Earl of Seaforth
Encyclopedia
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland
and Peerage of Great Britain
. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781.
The Mackenzies trace their descent to Colin of Kintail
(d. 1278), and their name is a variant of Mackenneth. Kenneth, the twelfth head of the clan, was made Lord Mackenzie of Kintail in 1609, and his son Colin
, who succeeded his father as 2nd Lord Mackenzie in March 1611, was created earl of Seaforth in 1623.
Colin's successor was his half-brother George
(d. 1651), who became the 2nd earl in 1633. George was alternately a royalist and a covenanter
between 1636 and 1646, and was afterwards in Holland with Charles II
, who made him Secretary of State for Scotland
. His grandson, Kenneth
, the 4th earl, followed James VII
to France and was with the dethroned king in Ireland. Elevated by James in 1690, to Marquess of Seaforth (in the Jacobite peerage
), he was sent to head a rising in Scotland. He was soon captured and imprisoned. He was released in 1697 and died in Paris in January 1701.
His successor was his son William
, who joined the Jacobite
standard at Braemar
, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir
and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties. He also took part in the Jacobite enterprise of 1719, being wounded at Glenshiel. In 1716 he was attainted
and his titles and estates forfeited; before his death in January 1740, he had been relieved of some of the penalties of his treason
, although his titles were not restored. His son Kenneth (c. 1718–1761), who but for the attainder would have been the 6th earl, helped the English government during the rising of 1745, and was a member of parliament
for some years.
His son Kenneth Mackenzie
was created Earl of Seaforth in 1771, but his peerage became extinct when he died in August 1781. Although there were still heirs to the older earldom, this remained under attainder. Kenneth raised the regiment of Highlanders, the 78th
(later known as 72nd) in 1778, known later as the 1st battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders
.
The Seaforth title has twice been revived after the extinction of the second creation of the earldom in 1781. In 1797 the soldier and politician Francis Mackenzie
was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Lord Seaforth, Baron Mackenzie, of Kintail in the County of Ross. He was the grandson of Colonel the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, younger son of the fourth Earl of Seaforth of the 1623 creation and brother of the fifth Earl. All four of Lord Seaforth's sons predeceased him and on his death in 1815 the title became extinct. His daughter the Hon. Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie
married as her second husband James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie
, son of Admiral Keith Stewart
, third son of the sixth Earl of Galloway
. Their grandson James Stewart-Mackenzie
was a soldier, politician and philanthropist. In 1921 the barony of Seaforth held by his great-great-grandfather was revived when he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom
as Baron Seaforth, of Brahan, in Urray in the County of Ross and Cromarty. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1923.
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
and Peerage of Great Britain
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781.
The Mackenzies trace their descent to Colin of Kintail
Kintail
Kintail is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Cluanie; its boundaries, other than Glen Shiel, are generally taken to be the valleys of Strath Croe and Gleann...
(d. 1278), and their name is a variant of Mackenneth. Kenneth, the twelfth head of the clan, was made Lord Mackenzie of Kintail in 1609, and his son Colin
Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth , was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, possessed of vast estates and wealth.-Origins:...
, who succeeded his father as 2nd Lord Mackenzie in March 1611, was created earl of Seaforth in 1623.
Colin's successor was his half-brother George
George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth
George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, who played an equivocating role in Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Origins:...
(d. 1651), who became the 2nd earl in 1633. George was alternately a royalist and a covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
between 1636 and 1646, and was afterwards in Holland with Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, who made him Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
. His grandson, Kenneth
Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth
Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth, KT, PC was a Scottish peer and Jacobite supporter, known as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail from birth until 1678....
, the 4th earl, followed James VII
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
to France and was with the dethroned king in Ireland. Elevated by James in 1690, to Marquess of Seaforth (in the Jacobite peerage
Jacobite peerage
After the deposition by the English parliament in February 1689 of King James II and VII from the thrones of England and Ireland , he and his successors continued to create peers and baronets, which they believed was their right...
), he was sent to head a rising in Scotland. He was soon captured and imprisoned. He was released in 1697 and died in Paris in January 1701.
His successor was his son William
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth was a Scottish nobleman.He who joined the Jacobite standard at Braemar, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties...
, who joined the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
standard at Braemar
Braemar
Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....
, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir
Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...
and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties. He also took part in the Jacobite enterprise of 1719, being wounded at Glenshiel. In 1716 he was attainted
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
and his titles and estates forfeited; before his death in January 1740, he had been relieved of some of the penalties of his treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, although his titles were not restored. His son Kenneth (c. 1718–1761), who but for the attainder would have been the 6th earl, helped the English government during the rising of 1745, and was a member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for some years.
His son Kenneth Mackenzie
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth FRS was a British peer and politician and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:...
was created Earl of Seaforth in 1771, but his peerage became extinct when he died in August 1781. Although there were still heirs to the older earldom, this remained under attainder. Kenneth raised the regiment of Highlanders, the 78th
72nd Regiment of Foot
The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line raised in the late 18th Century in Scotland for service against the French...
(later known as 72nd) in 1778, known later as the 1st battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
.
The Seaforth title has twice been revived after the extinction of the second creation of the earldom in 1781. In 1797 the soldier and politician Francis Mackenzie
Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth
Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth FRS was a British politician and general and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie....
was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Lord Seaforth, Baron Mackenzie, of Kintail in the County of Ross. He was the grandson of Colonel the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, younger son of the fourth Earl of Seaforth of the 1623 creation and brother of the fifth Earl. All four of Lord Seaforth's sons predeceased him and on his death in 1815 the title became extinct. His daughter the Hon. Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie
Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie
Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie , eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth. Married twice, first to Vice Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, second to James Alexander Stewart on 21 May 1817....
married as her second husband James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie
James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie
James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie , was a Scottish politician and British colonial administrator.Born James Alexander Stewart, the son of Vice Admiral Keith Stewart , he assumed the surname Stewart-Mackenzie after his marriage on 21 May 1817 to Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie , daughter...
, son of Admiral Keith Stewart
Keith Stewart
Keith Stewart of Glasserton was a ScottishAdmiral and MP in the British Parliament. He was the second surviving son of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway.-Naval career:...
, third son of the sixth Earl of Galloway
Earl of Galloway
Earl of Galloway is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1623 for Alexander Stewart, 1st Lord Garlies, with remainder to his heirs male bearing the name and arms of Stewart. He had already been created Lord Garlies in the Peerage of Scotland in 1607, with remainder to the heirs...
. Their grandson James Stewart-Mackenzie
James Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth
Colonel James Alexander Francis Humberston Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth was a Scottish soldier, who was regarded by many as Chief of Clan Mackenzie....
was a soldier, politician and philanthropist. In 1921 the barony of Seaforth held by his great-great-grandfather was revived when he was raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
as Baron Seaforth, of Brahan, in Urray in the County of Ross and Cromarty. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1923.
Lords Mackenzie of Kintail (1609)
- Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of KintailKenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of KintailKenneth Mackenzie, the first Lord Mackenzie of Kintail , was a Highland clan chief who secured for himself and his heirs the entirety of the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and successfully pursued a bloody feud with the Macdonells of Glengarry.-Origins:Mackenzie was the son of Colin Cam...
(d. 1610/11) - Colin Mackenzie, 2nd Lord Mackenzie of KintailColin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of SeaforthColin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth , was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, possessed of vast estates and wealth.-Origins:...
(d. 1633) (created Earl of Seaforth in 1623)
Earls of Seaforth (1623)
- Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of SeaforthColin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of SeaforthColin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth , was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, possessed of vast estates and wealth.-Origins:...
(died 1633) - George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of SeaforthGeorge Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of SeaforthGeorge Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, who played an equivocating role in Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Origins:...
(died 1651) - Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Seaforth was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, who adhered faithfully to Charles II through his tribulations...
(1635–1678) - Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth, KT, PC was a Scottish peer and Jacobite supporter, known as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail from birth until 1678....
(1661–1701) - William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of SeaforthWilliam Mackenzie, 5th Earl of SeaforthWilliam Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth was a Scottish nobleman.He who joined the Jacobite standard at Braemar, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties...
(died 1740) (Declared forfeit 7 May 1716)
Earls of Seaforth (1771)
- Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of SeaforthKenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth FRS was a British peer and politician and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:...
(c.CircaCirca , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1744–1781) (extinct)
Barons Seaforth (1797)
- Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron SeaforthFrancis Mackenzie, 1st Baron SeaforthFrancis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth FRS was a British politician and general and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie....
(1754–1815)- Hon. William Frederick Mackenzie (d. 1814)
Barons Seaforth (1921)
- James Alexander Francis Humberston Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron SeaforthJames Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron SeaforthColonel James Alexander Francis Humberston Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth was a Scottish soldier, who was regarded by many as Chief of Clan Mackenzie....
(1847–1923)