The title Earl of Winton was once created in the Peerage of Scotland, and again the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by the Earl of Eglinton.
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The title was first bestowed on Robert Seton, 8th Lord Seton. His descendants held it until George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton was convicted of high treason in 1716, when his titles were forfeit. Lord Winton was also condemned to death, but he managed to escape the Tower of London, and went to Rome, where he later died.
In 1834 there were two claimants: the Earl of Eglinton, and George Seton as a descendant of Sir George Seton of Garleton.
The title had a second creation for the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, a kinsman of the last Earl from the first creation.
The Lords Seton were the Premier Barons of Scotland until the creation of the Earldom of Winton in 1600. Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington wrote in his History of the House of Seytoune to the Year 1559, that Sir William Seton, "... was the "First creatit and made Lord of Parliament in Scotland, and he and his posteritie to have ane voit yairin and be callit Lords" by King Robert II, where there were no Lords of Parliament before that time. Noted accordingly in the records of the Scottish parliament, held at Scone 26 March 1371, at the coronation of Robert II, William de Seton is named among the "Nobiles Barones", as "Dominus de Seton". As Knight-Baron's, the Seton's had previously sat in the original parliaments of Scotland from the earliest times, including those of David I, King Balliol, Robert I and David II. Anderson states George Seton accompanied Chancellor Crichton to France & Burgundy in 1448 and "was soon afterwards created a peer of parliament", which referred to the young Seton having finally come of age and being given his family's seat held by his grandfather, and not of the creation. The Complete Peerage cites a jury on which "Sir George de Seton of that Ilk" served on 22 March 1451 (1450/1), and states that "he was created, shortly after that date, a Lord of Parliament as Lord Seton [S]".
Lords Seton (1371)
Earls of Winton, First Creation (1600)
It has been reported incorrectly that George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton, had no children, however he did have a son named Charles Seton born in 1711 in Bellingham, Northumberland, England. Charles' descendants kept records, rings and a pedigree chart to prove their lineage. A compilation of these documents can be found in books.google.com at the link below. Seton Earls of Winton Volume 1 of 3
Earls of Winton, Second Creation (1859)
See Earl of Eglinton