George Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton
(December 1584 ? 17 December 1650) was a notable
Royalist
and
Cavalier
, the second son of
Robert Seton, 1st Earl of Winton
and 6th Lord Seton, by his spouse Margaret, daughter of
Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton
.
Biography
[
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]
Seton was known, before his older brother's illness as "George Seton of St Germans". His Catholic tutor Stephen Ballantyne was criticised by the Presbytery of
Tranent
and the
elders
of
Haddington
forced his removal. Two more Catholic tutors were dismissed after pressure from the Kirk. The Seton brothers, like many other Scottish aristocrats, completed their education in France.
[1]
His elder brother
Robert Seton, 2nd Earl of Winton
, had no issue, and resigned the Earldom on 26 June 1606, to George, who continued the developments that his brother and father had begun at
Seton Palace
, and later, in 1630, at
Port Seton
, as well as throughout the many estates under his control in both that county and
Linlithgowshire
.
In 1619 he built the
mansion
house of Winton near
Pencaitland
, the earlier
tower house
having been burned in the English invasion of the
Earl of Hertford
, and restored the park, orchard, and gardens around it. In his 1622 will, the
Earl of Dunfermline
directed the Earl of Winton and his brother
Sir William Seton
to complete his building work at
Pinkie House
.
[2]
When King
James VI of Scotland
revisited Scotland in 1617, he spent his second night, after crossing the
River Tweed
, at
Seton Palace
, and King
Charles I
was twice entertained there, with all his retinue, in 1633.
War of the Three Kingdoms
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In 1639, at the commencement of the Scottish rebellion against the Crown, Lord Winton left the country and waited upon King
Charles I
after the pacification of
Berwick
to offer his loyal services, for which the rebels did him great injury; and thereafter all through the Civil Wars he was constantly harassed:
"Cromwell and his army of cavalry domineered in all parts where they came, and in especial about
Edinburgh
, and in
East Lothian
. The good Earl of Winton, to whose well-furnished table all the noblemen and gentlemen had ever been welcome, was pitifully abused by them; his fair house of Seaton made a common inn; himself threatened to be killed, if they had not whatsoever they called for; his rich furniture and stuff plundered, and all the enormities that could be offered by Jews or Turks to Christians, he suffered daily; and when he complained to those of our nobility who now rule all, he got no redress, but [was] ordered with patience to give them whatsoever they called for."
When
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
was in command of the Royal forces in 1645, the Earl's eldest son, George, Lord Seton, joined him, and was taken prisoner at the disastrous
battle of Philiphaugh
and remained long "in hazard of his life". George, Lord Seton died before his father, in 1648.
George, Earl of Winton, entered into the 'Engagement' for the rescue of His Majesty in 1648, giving £1000 sterling to the
Duke of Hamilton
, the commander-in-chief, in free gift for his equipage.
Like his father, the Earl suffered a long series of petty persecutions from the
Presbytery
of
Haddington
because of his allegiance to the
Roman Catholic
faith. For instance, on 4 November 1648, the Presbytery ordained "a purge the House of Setoun of 'Popish servants', and to proceed both against them and against the Earl of Wintoun if he protect or resset them after admonition."
When King
Charles II
came to Scotland in June 1650, the Earl of Winton was in continuous attendance on him, and continued with His Majesty until November. He then went home to Seton to prepare for his attendance at the
Coronation
, but died on 17 December of that year.
Family
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Lord Winton was twice married. He married in 1609,
Anna Hay
, eldest daughter of
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll
and
Elizabeth Douglas
, daughter of the
Earl of Morton
. She was a lady in waiting in
Anne of Denmark
. They had five sons and three daughters, of whom:
By his second wife, Elizabeth, only daughter of
John Maxwell, 6th Lord Herries
of Terregles, Lord Winton had six sons and six daughters, of whom:
- William
- Christopher, regarded as a great scholar. These two brothers and a preceptor, while going "on their travels abroad, were cast away at sea upon the coasts of
Holland
in 1648".
- John Seton
of
Garleton
- Robert Seton (died 1673), educated at the
Scots College
in
Douai
.
[3]
- Ann, married at
Winton House
in April 1654, to
John Stuart, 2nd Earl of Traquair
, by whom she had three sons and one daughter, Elizabeth, who died "a brave hopeful young lady", at twenty years of age. It is said that when Lord Traquair married Lady Anne Seton, the
Covenanters
made him stand at the
kirk
door of
Dalkeith
in a sack, for marrying a
papist
.
- Mary, married
James Dalzell, 3rd Earl of Carnwath
, by whom she had a daughter, also named Mary, who married Lord John Hay, second son of the Marquess of Tweeddale, a
brigadier-general
under the
Duke of Marlborough
.
References
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- ^
David Matthews,
Scotland under Charles I
(London, 1955), pp. 217-8.
- ^
George Seton,
Memoir of Alexander Seton
(Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1882), pp. 157?58: National Records of Scotland, 30 September 1625, CC8/8/53 p. 255.
- ^
HMC 5th Report: Maxwell Witham
(London, 1876), p. 654.
- Brown, Peter, publisher,
The Peerage of Scotland
, Edinburgh, 1834, pp. 94?5.
- Anderson, William,
The Scottish Nation
, Edinburgh, 1867, vol.ix, p. 659.
- Townend, Peter, editor,
Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage
, 105th edition, London, 1970, p. 914.