Thomas Alexander Erskine - 6th Earl of Kellie

Name: 
Thomas Alexander Erskine
Alias: 
6th Earl of Kellie
Viscount Fenton
Date of birth:  
1732
Date of death:  
Oct 09, 1781
Place of death: 
in Brussels
Cause of death: 
from "putrid fever"
Biography: 

Son of Alexander Erskine (d. 1756), 5th Earl of Kellie, and Janet Pitcairn (d. 1775). Brother of Elizabeth, Anne, Jenny, Archibald and Andrew Erskine.

Erskine was a composer of some fame in his own time, as well as being an able violinist who directed the concerts in Saint Cecillia's Hall in Niddry's Wynd, Edinburgh in the 1760s. Grand Master of the masonic Grand Lodge of Scotland (1763-65).

He died in Brussels on October 9th, 1781 and was succeeded as Earl of Kellie by his brother Archibald.

Life with Boswell: 

Boswell knew Thomas Alexander through his brother Andrew Erskine. On October 20, 1762 Boswell borrowed five guineas from him. On May 26, 1763, Boswell took him on a visit to Lord Eglinton's in London.

Notes: 

See also Boucé, Paul-Gabriel; Knapp, Lewis M.; Smollett, Tobias. (1998). The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. Oxford University Press. Available from from Questia Online Library

Literature

Most of Erskine's musical works seems to have been lost, but some 1839 editions of Minuets & Songs, Composed by the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Kelly are sometimes available from the AbeBooks used books search engine, as is his Trio Sonata in F for 2 Violins & Continuo in a 1991 PB edition.

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Related links: 
HOASM: T. A. Erskine

Please cite this article as follows, depending on required citation style:

MLA: Frandzen, Thomas. "Thomas Alexander Erskine - 6th Earl of Kellie". James Boswell .info. 2012. Web. Date accessed: May 18, 2012. <http://www.jamesboswell.info/biography/thomas-alexander-erskine-6th-earl-kellie>
APA: Frandzen, T. (2012) Thomas Alexander Erskine - 6th Earl of Kellie. Retrieved from http://www.jamesboswell.info/biography/thomas-alexander-erskine-6th-earl-kellie