Alexander (Seton) Gordon First Earl of Huntly (abt. 1410 - 1470)

Born about 1410 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Egida (Hay) Hay Countess of Huntly — married 8 Jan 1427 (to before 26 Nov 1438) in Scotland

Husband of Elizabeth (Crichton) Crichton Countess of Huntly — married before 18 Mar 1440 in Scotland

Descendants

Died 15 Jul 1470 at about age 60 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

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Alexander (Seton) Gordon First Earl of Huntly was a member of Scottish Nobility. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

Birth and Parents

Alexander (Seton) Gordon First Earl of Huntly is a member of Clan Gordon.

Alexander Seton, who became 1st Earl of Huntly, and assumed the name Gordon, was the eldest son of Alexander Seton and Elizabeth Gordon.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} His birth date is unknown but may have been about 1410.

Marriages and Children

Alexander married twice. His first wife was Egida/Eigidia Hay, also known as Gilles (Douglas Richardson refers to her as Giles), daughter of John Hay of Tullibody and Margaret Stewart. They married on about 8 January 1426/7.^[1][3][4][5] They are known to have had one son:

• Alexander,^[3][4] ancestor of the Seton family of Touch^[1][2]

Alexander's first marriage was annulled before 26 November 1438.^[1][3][4][5] He compelled Egidia to hand over to him the life-rent of her family lands. He secured the annulment by wrongly claiming that he had never received a necessary papal dispensation for his marriage to Egidia: he hid the document concerned. In 1441 the truth came out, when Alexander confessed, and sought absolution for, his sins; by then Egidia was dead.^[2]

Before 18 March 1439/40 (when a charter refers to them as a wedded couple) he remarried, his second wife being Elizabeth Crichton, daughter of William Crichton, Chancellor of Scotland.^[1][3][4][5] They had the following children:

• George, who became 2nd Earl of Huntly^[1][3][4][5]
• Alexander^[1][3][4]
• Adam, who became Dean of Caithness^[1][3][4]
• William^[1][3][4]
• Margaret^[1][3][4]
• Elizabeth^[1][3][4]
• Christian^[1][3][4]
• Catherine^[1][3][4]

Alexander had two children whose mother was said to be from the Cumming family of Altyre, Morayshire^[3][4] and was known as the "Fair Maid of Moray"; she is sometimes described as his fourth wife, but his second wife survived him so this appears to be erroneous, and he almost certainly never married these children's mother.^[1] They were:

• Janet^[1][3][4]
• Margaret^[1][3][4]

Change of Name

Alexander changed his name from Seton to Gordon, probably in about 1457.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Life

Alexander was knighted in about 1440.^[2]

In the early 1440s he reached an amicable settlement with his cousin William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, about the lands of his grandmother Elizabeth Keith. He was given the Barony of Kinedward by Alexander, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles.^[1]

In about 1445 Alexander was made Earl of Huntly.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Around this time he became involved in a struggle between the Ogilvie and Lindsay families for the position of Justiciary of Arbroath Abbey:^[1][3][4] he supported the Ogilivies and was present when they were defeated at Arbroath on 23 January 1445/6.^[1] For a few years after this he focused on strengthening his local position.^[1][2]

His fortunes improved again after James II of Scotland reached adulthood in 1449. He attended court, and may have lent money to the king.^[1] James II granted him the lordship of Badenoch and Ruthven Castle,^[1][2] but he was unable to save the latter from being destroyed by men of the Earl of Ross. Alexander was appointed Lieutenant General of the North to aid James II in struggles against the Earls of Ross, Crawford and Douglas. In 1452 he defeated the Earl of Crawford at Brechin: two of his own brothers died in the fighting.^[1][2]

In 1455 Alexander appears to have sought to take advantage of the death in battle of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray and add Moray to his family's domains. Within days of Douglas's death, Alexander arranged for his son George to marry Douglas's widow, Elizabeth Dunbar, who was much older than him. But James II intervened to prevent this expansion of the power of Alexander and his family, and declared the Earldom of Moray forfeit.^[2]

Alexander was at the 1460 Siege of Roxburgh during which James II was killed by an accident involving a cannon.^[2] After this he seems to have largely bowed out of public life.^[1][2] It is possible he was on the council which administered Scotland during the first part of the young James III's reign, but if so, he appears not to have been very active.^[2]

Death and Burial

Alexander died at Huntly, Aberdeenshire on 15 July 1470, and was buried at Elgin Cathedral. His second wife Elizabeth Crichton survived him.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26} James Balfour Paul. The Scots Peerage, Vol. IV, David Douglas, 1907, pp. 521-526, Internet Archive
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon C Appleyard for 'Seton [later Gordon], Alexander, first earl of Huntly', print and online 2004
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, pp. 95-96, BARCLAY 11, Google Books
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. I, pp. 239-240, BARCLAY 12
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VI, pp.675-676, viewable on Familysearch

• Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage, Vol. IV, David Douglas, 1907, pp. 521-526, Internet Archive
• Cokayne, G E. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VI, pp.675-676, viewable on Familysearch
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Simon C Appleyard for 'Seton [later Gordon], Alexander, first earl of Huntly', print and online 2004
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree’s source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree’s source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 51, pp. 260-261, entry for 'SETON, Sir ALEXANDER, first Earl of Huntly', Wikisource
• Wikipedia: Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly
• The Peerage.com

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile is in a trail badged by the Magna Carta Project.

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 18 June 2021 and reviewed/approved by Thiessen-117.

Alexander Gordon appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestors Robert Barclay and John Barclay to Magna Carta Surety Barons Gilbert de Clare and Richard de Clare (vol. I, pages 94-101 BARCLAY). This trail was re-developed in 2021 by Michael Cayley and was badged by the Magna Carta Project on 22 June 2021. See the Magna Carta Trails on Robert Barclay's profile to view the profiles in that trail.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".