BRUCE, ALEXANDER [SSNE 6623]
Text source
Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine, was a Royalist Refugee in the Dutch Republic and Bremen, North Germany, between 1657-1660. He was a friend of Sir Robert Moray [SSNE 6599] and must also have known Sir William Davidson [SSNE 5382]. Given these two connections he may or may not have been a Freemason or 'Rosicrucian' himself, especially given Moray's detailed letter to him on the subject c.1657-8. Certianly Bruce's son, the 3rd Earl of Kincardine was a member of the Dunfermline Lodge of Freemasons in 1698. In 1663, Bruce succeeded to his brother's estate at Culross in Fife where he managed his coal, salt, stone and marble works. Bruce was nominated as a Privy Councilor in Scotland and a Lord of Session in 1667. He supported Lauderdale until 1674, but was dismissed from the Privy Council for trying to protect the Covenanters in 1676. He died c.1681.
Two portraits of Bruce exist:
https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/record?query=schots&start=13
https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/record?query=schots&start=14
Sources:
DNB; A.J. Haddow, Sir Robert Moray's Mark in Grand Lodge of Scotland Year Book (Edinburgh, 1970), pp.76-77; D. Stevenson, Masonry, symbolism and ethics in the life of Sir Robert Moray, FRS in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, no.114 (1984), pp. 412-431; D. Stevenson, The First Freemasons: Scotland's Early Lodges and their Members (Aberdeen, 1988), p.93.
This entry updated by Mr Jack Abernethy.
Service record
- THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, NORTH GERMANY, SCOTLAND, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, BREMEN, GERMANY
- Arrived 1657-01-01
- Departed 1660-12-31
- Capacity REFUGEE, EXILE, purpose MISC.