Person:George Seton (25)

The known facts

George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton was born before 6 Mar 1679/80,^[2] he was the son of George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton and Christian Hepburn.^[2]

His illegitimate birth was legitimised under Scottish law by his parent's subsequent marriage.^[2] He had travelled with his father in France and the low countries, and benefited from a good foundation in his education. However, some family misunderstandings caused him to leave home while young, and he spent several years in France as bellows-blower and assistant to a blacksmith, and had no contact with his family.^[4]

He succeeded to the title of 10th Lord Seton and to the title of 5th Earl of Winton on 6 March 1704,^[2] but not without problems. On the death of 4th Earl of Winton, Viscount Kingston the next heir taking for granted that the young 5th Earl was dead was proceeding to take possession of the title and estates which were then also being shared by Seton of Garleton who was also involved in the discrediting claim against the absent Earl, when suddenly the 5th Earl appeared and vindicated his rights.^[8]

Although a Protestant joined the 1715 First Jacobite Rising, this action was possibly brought about as a group of Lothian militia had ransacked Seton Palace and chapel, he fought in the Battle of Preston on 13 November 1715, where he was captured.^[2] On 19 March 1716 he was convicted of high treason and condemned to death, with his titles forfeit. After feigning madness, he obtained a reprieve.^[2] On 4 August 1716 he escaped from the Tower of London and fled to join the Jacobite titular King James III at Avignon, he later moved to Rome .^[2]

He was Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge between 1736 and 1739 at Rome, Italy,^[2] and record keeper.

The 5th Earl of Winton petitioned the British parliament from Rome and was given a Restitution in 1749 but did not return to Scotland.^[5]

He died on 19 December 1749 in Rome, Italy, unmarried^[2][9], although there is dispute about this.

From the time of his Lordship's death the honours of the illustrious house of Seton remained dormant until 1840, when Archibald William, 13th Earl of Eglinton, the male representative of this noble family, was served heir male-general of 4th Earl of Winton.

The disputed facts

The wife and child

The Seton's of Bellingham, claimed that the Earl married a lady Margaret M'KLear (McClear or McClure, daughter of a Physician) privately in a Catholic Church in Edinburgh and had an only child and heir, named Charles Seton who was raised by the Thompson family at Dunterly in Bellingham. The Retour of a General Service, dated 25th July 1825, which was carried through before one of the Bailies of the burgh of Canongate, and which served a person designed George Seton, a Saddler, as great-great-grandson and heir-male of line of George fourth Earl of Winton.

George Seton, described himself in the proceedings merely as residing in Bellingham, Northumberland, and as only surviving son of Charles Seton, resident there, who was only surviving son of Charles Seton, resident at Dunterly, in the parish of Bellingham, who, it was affirmed, was the only son of George fifth and last Earl of Winton, and who was elder son of George fourth Earl on Winton. And although he does not any where affirm the legitimacy of the son of the fifth and attainted Earl, from whom he thus says that he is descended, he no doubt claimed to be served nearest and lawful heir-male of line in general to the fourth Earl, as being his great-great-grandfather. Mr. Thomas Gordon, minister at Bellingham, produced a certificate of the birth of (simply) Charles Seton, dated 11 June 1711. A certificate was produced by the schoolmaster of Tranent, which states the parish record of Tranent was lost between the years 1685 and 1718, between which period George fifth Earl of Winton was married to Margaret M’Klear. It was said that this Charles Seton, the son of the attainted Earl by Margaret M’Klear, and born in June 1711, afterwards resided as a labourer at Dunterly, in the parish of Bellingham, where he married, in 1740, Ann Dodd, and died there, September 1781, when he would be aged 70; and that the fourth and youngest son of this marriage, Charles Seton, was born at Bellingham, in Northumberland, December 1755, married, 10th March 1790, Margaret M’Allester, and died February 1823.

There were depositions of five people who remembered Charles and that Countess of Winton was travelling through Bellingham when she started labour and gave birth at the local Inn. William Robson was given money to look after the child when the Countess continued her journey some weeks later. He received a letter to go to Kelso where he met the Earl who asked him to raise the child as a gentleman and told him he wanted to take him on travels in Europe when he was older, the innkeeper had regular payments for some years. He was also given one of a pair of mourning rings so he and Charles would recognise each other. George the 6th Earl had this ring together with a pocket bible which Charles was given by Catharine M,Klear, sister of Margaret.

The Earl of Eglington brought a counter claim the follow year and the original grant of title was reversed.^[4]

The mistress and children

There is another claim of children, Christian and John are claimed to be children of George and Margaret.^[6] This would be problematic as George was either at war or in the Tower of London. While imprisoned he had many visit from the widow of a friend of his, a physician in Edinburgh, Elizabeth Stevenson, she was also a doctor and had been appointed factrix for the Earl, she arranged for him to have 6000 English pounds from his estate and appears to have been his mistress, the two children being hers. She used an alias of Margaret McKlear when visiting the tower. It is claimed, without source that the Earls fist wife had died 8 August 1714.^[7] This money also explains his escape, he simple paid the guards to look the other way while he walked out, although other claims are that he left dressed as a woman, in any case the guards admitted leaving their posts with no good reason.

The second wife

It should be noted that in the Records of the Mason's Lodge in Rome, where George, 5th Earl was a member, it states that the records of the Lodge there were kept by George Seton Winton (his name in exile), Earl of Winton, and preserved and passed on by his widow (c.1799) who used the title Countess Winton. There is then, evidence to suggest that the 5th Earl of Winton was indeed married, and likely his second marriage, she was probably a lot younger than he was as she did not pass the documents to the Masons lodge until 50 years after his death. It is further claimed that there were 3 children of this marriage, the Seton-Wintons of Ireland. A George Seton-Winton who married and had issue, another son who also married and had issue and a daughter, unknown.^[7]

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Cracroft.
3.   Mosley, Charles - editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage: 107th edition. (Wilmington, Delaware, United States: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, 1 December 2003)
   Vol. 1, pp. 1280, 2003.
4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 http://www2.thesetonfamily.com:8080/history/Profiles/George Seton 5th Earl of Winton.htm.
5. ↑ Acts of the Parliaments of Great Britain, for the year 1736, in Chronological Table of the Private and Personal Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain
   C.25, Part 10, 1736.

   Restitution of George Seton

6. ↑ Paul, James Balfour. The Scots peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's ‘Peerage of Scotland’ containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, with armorial illustrations. (Edinburgh: D. Douglas, 1904-1914)
   volume 9, page 170.
7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Http://www2.thesetonfamily.com:8080/directory/Descents/bellingham descent.htm.
8. ↑ Libelled Summons before the Court of Session, signeted 23rd May 1710, with execution thereon, dated 24th May 1710, at the instance of Archibald Viscount of Kingston, nearest and lawful appearand heir to the deceased George Earl (fourth Earl) of Winton.
9. ↑ In the Caledonian Mercury, No. 4567, 16th January 1750, the attainted Earl’s death is announced as follows: Letters from Rome bring advice that the Earl of Winton, who was condemned to die in 1715, but escaped from the Tower, died there the 30th of September last, N.S., aged upwards of 70, and was buried in the place set apart for the Protestants.