It was created on 10 February 1806 for the Honourable Thomas Erskine on his appointment as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, a post he held until the following year.
His grandson, the seventh Baron, succeeded in the earldom of Buchan in 1960 on the death of his kinsman, the fifteenth Earl.
The Very Reverend the Honourable Henry David Erskine (1786–1859), second son of the first Baron, was Dean of Ripon.
The Honourable Esmé Stuart Erskine (1789–1817), fought at the Battle of Waterloo where he lost an arm.
The Honourable Edward Erskine, fourth son of the second Baron, was a diplomat and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Greece and to Sweden.