“Edinburgh Castle” by David L. Witt, May 7, 2026.
Ernest Thompson Seton’s ancestor, George Seton, attempted to claim the title of Earl of Winton in an 1825 legal proceeding in Edinburgh. This is the fourth installment in a true law series.
An Illusion of Delusion
As we have seen, George Seton conceded the right of the Crown to have extinguished the Earl of Winton title in 1716. Ernest Thompson Seton wrote an essay, “The Name of Seton,” in his book, Trail of an Artist-Naturalist. “In 1823, after the general amnesty, this George Seton appeared before the Bailies of Cannongate, the highest tribunal in Scotland; and proved himself the only grandson and lawful heir of George Seton, [Fifth] Earl of Winton. The bailies acknowledged the validity of the claim, and George Seton was served with the title of Earl of Winton.
“He died without issue, but named my father [Joseph Thompson] as his heir and the lawful successor to the title, as he was the only male survivor of the line” (pg. 391).
One of the great mysteries of Seton lore is how Ernest could have held this view, given that the extinguishing of the title was thoroughly documented. The year of the judgment against George appears to have been 1825. And, a different branch of the family would have had a superior claim, had there been any claim to make.
Evidentiary Hearing, Issue One
Here we return once again to Karen Hancock’s transcription. First, George had to prove his identity. The document seems to be the official record.
“This inquest is made in the courthouse of the Burgh of Regality of Cannongate upon the twenty-fifth day of the month of July in the year of our Lord, one thousand Eight hundred and twenty five [25 July 1825] before an honourable man Alexander McDougal, Esquire of the Baillies of the said Burgh and faithful men of the Kingdom” [who are named].
Presumably, the honorable Mr. McDougal was the city’s legal official in charge of the hearing. The document continues, reciting the family tree, then concluding that George “is nearest and lawful heir male of Line in general of the said deceased George Fourth Earl of Winton his great, great grandfather and that he is of lawful age.” [Pg. 40] Depending on his birthday, George was 29 or 30 at the time of the hearing. George had been predeceased by two elder brothers. His Seton lineage seems not to have been questioned.
Evidentiary Hearing, Issue Two
The problematic Fifth Lord Seton, in addition to siding with the wrong political faction, left another problem. George either did—or did not—marry one Margaret McKlear (there are various spellings of her name), with whom he had a son, Charles (1711—1781), who was the grandfather of our George. If the Fifth Lord married McKlear, then George could chalk up a win in his column. If, however, they never married, then the official Seton pedigree line was broken (i.e., Charles was a bastard), even though the bloodline carried through. Which is to say that George could not petition for a restoration of the Earl of Winton title because he may have been descended from an unconsecrated union.
The Setons were not the only ones in this predicament. According to another document, “The Tranent Register of marriages from 1685 to 1717 was unfortunately lost at the time of the great riot of there on 1797” [Pg. 56] This record would have been held in the East Lothian parish where both Winton Castle and Seton Palace were located. By that logic, large numbers of Scottish parents would have produced children out of wedlock. But even if every child born in that period was to married parents, the lack of documentation would doom them to illegitimacy.
The Decision
This legal outcome for George was that, since documentation from the previous century was lost, he, therefore, lost this part of the case. Had he won, this blog could have continued onto Issue Three, the reinstatement of the title. The Restoration laws of 1784 and 1824 might have provided George with a path back to the title of Earl of Winton, but it was never tested.
And even so, George could not have claimed ancestral lands which were long gone. As my friend Marsha Skinner used to say: Close, but no cigar.
George Seton lived another twenty-eight years, very possibly, a disappointed man.
P.S. Given the Fifth Earl’s awareness of his august pedigree, doesn’t it seem likely that he would have protected his only son and heir with an official marriage, even if it had been a secret one? The Fifth Lord was a Jacobite. Maybe Margaret was from a different faction, and to protect her, they kept their union a secret, known only in the official parish records, later destroyed.