Alloa and other Erskine estates of the attainted earl were repurchased for the family, and descended to John Francis Erskine (1741-1825), his heir-male, who was also his heir of line through his daughter. To him, in his eighty-third year, as grandson and lineal representative of the attainted earl, the earldom was restored by act of parliament in 1824. His grandson, who succeeded him in 1828, inherited the earldom of Kellie (1619) and other Erskine dignities by decision of 1835. At his death in 1866, his earldom of Mar was the subject of rival claims, and the right to the succession was not determined till 1875. His estates passed to his cousin and heir-male, who succeeded to his earldom of Kellie and claimed "the honour and dignity of earl of Mar." But the latter was also claimed by a Mr Goodeve, whose father had married the late earl's eldest sister, and who assumed the title. It was not suggested that the late earl had more than one earldom of Mar, but Lord Kellie claimed it as descendible to heirs-male under a creation by Queen Mary, and Mr Goodeve as descendible to heirs of line under an earlier creation. The House of Lords decided (Feb. 25, 1875) that Lord Kellie was entitled to the earldom as having been created by Queen Mary in 1565, with a limitation which must be presumed to be to heirs-male of the body. This decision gave great dissatisfaction, but was described as "final, right or wrong, and not to be questioned" by Lord Selborne and the lord chancellor in 1877, and Lord Kellie was thenceforth recognized as holding the earldom on the Union Roll, the only one known, though Mr Goodeve continued to assume the title. The Lords' decision could not be reversed, but in 1885, after much agitation, a means was found of evading it in practice by the "Earldom of Mar Restitution Act." By "an equivocation on the facts of the case," it was recited that "doubts may exist whether the said ancient honour, dignity, and title of peerage of earl of Mar ... was or was not ... by any lawful means surrendered or merged in the Crown" before 1565, and that the House of Lords had decided that Queen Mary's known charter of 1565 applied only to lands and "did not operate or extend to restore" the peerage dignity, and enacted that "John Francis Erskine Goodeve Erskine" (which last name the claimant had added) should be "restored to" the ancient earldom. His previous assumption of the title was thus rejected as invalid, but from the passing of the act two earldoms of Mar were in existence, that of Lord Kellie being confirmed and allowed the precedence of 1565, while the restored earldom was allowed that of the dignity on the Union Roll, the only one known till then. This precedence had been assigned to it by the Decreet of Ranking (1606), and assigns to it an origin in 1404 (or, as some say, 1395). It is frequently, but absurdly, stated to have been "created before 1014," and wrongly spoken of as the Premier Scottish Earldom (see EARL).