The Earl of Leven | |
|---|---|
| Lord High Commissioner | |
| In office 1741–1753 | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Hyndford |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Hopetoun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Melville 28 May 1695 |
| Died | 2 September 1754 (aged 59) |
| Spouses | Mary Erskine
(m. 1721; died 1723)Elizabeth Monypenny
(after 1726) |
| Parent | David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven |
Alexander Melville (also Alexander Leslie), 5th Earl of Leven (28 May 1695 – 2 September 1754)[1] was a Scottish aristocrat.
Early life
He was the son of David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven (1660–1728) and Lady Anne Wemyss (1675–1702).[2]
His mother was the eldest daughter of James Wemyss, Lord Burntisland and Lady Margaret Wemyss, suo jure Countess of Wemyss (the only daughter of David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss).
Career
Following the death of his nephew in 1729 (his elder brother predeceased their father in 1721), he inherited the earldoms of Leven and Melville.
Lord Leven served as a Lord of Session from 1734 to 1754; Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons 1741 to 1742; High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1741 to 1753; a Representative Peer for Scotland from 1747 to 1754; and a Lord of Police 1754.
Personal life
On 23 February 1721, he married Mary Erskine, a daughter of Col. Hon. John Erskine of Carnock (third son of David Erskine, 2nd Lord Cardross) and Anna Dundas (daughter and co-heiress of William Dundas of Kincavel). Before her death in 1723, they had one child:[3]
- David Melville, 6th Earl of Leven (1722–1802), who married Wilhelmina Nisbet, daughter of William Nisbet.[4]
After the death of his first wife in 1723, he married Elizabeth Monypenny, a daughter of Alexander Moneypenny of Pitmilly, on 13 March 1726.[5] They had four children:
- Lady Mary Leslie (1736–1821), a novelist who married Dr. James Walker in 1762. After his death, she married George Robinson Hamilton.[6][7]
- Alexander Leslie (1731–1794), a Major-general in the British Army who married Mary Tullidelph, a daughter of Dr. Walter Tullidelph of Tullidelph, in 1760.
- Lady Anne Melville (1730–1779), who married George Carnegie, 6th Earl of Northesk.
- Lady Elizabeth Melville (1737–1788), who married John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun[8]
Lord Leven and Melville died on 2 September 1754 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, David.
References
- ↑ OPR Births 685/001 0120 0234
- ↑ Bellucci, Antonio (Italian painter (26 June 2008). "Alexander, 5th Earl of Leven (d 1754)". hdl:2262/17823 – via tara.tcd.ie.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ OPR Marriages 685/001 0460 0255
- ↑ "Archived item". Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- ↑ OPR Marriages 685/001 0460 0333
- ↑ OPR Births 448/0020 0041
- ↑ . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- ↑ Burke, John Bernard. A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire. Family History Library FamilySearch. p. 636.