Loudoun (3rd and 4th Earls of) Papers, 1510-1839, bulk 1731-1762

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Summary

Title:
3rd and 4th Earls of Loudoun papers
Dates:
1510-1839, bulk 1731-1762
Abstract:
The collection primarily contains letters and documents from 1510 to 1839 relating to Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun; his son, John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun; other Campbell family members; and various political and military associates.
Extent:
300 Linear Feet (246 boxes, 5 folders, 6 volumes)
Language:
Materials are primarily in English; also in French, Portuguese, and German.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. 3rd and 4th Earls of Loudoun papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection primarily contains letters and documents relating to Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun; his son, John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun; other Campbell family members; and various political and military associates. Materials in the collection include correspondence, memorials, and petitions; muster rolls, returns, orders, and other military records; appointments; estate records including accounts, bills, receipts, and inventories; and land and government documents.

The Scottish papers series contains material relating to Hugh Campbell, John Campbell, and other Campbell family members. John Campbell's military activities during the Jacobite uprising in Scotland from 1745 to 1746 are especially well-documented; items concerning other military engagements of Great Britain in the United Kingdom and Europe are also present, including the 1715 Jacobite rebellion and British army actions in Portugal in 1762. The Scottish papers also document eighteenth century British and Scottish politics, and the Campbell family estates in Scotland.

The North American papers series primarily relates to the Seven Years' War in North America, particularly John Campbell's role as commander-in-chief of British forces from 1756 to 1757. The series also contains papers of Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis of Vaudreuil, the governor of French Louisiana from 1745 to 1753 and governor-general of New France.

The general division of material into Scottish and North American papers was created by Huntington Library staff in the twentieth century; this arrangement was retained during the 2024 to 2026 reprocessing of the collection.

Biographical / historical:

The Earldom of Loudoun was created by Charles I, King of England, in 1633 for Sir John Campbell of Lawers (1598-1663). Family lands were centered in Ayrshire, Scotland; properties included Loudoun Castle and Sorn Castle.

Hugh Campbell (1673?-1731), son of James Campbell (1620?-1684) and Margaret Montgomery Campbell, succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Loudoun in 1684. He first took his seat in Parliament in 1696; in April 1697, he was first sworn of the privy council, and again in 1703, 1708, and 1715. In 1699, Campbell was appointed Extraordinary Earl of Session. He served as Commissioner of the Scottish Treasury from 1702 to 1704 and was appointed Joint Secretary of State in 1704. In 1706, Campbell became a commissioner to negotiate the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, which were signed January 16, 1707, and went into effect on May 1. In August 1706, Queen Anne appointed Campbell a Knight in the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

Hugh Campbell was elected a Scottish Representative Peer multiple times between 1708 and 1731. He was appointed Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland in May 1708 (revoked in 1713) and Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire in 1715. During the Jacobite rising of 1715, Campbell served as a volunteer on the side of the Crown at the battle of Sheriffmuir. He reportedly lost money in the South Sea Company stock bubble failure in September 1720. Between 1722 and 1731, Campbell served multiple times as Lord High Commissioner at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Hugh Campbell died at Loudoun Castle on November 20, 1731.

Hugh Campbell married Margaret Dalrymple in April 1700; they had three children: John Campbell (1705-1782), Elizabeth Campbell (died 1771), and Margaret Campbell Campbell (died 1733).

John Campbell (1705-1782), son of Hugh Campbell and Margaret Dalrymple Campbell, succeeded as the 4th Earl of Loudoun in 1731. In 1734, he was elected a Scottish Representative Peer and in 1741 appointed governor of Stirling Castle. Campbell began his military career in 1727 when he joined the Royal Scots Greys, and by 1739 was a captain in the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. In 1743, he participated in the campaign in Flanders during the War of Austrian Succession and was appointed as aide-de-camp to King George II.

John Campbell received permission to raise a regiment of Scottish Highlanders in 1745. When the Jacobite rising led by Charles Edward Stuart (also known as The Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie) began in Scotland in August 1745, Campbell's regiment of the 64th Highlanders—also referred to as the Earl of Loudoun's Highland Regiment, Loudoun's Highlanders, and the Earl of Loudoun's Regiment of Foot—was enlisted in the eventually successful effort to defeat Stuart and his supporters.

In September 1747, John Campbell served in the 64th Regiment of Foot during the siege at Bergen op Zoom in the War of the Austrian Succession; the regiment disbanded in 1748. In 1749, he became a Colonel in the 30th Regiment of Foot. In early 1756 during the leadup to the Seven Years' War, Campbell was made colonel-in-chief of the 60th Foot (originally 62nd) or Royal American Regiment; the governor-general of Virginia; and commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, through the patronage of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. He arrived in New York in July 1756 and was recalled in December 1757 after a series of difficulties and defeats. In 1762, John Campbell commanded British forces in Portugal following Spain's entry into the Seven Years' War. In 1763, he was made governor of Edinburgh Castle. Campbell died at Loudoun Castle on April 27, 1782.

Official sources list John Campbell as unmarried, though there are mentions of an unidentified wife in the correspondence of this collection. He presumably was childless and was succeeded by his cousin, James Mure Campbell (1726-1780), as the 5th Earl of Loudoun.

Margaret Dalrymple Campbell, Countess of Loudoun (1677?-1777), was the daughter of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, and Elizabeth Dundas Dalrymple, Countess of Stair. In April 1700, she married Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun (1673?-1731); they had three children: John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1705-1782), Elizabeth Campbell (died 1771), and Margaret Campbell Campbell (died 1733). In 1727, Margaret Dalrymple Campbell took up residence at Sorn Castle, Ayrshire, where she was involved in managing the estate and developing the property's gardens and landscaping. She died on April 3, 1777.

Sources

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)

Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots peerage; founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, 1904

Christopher Duffy, The '45, Cassell, 2003

Jacqueline Riding, Jacobites: A New History of the '45 Rebellion, Bloomsbury, 2016

Acquisition information:
Purchased from the Campbell family through the agency of Sotheby's and Sir Joseph Duveen, 1923. A portion of the Scottish papers was purchased with the Hastings family papers (mssHA) from Edith Maud Abney-Hastings, Countess of Loudoun, through the agency of Maggs Bros., 1927. Addendum purchased in 1944 from Myers Co. Booksellers Ltd, London, and received January 1945.
Processing information:

Materials in this collection were initially arranged and described by Huntington Library staff in the twentieth century. At that time, items were divided into Scottish and North American-related categories based on subject matter; legacy description practices usually treated these categories as two distinct collections with the titles Loudoun Collection: Scottish and Loudoun Collection: Americana. These collections were described at the item level and were organized chronologically within each. At some later point, Scottish material was reorganized alphabetically.

During the 2024-2026 reprocessing by Melissa Haley, Loudoun Collection: Scottish and Loudoun Collection: Americana were reintegrated into a single collection, with separate series for each. Americana has been renamed North American papers; the Scottish papers have been returned to chronological order. Materials were rehoused during reprocessing. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained.

Items with enclosures were separated during initial twentieth century processing with each item given an individual call number and housed separately. See item-level Scope & Contents notes within container lists for more information.

A variety of spellings exist for personal and place names in the collection, especially in the Scottish papers. Clear misspellings have been corrected and variations made uniform or modernized where possible in the item descriptions; however, different versions of names likely exist for some individuals, especially with surnames beginning with "Mac" and "Mc". Several sources were used to determine name spellings, including the collection's original manuscript catalog cards, auction records, peerage and parliament reference resources, and the items themselves.

Old Style Julian calendar dates were retained if originally used. In some cases, recipients' endorsement dates were used to date letters and documents that were undated by their creators.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: Series 1. Scottish papers; Series 2. North American papers; Series 3. Addenda.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Melissa Haley
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-11 10:20:32 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

IN PROCESS COLLECTION. Series 1. Scottish papers is open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Series 2. North American papers and Series 3. Addenda are unavailable until processed. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

RESTRICTED. Tartan swatch enclosed in James Seton letter to John Campbell, 1746 August 28 (LO 12589). Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. 3rd and 4th Earls of Loudoun papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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