Details of the early generations of the Seton family are of dubious
quality, with various competing origins, and confusion between branches. I will
try my best to give as accurate a picture as possible. I also begin the
nomenclature of the Seton lordship at the earliest possibility of 1371 rather
than the alternative 1448, having being convinced by arguments preferring the
former date.
Lords Seton (1371)
1st Lord Seton, William Seton, b.?, a.1371, d.c.1410
The Setons were formerly one of the most aristocratic of non-royal
families. They were in fact of Flemish origin, from Lens in Flanders. The first
member of the family in Scotland, Seier de Seton, was distantly related to
Queen Maud of Scotland and to William the Conqueror. He already had holdings on
Yorkshire and obtained lands in East Lothian. His son Walter de Seton married
Janet, a member of the de Quincy family, said to be the daughter of Saer de
Quincy 1st Earl of Winchester, though the dates involved make this
unlikely, and it may well have been that Janet was the daughter of an earlier
generation de Quincy, as the family had close ties to William the Lion. He
nevertheless gained the neighbouring estates of Tranent. Walter’s son Secker de
Seye made much of the Norman side of his ancestry, varying his surname to suit
his purposes and thereby muddying the waters of history. The genealogy of the
next few generations of the family is confused and unreliable. However, it is
known that one scion of the family, Sir Christopher Seton, Governor of Berwick,
married Christan Bruce, sister of Robert the Bruce, and the Margaret Seton,
heiress of the main line of the family, married Alan de Wyntoun, another member
of the family. Their daughter married George Cospatrick, 10th Earl
of Dunbar & March and their son William Seton was
made the very first Lord of Parliament as 1st Lord Seton at the
Coronation of Robert II.
2nd Lord Seton, John Seton, b.?, a.c.1410,
d.b.1434
Son of the 1st Lord and Janet Fleming, daughter of Sir David
Fleming (grandfather of Robert Fleming, 1st Lord Fleming, for whom
see the earls of Wigton). His younger brother
Alexander Seton (b.?, d.1440) married Elizabeth Gordon, heiress of the Gordons
of Huntly, and became feudal Lord of Gordon and
Huntly.
3rd Lord Seton, George Seton, b.c.1415,
a.c.1434, d.1478-1479
Grandson of the 2nd Lord and Catherine Sinclair, daughter of
Sir William Sinclair of Herdmanstoun, and son of Sir William Seton of Seton
(b.b.1408, d.1424) and Janet Dunbar (b.?, d.a.1434), daughter of George, 10th
Earl of Dunbar. He accompanied Chancellor William Crichton
to France in 1448 as an envoy, and is said to have been raised to the peerage
at that time, implying possibly that his great-grandfather’s peerage was for
life only, though it is more generally accepted that this was his coming-of-age
and not a separate creation. He was invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1458 and
served again as envoy to England in 1472.
4th Lord Seton, George Seton, b.?, a.1478,
d.1507-1508
Grandson of the 1st Lord and Margaret Stewart (b.?,
d.c.1461), daughter of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Buchan,
and son of John Seton (b.?, d.b.1478) and Christina Lindsay (b.?, d.1491-1496),
daughter of John Lindsay, 1st Lord Lindsay
of the Byres. He was a Privy Counsellor in 1496. He was interested in science
and astronomy and an enthusiastic builder and landscape gardener.
5th Lord Seton, George Seton, b.?,
a.1507-1508, d.1513
Son of the 2nd Earl and Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll. He died
at Flodden.
6th Lord Seton, George Seton, b.?, a.1513,
d.1549
Son of the 3rd Earl and Lady Janet Hepburn, daughter of
Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell. He
was made a Privy Counsellor and an Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1542. In
1543 he was given custody of Cardinal Beaton, but allowed him to escape. His
lands were ravaged during the Rough Wooing. He commissioned the learned
politician and poet Richard Maitland of Lethington & Thirlstane, father of
Sir John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlstane, ancestor of the
earls of Lauderdale) an history of his family.
7th Lord Seton, George Seton, b.1531,
a.1549, d.1585-1586
Son of the 4th Earl and Elizabeth Hay, daughter of John Hay,
3rd Lord Hay of Yester. He attended the marriage of Mary, Queen of
Scots, to the French Dauphin, and was later Master of the Household to the new
Queen. He also served as Provost of Edinburgh from 1557 to 1561 during the most
violent period of the Reformation, and struggled to preserve the holy buildings
of the city. Seton House was Mary’s first port of call following the murders of
her secretary Rizzio and later of her husband Lord Darnley. He also aided in her
escape from Lochleven Castle. After the Battle of Langside, he was briefly held
prisoner, but was released by the Regent Moray and was allowed to retire to the
Continent, where he worked tirelessly on Mary’s behalf. When James VI came of
age, he invited Seton to return to Scotland, where he was made Privy
Counsellor, and served as Ambassador to France in 1583. Though his first son,
George Seton, Master of Seton (b.?, s.1562) died young, two of his younger sons
became earls in their own right, his heir as 1st Earl of Winton, and
his fourth son Alexander Seton as 1st Earl of Dunfermline.
8th Lord Seton, Robert Seton, b.?,
a.1585-1586, d.1603
Second son of the 5th Earl and Isabel Hamilton (b.c.1534,
d.1604), daughter of Sir William Hamilton of Sanquhar. Educated in France and a
strict Catholic, Robert Seton supported his father’s defence of Queen Mary, but
as a Royalist and close friend of James VI he was made a Privy Counsellor
shortly before inheriting his titles, and was considered at the time to be
Scotland’s most senior Baron. He was created 1st Earl of Winton in
1600.
Earls of Winton (1600)
1st Earl of Winton, Robert Seton, b.?,
a.1600, d.1603
Robert married Lady Margaret Montgomerie (b.?, d.1624), daughter of Hugh
Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton. His
third son Alexander Seton (b.1588, d.1661) became 6th Earl of Eglinton by an arrangement with the 5th Earl
of that line, an additional family connection being Mariot Seton, sister of the
4th Lord Seton, who had married Hugh Montgomerie, 2nd
Earl of Eglinton. He died shortly before James VI became James I of England,
and by co-incidence, the Royal cavalcade met the funeral procession at Seton
House. James halted his progress until the funeral cortege had passed out of
sight. This episode is sometimes seen as the passing of Scotland’s prestige and
influence as an independent country.
2nd Earl of Winton, Robert Seton, b.c.1585,
a.1603, d.?
Son of the 1st Earl and Lady Margaret Montgomerie (b.?,
d.1624), daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton. He became insane on his wedding night and was
kept at Seton Hall until his death, resigning the earldom to his brother in
1606, though he continued to work on the rebuilding of Seton Hall and managing
the family estates.
3rd Earl of Winton, George Seton, b.a.1584,
a.1606, d.1650
Younger brother of the 2nd Earl. He continued the developments
of the family estates begun by his father and older brother, building Winton
House on the site of an earlier building at Pencaitland that had been destroyed
during the Rough Wooing and developing an harbour at Cockenzie. A senior noble,
committed Roman Catholic and Royalist, he welcomed King Charles on two
occasions to Seton Palace. At the start of the Bishop’s Wars he joined Charles
in London to offer his services and during the Civil Wars, his estates were
ravaged by Covenanters and English soldiers in turn. He supported James Graham,
1st Marquess of Montrose until the Battle
of Philiphaugh, where his son and heir, George Seton, Master of Seton, was
taken prisoner. Although later released under a bond, he died before his
father. In 1650, Winton accompanied Charles II in Scotland, but died just prior
the Coronation. His second son, Alexander Seton (b.1620, d.1691) was created 1st
Viscount Kingston.
4th Earl of Winton, George Seton, b.1642,
a.1650, d.1704
Grandson of the 3rd Earl and Lady Anne Hay, daughter of
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll, and son of
George Seton (b.1613, d.1648) and Lady Henrietta Gordon (b.?, d.1651), daughter
of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly. A
child when he inherited, he was raised as a Protestant by his uncle Alexander
Seton, 1st Viscount Kingston. As a young
man, he fought with distinction in the French army, and when he returned to
Britain was received as a Privy Counsellor by Charles II and given command of
the East Lothian Foot Regiment, which he led against the Covenanters at the
Battle of Bothwell Bridge. In 1682 he was made Sheriff of Haddingtonshire and
in 1685 made Master of the Household. In later life he indulged interests in
science and engineering, building a new harbour for Cockenzie at Port Seton.
5th Earl of Winton, George Seton, b.?,
a.1704, d.1749
Son of the 4th Earl and Christian Hepburn. He was born illegitimate,
but later legitimised by his parents’ marriage. In early life he showed a
complete disinclination to take on the role expected of him in public life by
his father, which led him to leave home and travel extensively in Europe. He
was abroad when his father died and did not return to Scotland for several
years afterwards, allowing the family estates to fall into disrepair. However,
in 1715 he was one of the first nobles to commit himself to the Jacobite
rebellion, leading a regiment from East Lothian to join other Jacobites in the
South of Scotland. Although he preferred to remain in Scotland to take control
of major towns in the south and press the Duke of Argyll at Stirling, he was
entreated to accompany Northumbrian forces in advancing into England. They
reached Preston before being met by government forces, and had to surrender
after heavy fighting, Winton, having fought bravely, amongst the prisoners
taken to the Tower of London. He was brought to trial in the House of Lords
alongside other Jacobite prisoners, but pleading not guilty was tried
separately. Not surprisingly, he was condemned for treason and sentenced to
death, his titles forfeit. However, he contrived to escape the Tower by cutting
through the bars over the window using tools smuggled in for him and fled to
join the Old Pretender in Rome. A man of unusual character and temperament, he
became Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge in Rome. There are various conflicting
reports on how he spent his last years and where he died.
The 5th Earl’s death brought about the end of the noble house
of Seton, James Seton, 4th Earl of Dunfermline
also being forfeit for being a Jacobite. However, the title of Earl of Winton
was later resurrected in the Peerage of the United Kingdom for Alexander
Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, a
distant relative.
(Last updated: 31/08/2011)