David Ogilvy, 3rd Earl of Airlie

Ogilvy was the eldest surviving son and heir of one of the most distinguished of the Scottish supporters of Charles I.^[6] Upon the death of his father in 1704, he succeeded as the 3rd Earl of Airlie, 3rd Lord Ogilvy of Alith and Lintrathen, and the 9th Lord Ogilvy of Airlie (which had been created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1491).^[5] However, he lived a comparatively peaceful life. He had the family seat of Cortachy Castle substantially reconstructed.^[7]

Robert Patten, in his history of the Jacobite rising of 1715, estimated that Airlie, as chief of the Ogilvies, could nominally command about 500 armed clansmen. While Airlie and a few of his clan remained neutral during the rising,^[8] most followed his son James Ogilvy, Lord Ogilvy, who took up the Jacobite cause and for that reason was attained by an Act of Parliament on 13 November 1715.^[4] During the rising, Airlie's brother-in-law Patrick Lyon of Auchterhouse was killed fighting for the Jacobites at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. Airlie subsequently purchased the lands and barony of Auchterhouse, which descended in his family.^[9]

The contract for his marriage to Lady Grizel Lyon was signed on 8 May 1696. She was the daughter of Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Lady Helen Middleton (a daughter of the 1st Earl of Middleton).^[10] Together, they were the parents of three children:

• Lady Helen Ogilvy (d. 1721),^[2] who married John Hamilton.^[5]
• James Ogilvy, de jure 4th Earl of Airlie (1699–1731), who married Anne Erskine, daughter of David Erskine, Lord Dun, in 1730 but died without issue. After his death, she married Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet in 1733.
• John Ogilvy, 5th Earl of Airlie (1699–1761),^[6] who married Margaret Ogilvy, the daughter of David Ogilvy of Cluny, in 1722.^[11]

Lord Airlie died in 1717. His last will, dated 22 March 1716, was proven (by probate) on 17 August 1727.^[1] On his death, his eldest son John became de jure 4th Earl of Airlie, however he could not claim the title because of the attainder. In 1725 he obtained a pardon from the Crown, and returned home before his marriage to Anne Erskine in December 1730, shortly before his death.^[4] Through his son John, he was a grandfather of David Ogilvy, Lord Ogilvy, who joined Prince Charles, and was, therefore, also attained. David fled to France, where he entered the French military service, becoming a Lieutenant General.^[6]