Biography

Euphemia Erskine. (1718-1766) (aka. Euphemia Boswell - Lady Auchinleck)

Daughter of Lt-Col John Erskine (1660-1737), Deputy Governor of Stirling Castle, and Euphemia Cochrane (1693-1720/1). Married (1738) to Alexander Boswell. Mother of James, John and (Thomas) David Boswell.

Her mother died, when she was 2 years old, and her father was almost 60 when she was born. As a result, she was brought up by her grandmother (Mary Bruce (d. 1739), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Kincardine) and her aunt Anne Cochrane (d. 1779), Lady Preston, who was married to 4th Bart of Valleyfield.

According to descriptions by James and Alexander Boswell she was a pious, dutiful and loving women. She also had a degree of hypochondria, as JB wrote in his sketch to Rosseau in 1765.

When she married Alexander Boswell she became, of course, Euphemia Boswell. Despite JB's referring to her as Lady Auchinleck, this was actually not her title. Alexander Boswell only received the honorary title of Lord Auchinleck on his appointment to the Court of Sessions in 1754, and it was not of a sort which bestowed any particular priviliges on his wife.

This article was last updated at January 31 2008 22:20:27 CET

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