Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin

The 5th Earl of Elgin.

Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine (6 July 1732 – 14 May 1771) was the son of William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine. His mother was Janet Roberton, daughter of James Roberton (principal Lord of Session)^[1] and great-granddaughter of advocate and judge Lord Bedlay^[2][3]

On 1 June 1759, he married Martha Whyte (1739-1810, who later became governess to HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales. They had eight children:^[1]

• Lady Martha Bruce (b. 3 June 1760), died young
• Lady Janet Bruce (b. 2 July 1761), died young
• William Robert Bruce, Lord Bruce (b. 15 January 1763), died young
• William Robert Bruce, 6th Earl of Elgin (1764–1771)
• Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766–1841)
• Hon. Charles Andrew Bruce (1768–1810), Governor of Prince of Wales's Island
• Hon. James Bruce (1769–1798), Member of Parliament
• Lady Charlotte Matilda Bruce (28 May 1771 – March 1816), married Admiral Philip Charles Durham

Elgin was Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons from 1761 to 1763 and a founding member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.^[1] He built the planned industrial village of Charlestown, Fife.^[4]

References

1. 1 2 3 Elgin, 1633 at cracroftspeerage.co.uk (Cracroft's Peerage online). Retrieved 23 October 2012
2. ↑ John Birnie; William Barclay Turnbull (1838). Families of Broomhill. Edinburgh Printing Co. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 31 December 2010. 
3. ↑ "Archibald Roberton". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 1 January 2011. 
4. ↑ Chesher, Susan; Foster, Linda; Hogben, Laurence (1979). A Short History of the Villages: Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir. Charlestown, Limekilns and Pattiesmuir Community Council.