Earl of Seaforth

“ Fortrose’s wife was Lady Mary Stewart, daughter of the 6th Earl of Galloway. This lady raised men for Prince Charles, with the result narrated in these pages. Of her the French envoy informs his Government: ‘On assure que son zèle égale celuy des deux autres [Lady Mackintosh and Mrs. Mackenzie of Fairburn] , quoy qu’elle paroisse moins vive et moins courageuse.’ It was their son who raised the 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (72nd) , for which service he was created Earl of Seaforth in the Peerage of Ireland. ”

“ Seaforth, again driven into exile, was pardoned and [226] allowed to end his days in Scotland. His son had the gratitude to hold aloof from Prince Charlie in 1745, and though some of the Mackenzies took part in the rising, the mass of the clan was kept quiet by Lord President Forbes of Culloden, who perhaps did more than any other man to check the movement that had its checkmate at his home. The next chief, who received an Irish peerage, presently advanced to the former title of Earl of Seaford, showed his loyalty by raising and commanding a famous regiment. ”

“ In the sixth generation from John, baron of Kintail, the clan was, by his lineal descendant, William, fifth earl of Seaforth, summoned, in 1715, to take up arms in the cause of the house of Stuart. On the failure of that spirited, but ill-fated enterprize, the earl made his escape to the continent, where he lived for about eleven years. ”

“ No foreigners were to be admitted as members of the company, although they might be employed as servants. All the adventurers, whether English, Irish, or Scottish, were to be allowed to fish freely “in all places and at all times”; and the king signified that as the Lewes was “the most proper seate for a continuall fishing along the westerne coasts,” it was his resolve to take it from the Earl of Seaforth into his own hands, as “adherent” to the crown, and to erect one or more free burghs in the Isles. ”

“ The Marquis of Huntley, with five hundred horse and two thousand foot, next arrived; and the Earl Marischal shortly afterwards brought a thousand men to the camp. But Lord Seaforth, afraid lest in his absence the Earl of Sutherland should invade his country, was still absent; and the anxiety of the Earl of Mar for his arrival is expressed in more than one of his letters. The whole strength of the army amounted to sixteen thousand seven hundred men ”

“ It is difficult to say whether Seaforth's zeal for his Royal master or the safety of his own person influenced him most during the remainder of his life, but whatever the cause, he adhered steadfastly to the exiled monarch to the end of a life which, in whatever light it may be viewed, cannot be commended as a good example to others. ”

“ Should the king die within a few years, the natural protectors of the prince in his minority would be his mother’s family. Sir Edward Seymour, her brother, was now created Earl of Hertford, to give him the necessary rank; and for additional security, peerages were bestowed upon three others of the council whose loyalty could be depended upon. Sir William Fitzwilliam, now lord high admiral, was created Earl of Southampton ”

“ As a sign by which it shall be known that these things are coming to pass, there shall be four great lairds in the days of the last Seaforth (Gairloch, Chisholm, Grant, and Raasay) , one of whom shall be buck-toothed, the second hare-lipped, the third half-witted, and the fourth a stammerer. Seaforth, when he looks round and sees them, may know that his sons are doomed to death, and that his broad lands shall pass away to the stranger, and that his line shall come to an end. ”

“ The change proved a genuine protection to slaves. When the French fleet under Villeneuve arrived in the West Indies the same year, Seaforth proclaimed martial law in the island, without consulting the assembly. The latter protested that his action was an 'invasion of the dearest rights of the people.' The home government supported him, and the assembly appears to have altered its tone (Schomburgk, Hist, of Barbadoes,pp.357-9) . Seaforth was entertained at a grand dinner at Bridgetown before his departure from the island, which took place on 25 July 1806. ”

“ In 1701 he was created earl of Seafield, and in 1711 succeeded to his father’s earldom of Findlater. When his great grandson, James, 7th earl of Findlater and 4th earl of Seafield died in October 1811 the earldom of Findlater became dormant or extinct, while the earldom of Seafield passed to a cousin, Lewis Alexander Grant (1767–1840) , who was descended from Margaret, a daughter of the 2nd earl. ”

“ Sir Edward Seymour, who had been created lord Beauchamp the year before, was now made earl of Hertford; and high places at court and commands in the army attested the favor of his royal brother-in-law. Thomas Seymour, afterwards lord high-admiral, attained during this reign no higher dignity than that of knighthood; but considerable pecuniary grants were bestowed upon him; and whilst he saw his wealth increase, he was secretly extending his influence, and feeding his aspiring spirit with fond anticipations of future greatness. ”

“ After the battle of Killiecrankie and the death of Claverhouse, James, writing on 30 Nov. 1689 from Dublin Castle to Colonel Cannon, promised to send to him Seaforth to 'head his friends and followers' (Leven and Melville Papers, p. 833) . For some time his castle of Brahan was garrisoned by Hugh Mackay [q. v.] After General Thomas Buchan [q. v.] undertook the command of the Jacobite forces, Seaforth prepared to join him with a body of the northern clans, but, on learning of Buchan's defeat at Cromdale on 1 May 1690, he sent two of his clan to arrange terms with the government. ”

“ It was doomed once more to witness the struggles, incapacities, and manifold mischiefs of ambitious nobles, whilst the hand of the king was too feeble to keep them in restraint. The execution of Surrey, and the imprisonment and attainder of the great Duke of Norfolk, left the Seymours completely in the ascendant; and having recently risen into note and power, they very soon showed all the inflated ambition of such parvenus. The Earl of Hertford, as uncle of the king, was in reality the man now in the possession of the chief power. ”

“ For the rest, all combined to destroy him, and to curry favour with the all-powerful Protector. Even Wriothesley, the new Earl of Southampton, who had been dismissed from office, came forward and joined in the proceedings against him. He was again and again examined privately and searchingly by deputations from the Privy Council, who endeavoured to persuade him to confess, and submit himself to the grace of the Protector and Council. But Seymour stood boldly on his innocence of any treasonable design, and demanded a fair and open trial. ”

“ He made him, moreover, high admiral, a post which had been held by the Earl of Warwick, who received instead of it that of lord great chamberlain. These honours and estates might have well contented a man of even high ambition, but the aspiring of the Seymours brooked no limits. As he did not seem to succeed in his desire of rising to a station as lofty as that of his brother the Protector, through the Council and political alliance, he sought to achieve this by means of marriage. ”

“ Had he been Lord Fairfax’s son and heir he could not have been received with greater consideration. The earl could not do enough for him. It was:
“Lance, is Mr. Washington’s room prepared for him?”
“Yes, sir. It has been ready for a week.”
“And, Lance, Mr. Washington will probably want you in the morning in the armory.”
[209] “Yes, sir; I shall be at Mr. Washington’s orders,” and a dozen other similar marks of tender forethought, more like a woman than a man. George could not but think how easy it was to be amiable and high-toned amid such surroundings. ”

“ The young King, who loved him dearly, had little power to befriend his uncle, whose estates were forfeited, and he was treated with insult and contumely. The Earl of Warwick was bent on his destruction. Arraigned of high treason at Westminster Hall, he demanded a trial of his peers, was acquitted of the principal charge, but found guilty of felony, and after several months’ imprisonment, in spite of every attempt on King Edward’s part, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, was condemned to die on the scaffold. ”

“ SEYMOUR, Sir EDWARD, Earl of Hertford (1539?–1621) , was the eldest (surviving) son of Edward Seymour, first duke of Somerset [q. v.] , the Protector, by his second wife, Anne. He is always said to have been the son who, born on 12 Oct. 1537, the same day as Edward VI, was styled Lord Beauchamp, and had as his godparents Queen Jane Seymour, the Princess Mary, and Cromwell (Lisle Papers, vol. xii. arts. 36, 75) . ”

“ But we are anticipating, and must return to the early years of Edward Seymour. He was educated both at Oxford 22and Cambridge; and afterwards joining his father at Court, entered the army, and also distinguished himself greatly in France, and was knighted for his services in 1525. On his return to England he was appointed Esquire to the King, and was one of the challengers in the tilt-yard of Greenwich, when Henry kept his Christmas there. On the King’s marriage with his sister Jane, Edward Seymour was created Viscount Beauchamp, with other grants and honours, and in 1537, Earl of Hertford. ”

“ The battle was fought on the hill where the races are held. Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, headed the Baronial army. The Royal forces were divided into three bodies; the right entrusted to Prince Edward; the left to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans; and the centre to Henry himself. Prince Edward attacked the Londoners under Nicholas Seagrave with such impetuosity that they immediately fled and were pursued with great slaughter. ”

“ Next before his Majesty rode Henry Vere, Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain of England, with Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, Earl Marshal. These noblemen were bare-headed. Then appeared James, with a crown on his head, 262“and most royally caparisoned.” But the personage who excited the most general interest was Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, a man only sixty-three years of age, but accounted in those days—such is the increased value of life in ours—“decrepit with age.” ”

“ The title of Earl St Maur adopted by the 12th duke in 1863 is said to have been the original form of the family name of which Seymour was a later corruption, and since the last-mentioned date it has been assumed as the family surname of the dukes of Somerset. ”

“ He wrote that as a young man, later he saw nothing in friendship beyond use.
The trial of Essex must have been a brilliant scene. The Earl himself, young, fair of face, splendidly clad, stood at the bar. He showed no fear, his bearing was as proud and bold as ever, "but whether his courage were borrowed and put on for the time or natural, it were hard to judge."* The Lord Treasurer, the Lord High Steward, too were there and twenty-five peers, nine earls, and sixteen barons to try the case. Among the learned counsel sat Bacon, a disappointed man of forty. ”

“ As the latter died unmarried, his sister Elizabeth brought to her husband, Thomas Bruce, 2nd earl of Ailesbury, the great estates of Tottenham Park and Savernake Forest in Wiltshire; while the Somerset title devolved on John Seymour (c. 1628–1675) , the 2nd duke’s fifth and youngest son. At the death of the latter without issue in April 1675 the marquessate of Hertford became extinct, and his cousin Francis Seymour (1658–1678) became 5th duke of Somerset. ”

“ Moreover, there was a more popular claimant to the title in the person of William Seymour, first marquis of Hertford [q. v.] , and, besides the doubtful formality of the patent, Worcester himself acknowledged that the condition upon which it was granted—viz. the bringing ten thousand Irish soldiers to England—had never been fulfilled. He therefore resigned his claim to the dukedom of Somerset, and on 30 Sept. it was conferred on Hertford. Similarly his title as Earl of Glamorgan was never formally recognised and did not descend to his children. ”

“ George the First had created the earldom of Seabridge upward of fifteen years before, in consequence of assistance rendered to him by the then head of the family during the Rebellion; and it was at about the same date that Mary Lancaster, niece of Lord Croftus, first saw the light—she who was afterward to unite the two families by her marriage with the second Earl of Seabridge. Meanwhile Mary Bellenden was esteemed the loveliest, and Mary Wortley Montague the cleverest of living women. As time went on, and the century approached its middle age, Garrick began to act in London ”

“ The minister judging that he could not meet with a better opportunity to show his zeal and affection for the government, despatched a courier that same day away to the Herris, with a letter to his father, who was minister there, [467] charging him to write immediately upon receipt of his letter, to Mr. Colin MacKenzie, established minister at Stornoway, [468] informing him of the same, and ordering him to settle all measures with Seaforth’s factor there to apprehend the prince at his first landing. ”

“ But as a statesman he was powerless in the hands of the Beauforts, and from this moment the policy of the Beauforts drew England nearer and nearer to the chaos of civil war. John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his brother, Edmund, Earl of Dorset, were now the representatives of this house. They were grandsons of John of Gaunt by his mistress, Catharine Swynford. In later days Catharine became John's wife, and his uncle's influence over Richard at the close of that king's reign was shown in a royal ordinance which legitimated those of his children by her who had been born before marriage. ”