George Seton, 4th Earl Of Winton
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George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton (c. 1641 – 6 March 1704) was a
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, Privy Councillor, and Sheriff of Haddingtonshire. He was the son of George Seton, Master of Winton, and
Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...
Henrietta Gordon, a daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Huntly. He was in Europe for his studies, a boy of under ten years of age, when he succeeded his grandfather in the family estates in 1650. Notwithstanding his youth, a heavy fine of £2000 was imposed on him by Cromwell's Act of Grace and Pardon in 1654. His tutor and uncle was Lord Kingston, by whom he was brought up "in the true Protestant religion", thus severing the long attachment of his family to the Catholic Church. On 19 June 1656, Lord Kingston reported to the Haddington Presbytery by order of the Synod that Lord Winton had hitherto been educated in the Protestant Religion and his education should still be carefully attended to. Lord Winton was accomplished in the knowledge of arms, and gave proof of his skill and gallantry serving with the French army at the siege of
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in 1660. Returning to England with a brilliant reputation he was well received by King Charles II, who appointed him a member of the
Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...
, and give him command of the East Lothian Regiment of Foot against the Covenanters in 1666, following which he defeated the rebels at Pentland, and also, in 1679 he again commanded the same regiment "upon his own charges, with all his vassals, in noble equipage, in his Majestie's army of 14,000 men", at Bothwell Bridge, were the rebels were totally defeated. After the battle he entertained the
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and all the Scottish and English officers with at Seton. In 1682 he was appointed
Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
of Haddingtonshire, and in May of the same year he accompanied the
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from London to
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in the frigate ''Gloucester'', which was wrecked, with great loss of life, on Yarmouth Sands. An interesting letter written to Mr. Hewer from Edinburgh, on Monday 8 May 1682, on this disaster is found in the correspondence of
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who was also with the Duke of York.Latham, Robert, editor, ''Pepys' Diary'', Bell & Hyman, London, 1981: 279 In 1685, Lord Winton was appointed by King James II as Grand Master of the Household. Also in 1685 Winton was again in action with his regiment, against the
Earl of Argyll Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...
. As a learned individual, Professor Sinclair presented him with a curious and rare work entitles ''Satan's Invisible world discovered – or A choice collection of relations anent devils, spirits, witches, and apparitions'' in 1685. The lengthy 'Epistle Dedicatory' is in a vein of exaggerated praise, somewhat relieved by a description of the Earl's coal-mining operations, in which Sinclair introduces the name of
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, the
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, who founded the
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in the Roman College, at Rome, and was one of the first natural philosophers and scientists of the age. In 1691-93 he was in Holland, at
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and at
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, where he met travellers and learned men in whose company he delighted, as he was much given to mathematics and physical science. This Earl did much to improve his property and to benefit the public. He built a new harbor at
Cockenzie Cockenzie and Port Seton ( ; ) is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was bu ...
, called
Port Seton Cockenzie and Port Seton ( ; ) is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was bui ...
, which still exists by this name, and has recently revived with Edinburgh people as a modest summer resort.
Alexander Nisbet Alexander Nisbet (bapt. 23 March 1657; died 7 Dec. 1725) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian. He is remembered for his works on heraldry, which are considered to be some of the most complete and authoritative produced in the UK. Life Nisb ...
says of this nobleman that "he imitated the extraordinary loyalty of his ancestors; none of them having ever been guilty of treason or rebellion, nor addicted or avarice, nor found with lands of the Church in their possession". A special Royal Charter dated 31 July 1688, was granted to him of the Earldom of Wintoun, to him and the heirs male of his body, which failing, to whichever person he might nominate and the heirs male of their bodies, with remainder to his heirs male, and failing these to his nearest heirs and assignees whatsoever, the eldest daughter or her female succeeding without division, and marrying a gentleman of the surname of Seton, or who would assume that surname and carry the Wintoun
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.


Family

George, 4th Earl of Winton, married Christian (d. 1703), daughter and heiress of John Hepburn of Adinstoun in East Lothian. They had two sons: * George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton * Christopher Seton, (d. 5 January 1705)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winton, George Seton, 4th Earl Of 1640s births 1704 deaths Nobility from East Lothian 17th-century Scottish peers 18th-century Scottish landowners 4 Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Scottish soldiers George Lords Seton