John Erskine, 3rd Earl of Mar (1585 – 1654) was a Scottish landowner.

Career He was the son of John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1558–1634) and Anne Drummond (1555-1587), daughter of Lord David Drummond (d. 1571) and Lilias Ruthven.

Until his father's death in 1634, he was known as John, Lord Erskine, or the "Master of Mar".

Prince Henry, the son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark was kept at Stirling Castle. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, King James went to England. Anne of Denmark came to Stirling on 10 May to claim her son. The Earl of Mar was absent. John Erskine and his step-mother Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar denied the queen's request to take Henry away. His father arrived on 12 May and sent him to London with messages for the king.William Fraser, Memorials of the Earls of Haddington, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1889), pp. 209-13: James Maidment, Letters and State Papers during the Reign of James the Sixth (Edinburgh, 1838), pp. 54-5: Melros Papers, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1837), pp. 3-4. According to the Earl of Mar, King James forgave his family for this, thinking that his "young son and honest poor friends have done nothing but served him faithfully".HMC Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 97.Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1603-1607, vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 43 no. 69.

John Erskine and other Scottish courtiers were admitted as members of Gray's Inn on 22 May 1603.The Register of Admissions to Gray's Inn, 1521–1889, p. 106.

John Erskine went to Venice in May 1605 and the ambassador Henry Wotton introduced him to the Doge, Marino Grimani, who complimented him on his noble good looks.Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1603-1607, vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 233 no. 356.

Erskine took part in the masque at the wedding of John Ramsay, Viscount Haddington and Elizabeth Radclyffe, daughter of Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex in February 1608 known as Lord Haddington's Masque or The Hue and Cry After Cupid.Michael Brennan, Noel Kinnamon, Margaret Hannay, Letters of Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sidney (Philadelphia, 2013), p. 573. Erskine was knighted on 30 May 1610 at the creation of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales.James Balfour, Annales of Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1824), p. 34.

A detailed bill for Lord Erskine's clothes from an English tailor survives from May 1611.HMC Mar & Kellie, vol. 1 (London, 1904), p. 67-8. In 1612 Erskine unsuccessfully advocated for a knighthood to be given to the laird of Findlater.HMC Mar & Kellie, vol. 1 (London, 1904), p. 68. In September 1613 Erskine hosted the Venetian ambassador Antonio Foscarini at Stirling Castle. Foscarini had travelled to Scotland after discussing the country with Anne of Denmark.Allen Hinds, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1613-1615, vol. 13 (London, 1907), p. 46 no. 95.

Repairs to Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace in 1624 made by a carpenter Arthur Hamilton include work in "Lady Erskyne's studie" and "Lady Marre's gallery". A blacksmith Thomas Brown made new fittings for Lord Erskine's hall door in the castle.John Imrie and John G. Dunbar, Accounts of the Masters of Work, 2 (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1982), pp. 154–155.

On 29 December 1634, John Erskine wrote from Edinburgh Castle to Charles I with news of his father's death.Henry Paton, HMC Mar & Kellie, vol. 2 (London, 1930), p. 258.

In 1638 he wrote to king about the poor state of repair of Stirling Castle and the walls of the park, and the Earl of Traquair was ordered to make repairs.HMC Mar & Kellie (London, 1904), p. 195.

In 1645 Robert Farquharson of Invercauld was the keeper of Kildrummy Castle for the earl and his son Lord Erskine. The laird of Glenkindie also helped to keep the castle, fearing the depredations that a garrison of "stranger" soldiers would make on his lands.HMC Mar & Kellie (London, 1904), pp. 201-2, 205.

The main residence of the Earl of Mar was Alloa Tower.

Marriage and children In 1610 he married Christian Hay (d. 1668), a daughter of Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll and Elizabeth Douglas, a daughter of William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton and Agnes Leslie, Countess of Morton. A record of their marriage ceremony at Edinburgh Castle on 6 February calls her "Lady Jane Hay".Francis J. Grant, Parish of Holyroodhouse of Canongate: Register of Marriages: 1564–1800 (Edinburgh: SRS, 1915), p. 630. King James had reservations about her religion as she came from a Catholic family and he sent advice to her father-in-law.HMC Report on the Manuscripts of the Earl of Mar and Kellie (London, 1904), p. 65.

Their children included: John Erskine, later Earl of Mar Francis Erskine (d. 1662) Elizabeth Erskine, who married Archibald Napier, 2nd Lord Napier of Merchiston. She was a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle in August 1645 with her sister-in-law Lilias Napier.HMC Mar & Kellie (London, 1904), p. 201. Mary Erskine

The Earl of Erroll wrote to Lord Erskine on 14 October 1613 to congratulate him on the birth of a son, and requesting his wife return to him, as he was ill himself.HMC Mar & Kellie, vol. 2 (London, 1930), p. 55.

References