Earl of Seaforth was a title in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...

and the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781.

History

The Mackenzies trace their descent to Colin of

Kintail Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch ...

(died 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 George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

(died 1651), who became the 2nd earl in 1633. George was alternately a royalist and a

covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

between 1636 and 1646, and was afterwards in Holland with Charles II, who made him Secretary of State for Scotland. His grandson,

Kenneth Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byn ...

, the 4th earl, followed

James VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

to France and was with the dethroned king in Ireland. Elevated by James in 1690, to Marquess of Seaforth and Viscount Fortrose (in the Jacobite peerage), he was sent to head the 1689 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 is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who rallied under 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 Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, although his titles were not restored. His son

(c. 1718–1761), who but for the attainder would have been the 6th earl, helped the British government during the

rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took pl ...

, and was a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for some years. His son Kenneth Mackenzie was created Baron of Ardelve and Viscount Fortrose in the

in 1766 and Earl of Seaforth in 1771, also in the Peerage of Ireland. However, these peerages became extinct when he died in August 1781. Although there were still heirs to the older earldom, this remained under attainder. Kenneth raised a regiment of Highlanders, the 78th (later known as 72nd) in 1778, known later as the 1st battalion of the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

. 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 (born May 7, 1960) is a former leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. He won the leadership for the party on October 23, 2004. Early life Following graduation from St. Francis Xavier University in 1982, MacKenzie worked in On ...

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 (27 March 1783 – 28 November 1862) was the eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth. Also known as "Lady Hood Mackenzie", or by the sobriquet "The Hooded Lassie", she was married i ...

married as her second husband

James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie (23 September 1784 – 24 September 1843) was a Scottish politician and British colonial administrator. Early life He was born James Alexander Stewart on 23 September 1784. James was the son of the former Geor ...

, son of Admiral

Keith Stewart Vice-Admiral Keith Stewart (1739 – 3 March 1795) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons on two occasions. Having began his naval career in around 1753, Stewart was promoted to commander in 1761 an ...

, third son of the sixth

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 Peer ...

. 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 The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

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.

List of titleholders

Lords Mackenzie of Kintail (1609)

Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail Kenneth Mackenzie, the first Lord Mackenzie of Kintail (–1611), was a Highland clan chief who secured for himself and his heirs the entirety of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and successfully pursued a bloody feud with the Macdonell ...

(died 1610/11) * Colin Mackenzie, 2nd Lord Mackenzie of Kintail (died 1633) (created Earl of Seaforth in 1623)

Earls of Seaforth (1623)

* Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth (died 1633) *

George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth (died 1651) was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, who played an equivocating role in Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Origins Mackenzie was the son of Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Macke ...

(died 1651) * Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Seaforth (1635–1678) * Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth (1661–1701) *

William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth (died 1740), and 2nd titular Marquess of Seaforth (in the Jacobite Peerage), also known as Uilleam Dubh, or Black William, was a Scottish peer and head of Clan Mackenzie. Educated in France and brought up ...

(died 1740) (Declared forfeit 7 May 1716)

Earls of Seaforth (1771)

Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth FRS (15 January 1744 – 27 August 1781) was a British peer, politician, soldier and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie. Origins Mackenzie was the son of Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose (died 1761) ...

(–1781) (extinct)

Barons Seaforth (1797)

* Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth (1754–1815)

Barons Seaforth (1921)

* James Alexander Francis Humberston Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth (1847–1923)

References

.
Mackenzie of Kintail family tree
* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaforth Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

Forfeited earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland 1609 establishments in Ireland Noble titles created in 1623 Noble titles created in 1771