Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet, of Minto

The Right Honourable Sir Gilbert Elliot 3rd Baronet of Minto
Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Selkirkshire
In office 1753–1765
Preceded by	John Murray
Succeeded by	John Pringle
Treasurer of the Chamber
In office 1762–1770
Member of the Great Britain Parliament for Roxburghshire
In office 1765–1777
Preceded by	Walter Scott
Succeeded by	Sir Gilbert Elliot, Bt (son)
Treasurer of the Navy
In office 1770–1777
Personal details
Born	September 1722 Minto, Roxburghshire, Scotland
Died	11 February 1777 (aged 54) Marseille, France
Spouse(s)	Agnes Dalrymple-Murray-Kynynmound
Parents	Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet, of Minto and Helen Steuart

The Rt. Hon. Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet of Minto (September 1722 – 11 February 1777) was born at Minto, Roxburghshire, and was a Scottish statesman, philosopher and poet.

Biography

Early life and education

He was the son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Baronet, of Minto, and Helen Steuart. One of nine children, Elliot was educated at Dalkeith grammar school and from 1735 at Edinburgh University. A period of study at the University of Utrecht (1743) was followed by a tour of the Netherlands and the German states during 1744–5. Elliot was "a distinguished classical scholar"^[1] who claimed in a letter to another intimate companion, David Hume, to have "read over almost all the classics, both Greek and Latin".^[2] Elliot's friendship with Hume had begun while both were students at Edinburgh University. He was trained for the Scottish Bar, and passed Advocate on 10 December 1743. On the death of his father on 16 April 1766 he inherited the Baronetcy.

Career

Elliot was the author of Amynta,^[3] which Sir Walter Scott described as "the beautiful pastoral song", and which began:

My sheep I neglected; I broke my sheep-hook^[4]

Other works by Elliot include Twas at the hour of dark midnight, describing the death of Colonel James Gardiner (1686–1745) during the Battle of Prestonpans, published in the third volume of 'The Scots Musical Museum' and Thoughts occasioned by the funeral of the earl and countess of Sutherland in Holyrood House which appeared anonymously in the Scots Magazine for October 1766.

In March 1748 Elliot was appointed as Roxburghshire's first sheriff-depute, one of the judges introduced in Scotland by legislation passed in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Elliot served in the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Selkirkshire (1753–1765), and then Roxburghshire (1765–1777), and was a supporter of the policies of King George III in the American colonies. His Papers concerning the Boston Tea Party are in Harvard University Library.^[5] At one time he was a candidate for the Speaker's Chair in the House of Commons.^[6] He was made a Lord of the Admiralty in 1756, a position he held until his resignation in support of William Pitt in April 1757, and to which he was reinstated in June with Pitt's return to office^[7]

In 1752, supported by Edinburgh's Lord Provost George Drummond, he authored a pamphlet entitled Proposals for carrying on certain Public Works in the City of Edinburgh. The advocated improvements were fully implemented by the Town Council and shaped the physical character of the city, as still seen to this day.^[8]

Elliot was Treasurer of the Chamber in the Royal Household from 1762 to 1770. He was appointed Treasurer of the Navy in 1770 in Lord North's government, and after was appointed Keeper of the Signet in Scotland in 1767.^[4] Elliot was a friend and follower of the Earl of Bute. Horace Walpole said Elliot was "one of the ablest members of the House of Commons".^[9] As a politician Elliot was best remembered for performances such as that during the militia debate in 1760 which, again according to Walpole, placed him in an élite group of mid- to late-century parliamentarians who displayed "the various powers of eloquence, art, reasoning, satire, learning, persuasion, wit, business, spirit and plain common sense".^[10]

Personal life

He married Agnes Dalrymple-Murray-Kynynmound on 14 December 1746, by whom he had 8 children, including:

• Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto (1751-1814), the oldest son and heir
• Hugh Elliot (1752-1830)
• Alexander Kynymound Elliot
• Robert Elliot
• Eleanor Elliot

They lived at Browns Square in Edinburgh.^[11]

On 11 February 1777, Elliot died in Marseille, where he had gone to recover his health.

See also

History of Edinburgh

References

1. T. Somerville, My own life and times, 1741–1814 (1861)
2. J. H. Burton, Life and correspondence of David Hume, 2 vols. (1846)
3. The Charmer; a Choice Collection of Songs, English and Scots (1749)
4. Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature: A History, Critical and Biographical, of British and American Authors, with Specimens of Their Writings By Robert Chambers, Robert Carruthers Published by American Book Exchange, 1830
5. "Minto, Gilbert Elliot, 3rd bart., 1722-1777. Gilbert Elliot Minto tea party papers, 1773-1774: Guide.". Harvard University.
6. Collins's Peerage of England - Genealogical, Biographical, and Historical. By Arthur Collins Published by Printed for F. C. and J. Rivington, 1812
7. The Scottish Nation: Or The Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland By William Anderson Published by Fullarton, 1862
8. Youngson, A J (1988). The Making of Classical Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 0 85224 576 9.
9. Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911
10. H. Walpole, Memoirs of King George II, ed. J. Brooke, 3 vols.
11. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1775

External links

• Elliot's Papers at Harvard University Library
• Elliot on Peerage.com
• Elliot in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Works by or about Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet, of Minto in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.