Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly

Tomb of Alexander Gordon, in Elgin Cathedral.

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 15 July 1470) was a powerful 15th century Scottish magnate. He was knighted in 1439/40 and was Lord of Badenoch, & Cluny.

Alexander Seton developed a strong relationship with William Crichton, the Chancellor of Scotland after 1439. He divorced his wife Egidia, daughter of Sir John Hay of Tillibody, in 1438 in order to marry Crichton's daughter Elizabeth.

Before 3 July 1445, King James II of Scotland made him Earl of Huntly, a new creation. This was part of a deal to make peace between the Crichton and Douglas-Livingston factions in the Kingdom.

He was embroiled in struggles against the Douglases, against the Lords of the Isles, and against the Lindsay earls of Crawford.

Alexander died at Huntly Castle and was buried in Elgin Cathedral.

Family

He was the son of Alexander Seton (d. 1440) (2nd son of Sir William Seton of that Ilk), by his spouse Elizabeth Gordon (d. 16 March 1439), daughter and heiress of Sir Adam Gordon of that Ilk (killed in 1402 at the Battle of Homildon Hill).

The 1st Earl of Huntly had by his first wife a son:

• Sir Alexander Seton, ancestor of the Setons of Touch, and Abercorn.

By his second wife Elizabeth he had four sons and four daughters (all of whom took the surname of Gordon, including:

• George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, directed his family's affairs in Alexander's later years and succeeded him to the earldom.
• Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar
• Adam Gordon, Dean of Caithness
• William Gordon
• Lady Margaret Gordon (died after 9 November 1457)
• Lady Elizabeth Gordon (died 17 Apr 1500), married Nicholas Hay, 2nd Earl of Erroll, and then as his second wife John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy, and had issue by her first husband
• Lady Christian Gordon, married William Forbes, 3rd Lord Forbes, on 8 July 1468, and had issue
• Lady Catherine Gordon (died after 30 Sep 1461)

Sources

• Appleyard, Simon C., Alexander Seton, First Earl of Huntly in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, New Edition, 2004. accessed 14 Nov 2006

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by New Creation	Earl of Huntly 1445–1470	Succeeded by George Gordon