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Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 June 1754 – 11 January 1815) was a British politician, soldier, and botanist. He was Chief of the
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackenzie ( gd, Clann Choinnich ) is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. Howev ...
, as which he raised the renowned
78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. H ...
.


Early life

Mackenzie was the second son of Major William Mackenzie (d. 12 March 1770), who was the son of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, and the grandson of
Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth, KT, PC (S) ( bapt. 8 December 1661 – January 1701) was a Scottish peer and Jacobite supporter, known as Lord Mackenzie of Kintail from birth until 1678. Life Mackenzie was the eldest son of Kenne ...
. Francis's mother was Mary, the daughter and heiress of Matthew Humberston of Humberston,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
. On the death of his elder brother Colonel
Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston (1753 – 30 April 1783) was a British Army officer and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie. Origins Mackenzie was the eldest son of Major William Mackenzie (died 12 March 1770), by Mary, daughter and heire ...
in 1783, Francis Mackenzie became the last male heir of the attainted
Earls of Seaforth Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. 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 (died 1278) ...
.Sir James Balfour Paul, ''The Scots Peerage'', volume VII (Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1910), at pages 513–514 When he was about twelve years of age, Francis contracted
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...
, which incurred the loss of his ability to hear and almost all of his ability to speak. As a consequence, he was known as MacCoinnich Bodhar (Deaf Mackenzie in
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...
).


Political and military career

From 1784 to 1790, and again from 1794 to 1796, Seaforth was Member of Parliament for the
County of Ross Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
. In 1787 he offered to raise a regiment on his own estates to be commanded by himself. The government declined his patriotic offer but accepted his services in procuring recruits for the 74th and 75th. On 19 May 1790 he renewed his offer but the government again declined his services. When war broke out in 1793 he offered for a third time and a letter of service was granted in his favour dated 7 March 1793 empowering him as Lieutenant-Colonel-Commandant to raise a Highland Battalion to be called
78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. H ...
. He was appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire. The office was replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty in 1891 through the operation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. *Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baro ...
and was raised to the peerage of Great Britain as Lord Seaforth, Baron Mackenzie 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 ...
in the
County of Ross Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
on 26 October 1797. In 1798 he was appointed Colonel of the Ross-shire Regiment of Militia. Seaforth served as
Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...
from 1800 to 1806, during which period he reformed slavery on the island, established a prohibition of the killing of slaves, and reduced official discrimination against free blacks. As Governor of Barbados, Seaforth appointed Thomas Moody, a mathematical expert from a prominent British family, to a direct commission in the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...
, which Moody entered as a lieutenant in 1806. Seaforth was made a Lieutenant-General in 1808.


Avocational life

In 1794 Seaforth was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
for his contributions to botany. The genus ''
Seaforthia ''Ptychosperma'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. Most are native to Australia and/or New Guinea, with a few in the Solomon Islands and in Maluku Province of eastern Indonesia. Some have been cultivated abroad as house or g ...
'' was named after him. In 1795 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
, also as a consequence of his contributions to botany: his proposers were
Daniel Rutherford Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 December 1819) was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is known for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772. Life Rutherford was born on 3 November 1749, the son of Anne Mackay and Professor John ...
,
Alexander Monro (secundus) Alexander Monro of Craiglockhart and Cockburn (22 May 1733 – 2 October 1817) was a Scottish anatomist, physician and medical educator. He is typically known as or Junior to distinguish him as the second of three generations of physicians o ...
, and
John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...
. He was also a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and served as Extraordinary Director of the Highland Society. In 1796, Mackenzie gave £1,000 to
Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...
to assist with Lawrence's financial difficulties. Lawrence later painted a full-length portrait of Seaforth's daughter, Mary. Lord Seaforth commissioned
Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...
's painting " King Alexander III of Scotland being rescued from the fury of a stag by the intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald"."King Alexander III of Scotland being rescued from the fury of a stag by the intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald"
National Gallery
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...
said of him: Seaforth nearly recovered entirely the use of his tongue, but during the last two years of his life, which he spent mourning the deaths of his four sons, he rarely spoke.


Family

Mackenzie married, 1782, Mary Proby, daughter of The Very Rev
Baptist Proby Baptist Proby (bapt. 14 June 1726 – 18 January 1807) was Dean of Lichfield from 1776 until 1807. Life Proby was the fifth son of John Proby of Elton Hall in Elton, Huntingdonshire, MP for Huntingdonshire (1722–27) and Stamford (1743� ...
, 7th Dean of Lichfield and Mary Russel. Mary was the niece of
John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort John Proby, 1st Baron Carysfort KB PC (25 November 1720 – 18 October 1772) was a British Whig politician. Life He was the son of John Proby, of Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire, and his wife Jane, daughter of John Leveson-Gower, 1st Baron Go ...
and sister of Rev.
Charles Proby Charles James Proby M.A. (23 January 1771 – 2 February 1859) was a Canon of Windsor from 1814 to 1859. Family He was the son of the Very Revd. Baptist Proby and Mary Russell. He married Frances Sharrer, daughter of Revd. John Sharrer on 30 June ...
. Francis's four legitimate sons all predeceased him as predicted by the
Brahan Seer The Brahan Seer, known in his native Scottish Gaelic as Coinneach Odhar ("Dark Kenneth"), and Kenneth Mackenzie, was, according to legend, a predictor of the future who lived in the 17th century. The Brahan Seer is regarded by some to be the cr ...
. His children were: *William Frederick Mackenzie (died young) *George Leveson Boucherat Mackenzie (died young) * Hon. William Frederick Mackenzie (died 1814), MP for
Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting ...
*Hon. Francis John Mackenzie, midshipman, RN (died unmarried 1813) * Hon. Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, heiress to her father, (married first Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, married second Rt Hon
James Alexander Stewart 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 Georg ...
of Glasserton). *Frances Catherine Mackenzie, dsp *Caroline Elizabeth Mackenzie (accidentally killed unmarried) *Charlotte Elizabeth Mackenzie (died unmarried) *Augusta Anne Mackenzie (died unmarried in 1856) buried in
Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...
*Helen Anne Mackenzie (married
Joshua Henry Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie The Hon. Joshua Henry Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie (1774 – 1871) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. Early life He was born in 1774 the eldest son of the Edinburgh author Henry Mackenzie and his ...
) (buried in
Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...
)


References


Sources

* * Sidney Lee (ed), Dictionary of National Biography (1891), London, Smith, Elder & Co


External links

*
Seaforth's Lewis
by Finlay MacLeod , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaforth, Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron 1754 births 1815 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Peers of Great Britain created by George III Mackenzie, Francis Humberston British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British Army generals Governors of Barbados Lord-Lieutenants of Ross-shire Mackenzie, Francis Humberston Deaf royalty and nobility MacKenzie, Francis Fellows of the Royal Society British politicians with disabilities
Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...
Mackenzie, Francis Humberston Marquesses in the Jacobite peerage Deaf people from the United Kingdom