his nomination (see that dignity) but in the rest of his honours as below. XX, "I 19 and 3. John (Erskine), Earl of Mar, &c. [S.], and '. 1G34. 3 ' and h., by first wife, being only child of his mother,( il ) b. about HI I 1585 ; styled Loud Euskixk till 1634 ; was, with many others,( b ) ' or. M. A. at Oxford, 30 Aug. 1005 ; K.B., 30 May 1610, at the crea- tion of the Prince of Wales ; l'.C. [S.] ; Gov. of Edinburgh Castle, 1615-38; an extraordinary Lord of Session fj§.], 1620-26 and 1628-30; sue. to the peerage [S.], 1631. In 1638, he sold to the Ring the heritable Sheriffdom of Stirling- shire, &c, for £5,000 ; l'.C, by the Pari., 1611, but joined the King's parte in that year. His estates were sequestrated, and having purchased estates in Ireland (from the sale the oldest document produced by the Earl But ill 1639 (to make up in a measure for his arbitrary treatment, as to the Earldom of Strathern) he got a charter of the Earldom of Airth, with the old precedence of Menteith which was defined as 142S. In accordance with this charter the ranking of Menteith on the roll of Peers was rectified, when he was placed, not before Mar, as would have been the case had your contributors view [as to the date of 1157 being that of Mar], been right but between Mar (1395 or 1101) and Uothes (14511) as appears by the records of Pal l, in 1639, aud following years, and from the Union lioll. The supposed date of 1457, Lord Kedesdale call trace only to the Royal Calendar of lS2o. 1 can trace its history into last century and explain its original so as a combined blunder and misprint." The following extract from A," as ill note ' 4 b," on p. 21 S, (vol. ii, p. xii in the " Analysis of Contents " ) elucidates " the ranking of the first seven Earls [which] proceeded on well-ascertained principles ; the first five on grounds independent of antiyttiti/ ; and Sutherland and Mar in accordance tcith auti'jititi/ produced. ' " 1. Angus. Proof from 1398 only (while Sutherland went back to 1317) but he had by special grant the first place and vote in Pari, and it became a question whether he validly resigned it on being made Marquess of Douglas, lie bore the Crown. "2. .ligijlc. Created 1157; would by date of creation have been postponed to [13-17], Sutherland aud L139SJ Crawford ; but ho was Justiciary-General and bore the Sceptre." " 3. Crawford. Proof from 139S ; would by antiquity have been postponed to [1317] Sutherland; had no great hereditary otlice. Preference could not be from exceptional influence exerted by the then Earl {the prodigal Earl) but placed here from ■Ullage of Crawford tarrying the Sword, the third of tbe honours. Sutherland had never attended Pari, from time of Robert I. till late in the 15th century. Perhaps the belief that Crawford was entitled to the Dukedom of Montrose led him to be placed as high as possible among the Earls. Sir David Lindsay's Armorial." •'4. Erroll. Creation 1452; had his precedence over Sutherland and Mar as Constable." " 5. Marischat. Also ranked before Sutherland and Mar in virtue of office " [of Marshal .] " 6. Sutherland. His charter of 1347 would have given him the jirsl place but for causes stated." " 7. Mar. Ranked second to Sutherland in consideration of earlier date [1347] proved by Sutherland. Sutherland's supposed ranking in virtue of new creation, 1513, negatived by the fact that the precedency awarded [was that of] a date avowedly long before 1513." (») Of his seven yr. brothers, al! of whom were by his father's second wife (1) James became Earl of Buehan [S.] in right of his wife and was ancestor of the two succeed- ing Earls (2) Henry, was ancestor of the Lords Cardross [S.], aud siuce 1695 of the Earls of Buehan [S.] (3) Col. Sir Alexander Erskine, d. 1640 (4) Sir Charles Erskine, of Alva, was ancestor of the Erskines, Baronets [S-], aud, siuce 1S05, of the Earls of Rosslyu. (>>) See vol. iii, p. 236, note " a," sub " Effingham," for their names.