William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 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 ...
. Educated in France and brought up as a Roman Catholic, he was attainted for his part in the 1715 Jacobite Rising and also joined the 1719 Rising. He was pardoned in 1726 and allowed to return home, although the title
Earl 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) ...
remained forfeit. He died on 8 January 1740 on the Isle of Lewis and was buried in the ancient church of Ui.


Life

William Mackenzie was the eldest son of Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth, who converted to Catholicism, allegedly in return for financial assistance from James II. His mother
Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...
was the second daughter of William Herbert, Marquess of Powis, one of the five Catholic lords falsely accused of conspiring to assassinate Charles II in the Popish Plot. William's date and place of birth are uncertain. His father went into exile following the 1688
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
and took part in the 1690 Jacobite campaign in Scotland but surrendered to the new government in 1691; he spent most of the next ten years in and out of prison and died in 1701, leaving huge financial debts; his widow sent William and a daughter to France to be educated and brought up as Catholics. William married Mary Kennett in Kelloe, County Durham, in 1713/14. The Duchess of Seaforth was the daughter and heiress of Nicholas Kennett of Coxhoe, county Durham, and educated in France under Jesuits.


Career

Shortly after the accession of
George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...
in 1714, William was ordered to confine himself within Brahan Castle, which belonged to him. He attended the meeting convened by John Erskine, earl of Mar, at Braemar in 1715, when the standard of the
Pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...
was raised. At the head of over three thousand men, including the Macdonalds, Rosses, and others, he set out in October to join Mar at
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. John Gordon, earl of Sutherland, endeavoured to bar his passage, but on being attacked retreated to Bonar. Seaforth, after harassing his country and collecting large quantities of booty, continued his march southwards. He was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir. After the battle, he was nominated by the Chevalier lieutenant-general and commander of the northern counties, and went north to endeavour to recover Inverness, which had been captured for the government by Simon Fraser, lord Lovat. Although joined by Alexander Gordon, marquis of Huntly, he was unable to raise forces sufficient to make way against the Earl of Sutherland, and gave in their submission. Shortly afterwards, Seaforth crossed over to the Isle of Lewis, where he endeavoured to collect a number of his followers; but when a detachment of government troops had been sent against him, he escaped to Ross-shire, whence he set sail for France, reaching St. Germains in February 1716. On 7 May, following he was attainted by parliament and his estates forfeited. Seaforth accompanied the
Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held b ...
in his expedition to the western highlands in 1719. He was severely wounded at the
battle of Glenshiel The Battle of Glen Shiel ( gd, Blàr Ghleann Seile) took place on 10 June 1719 in the West Scottish Highlands, during the Jacobite rising of 1719, 1719 Jacobite Rising. A Jacobitism, Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish Marine In ...
on 10 June, but was carried on board a vessel by his followers, and, escaping to the Western Isles, returned thence to France. Notwithstanding his forfeiture, his followers, in spite of the vigilance of the government, regularly sent him their rents in his exile. After the passing of the disarming act in 1725 they, however, agreed on his private recommendation to give up their arms, and in future to pay rent to the government on condition that they were discharged of all arrears. To this Wade not only agreed, but also promised to use his influence to secure a pardon for Seaforth. The efforts of Wade on behalf of Seaforth, although strongly opposed by John Campbell, second duke of Argyll, were successful. By letters patent of 12 June 1726, Seaforth was discharged of the penal consequences of his attainder, although the forfeiture was not reversed. From
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
he received a grant of the arrears of ''feu duties'' due to the crown out of his forfeited estates. Seaforth was led to seek peace with the government, partly on the ground of dissatisfaction with his treatment by the Chevalier. He excused to the Chevalier his acceptance of the terms of the government as a temporary expedient absolutely necessary for the protection of his clan, but the Chevalier was deeply hurt at what he deemed a desertion of his cause. Seaforth died 8 January 1740 in the Isle of Lewis, and was buried there in the chapel of Ui.


Ancestry

Through his father, Seaforth was descended from Scottish nobility and the
High Stewards of Scotland The title of High Steward or Great Steward is that of an officer who controls the domestic affairs of a royal household. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descendan ...
. Through his mother, he is descended from different branches of the House of Herbert and English nobility and royals. He was a direct descendant via his mother of
Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
, via
John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
.


References


Sources

* * ;Attribution


External links


Electric Scotland article on the Mackenzies of Seaforth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seaforth, William Mackenzie, 5th Earl 1740 deaths Earls of Seaforth People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 People of the Jacobite rising of 1719 Recipients of British royal pardons
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 ...
Year of birth unknown Marquesses in the Jacobite peerage 1686 births Scottish Roman Catholics