John Kennedy-Erskine

The Honourable John Kennedy-Erskine of Dun (né Kennedy) was born on 4 June 1802 and died on 6 March 1831. He was an English landowner and a member of the Kennedy family. His parents were Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, and Margaret Erskine of Dun. His paternal grandparents were Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassillis, and Anne Watts, daughter of John Watts. His maternal grandparents were John Erskine and Mary Baird of Newbyth.

Kennedy-Erskine had several siblings, including Archibald Kennedy, Earl of Cassillis; Lady Anne Kennedy, wife of Sir David Baird, 2nd Baronet; Lady Mary Kennedy, wife of Richard Oswald; Lady Margaret Kennedy, wife of Thomas Radclyffe-Livingstone-Eyre; and Lady Alicia Jane Kennedy, wife of Jonathan Peel, Secretary of State for War.

In 1824, Kennedy-Erskine inherited the Dun estate in Angus, Scotland, from his unmarried aunt. Upon inheritance, he adopted the additional surname Erskine and matriculated arms at the Lyon Office in 1828. The estate included the House of Dun, designed by William Adam and completed in 1743. The House of Dun remained in the family until 1980, when Millicent Lovett, the last Laird of Dun and a descendant of Kennedy-Erskine, bequeathed it to the National Trust for Scotland.

Kennedy-Erskine served as a captain with the 16th Lancers. In 1830, he was appointed equerry to King William IV, his father-in-law.

On 5 July 1827, Kennedy-Erskine married Lady Augusta FitzClarence, born in 1803. She was the fourth illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan. Augusta grew up at Bushy House in Teddington and had four sisters and five brothers, all surnamed FitzClarence. Following her father's accession to the throne in June 1830, her children were elevated to the rank of younger children of a marquess.

The marriage produced four children:

- William Henry Kennedy-Erskine (1828–1870), who became a Captain in the 17th Lancers; he married Catherine Jones in 1862.

- Wilhelmina "Mina" Kennedy-Erskine (1830–1906), who married William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster, in 1855.

- Augusta Anne "Millicent" Mary Kennedy-Erskine (1831–1895), who married James Hay Erskine-Wemyss in 1855.

Kennedy-Erskine died in Pisa, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, on 6 March 1831 at the age of 28. After his death, his widow married Lord Frederick Gordon-Hallyburton, third son of George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly.

His descendants include notable figures:

- His son William was the grandfather of writer Violet Augusta Mary Frederica Kennedy-Erskine (1863–1946).

- His daughter Mina was the grandmother of Major Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster; Aubrey FitzClarence, 4th Earl of Munster; and Hon. Harold Edward FitzClarence.

- His daughter Millicent was the grandmother of Mary Frances Erskine Wemyss, Dora Mina Erskine Wemyss, Randolph Gordon Erskine Wemyss, Hugo Erskine Wemyss, and Rosslyn Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss.