Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth FRS (15 January 1744 – 27 August 1781) was a British peer
and politician and Chief of the Highland
Clan Mackenzie
.
(died 1761) by Mary, the eldest daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway
. His paternal grandfather was the attainted William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
, whose estates he repurchased from the government. The Earls of Seaforth descended from the ancient family of Mackenzie of Kintail
.
on 18 November 1766. He was a Member of Parliament
for Buteshire and Caithness
from 1768 to 1774. On 3 December 1771, he was created Earl of Seaforth
(a new peerage, also in the Peerage of Ireland).
On 12 November 1772, Mackenzie was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
.
He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel and raised a regiment, the Seaforth (Highland) Regiment in 1778. He sailed with them to the East Indies
, but died at sea in 1781. He was succeeded as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant by Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston
.
by whom he had one daughter, Lady Caroline Mackenzie (1766–1847), who married Louis Drummond, Comte de Melfort (d. 1833) and had issue.
He married secondly Harriet Powell (died 11 December 1779), the daughter of an apothecary
. Sir James Balfour Paul describes her tactfully as "a fashionable beauty of the town" , but Horace Bleackley is rather more explicit:
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
and politician and Chief of the Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
Clan Mackenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
.
Origins
Mackenzie was the son of Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord FortroseKenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose
Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose was a British politician and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:...
(died 1761) by Mary, the eldest daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway
Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway
Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway was the son of James Stewart, 5th Earl of Galloway by Catherine, daughter of Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton ....
. His paternal grandfather was the attainted William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth was a Scottish nobleman.He who joined the Jacobite standard at Braemar, during the rising of 1715, and then, having raised 3000 men, was present at the battle of Sheriffmuir and was appointed lieutenant-general of the northern counties...
, whose estates he repurchased from the government. The Earls of Seaforth descended from the ancient family of Mackenzie of Kintail
Kintail
Kintail is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Cluanie; its boundaries, other than Glen Shiel, are generally taken to be the valleys of Strath Croe and Gleann...
.
Career
Mackenzie was created Viscount Fortrose and Baron Ardelve in the Peerage of IrelandPeerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
on 18 November 1766. He was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Buteshire and Caithness
Buteshire and Caithness (UK Parliament constituencies)
Buteshire and Caithness were county constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918....
from 1768 to 1774. On 3 December 1771, he was created Earl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and Peerage of Great Britain. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781....
(a new peerage, also in the Peerage of Ireland).
On 12 November 1772, Mackenzie was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
.
He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel and raised a regiment, the Seaforth (Highland) Regiment in 1778. He sailed with them to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
, but died at sea in 1781. He was succeeded as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant by Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston
Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston
Thomas Frederick Mackenzie Humberston was a British soldier and Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie.-Origins:Mackenzie was the eldest son of Major William Mackenzie , by Mary, daughter and heiress of Matthew Humberston of Humberston, in Lincolnshire. His father was the son of the Hon...
.
Family
Mackenzie married first Lady Caroline Stanhope (1747–1767), daughter of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of HarringtonWilliam Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington
General William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington was a British politician and soldier.The son of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, he took up a military career and joined the Foot Guards in 1741, and was also returned for Aylesbury...
by whom he had one daughter, Lady Caroline Mackenzie (1766–1847), who married Louis Drummond, Comte de Melfort (d. 1833) and had issue.
He married secondly Harriet Powell (died 11 December 1779), the daughter of an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
. Sir James Balfour Paul describes her tactfully as "a fashionable beauty of the town" , but Horace Bleackley is rather more explicit:
The graceful Harriet Powell, equally frail and famous, whose winsome face was portrayed in many a mezzotint, had spent her early youth as an inmate of Mrs Hayes's disreputable establishment in King's Place, but now at last she had become faithful to one man, and was keeping house with Lord Seaforth, the creator of a famous regiment.