William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (1610 - 1670 or 1671) was a Scottish nobleman and
CovenanterThe Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism as a form of church government favoured by the people, as opposed to Episcopacy, favoured by...
. He was the eldest son of
William Keith, 6th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 6th Earl Marischal was a Scottish lord, Earl Marischal and naval official.-Life:He was the eldest son of George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and his wife, Margaret , daughter of Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home. He left for the continent in 1601, travelling for his education to Paris,...
. He joined
MontroseJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose , was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
and twice seized
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
in 1639, including a march with Montrose and 9000 men along the
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
past
Muchalls CastleMuchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
and through the
Portlethen MossThe Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve in the coastal Grampian region in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Like other mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subject to certain development and agricultural degradation pressures...
to attack via the
Bridge of DeeThe Bridge of Dee or Brig o' Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527, the bridge crosses at what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary...
.
He was appointed a Lord of the Articles after the pacification of
Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, and again seized Aberdeen and enforced signatures of the covenant in 1640.
William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (1610 - 1670 or 1671) was a Scottish nobleman and
CovenanterThe Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism as a form of church government favoured by the people, as opposed to Episcopacy, favoured by...
. He was the eldest son of
William Keith, 6th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 6th Earl Marischal was a Scottish lord, Earl Marischal and naval official.-Life:He was the eldest son of George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and his wife, Margaret , daughter of Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home. He left for the continent in 1601, travelling for his education to Paris,...
. He joined
MontroseJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose , was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
and twice seized
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of .Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands...
in 1639, including a march with Montrose and 9000 men along the
Causey MounthThe Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers' road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This route was developed as the main highway between Stonehaven and Aberdeen around the 12th century AD and it continued to function as the principal route connecting these...
past
Muchalls CastleMuchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
and through the
Portlethen MossThe Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve in the coastal Grampian region in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Like other mosses, this wetland area supports a variety of plant and animal species, even though it has been subject to certain development and agricultural degradation pressures...
to attack via the
Bridge of DeeThe Bridge of Dee or Brig o' Dee is a road bridge over the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland. The term is also used for the surrounding area of the city. Dating from 1527, the bridge crosses at what was once the City of Aberdeen's southern boundary...
.
He was appointed a Lord of the Articles after the pacification of
Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, and again seized Aberdeen and enforced signatures of the covenant in 1640. The 7th Earl Marischal was appointed a
Privy CouncillorThe Privy Council of Scotland was a body that advised the King.In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of material on the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of Scotland...
in 1641.
He attended covenanting committees in the north but remained inactive in 1643-4. He subsequently refused to give up
fugitiveA fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. As a verbal metaphor and psychological concept, one might also be described as a "fugitive...
s to Montrose, and was besieged at
Dunnottar CastleDunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a precipitous rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. Its surviving buildings are largely of the 15th-16th centuries, but an important fortress certainly existed on this site from Dark Age...
in 1645. He then joined
HamiltonJames Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton , Scottish nobleman and Civil war General.-Young Arran:The son of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, and of the Lady Anne Cunningham, daughter of James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn, was born on 19 June 1606 at Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire...
's expedition into England in 1648 and entertained
Charles IICharles II was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father King Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time. Instead they passed a statute making such a...
at Dunnottar in 1650. He was arrested and imprisoned in the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames...
until the
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
, when he was appointed
Keeper of the Privy Seal of ScotlandThe office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal...
.
The Earl Marischal married, in 1637, Elizabeth Seton (1621 - 1650) daughter of
George Seton, 3rd Earl of WintonGeorge Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton, and 10th Lord Seton , was a notable Royalist and Cavalier, the second son of Robert Seton, 1st Earl of Winton and 6th Lord Seton, by his spouse Margaret, daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton.His elder brother Robert Seton, 2nd Earl of Winton, had no...
by his spouse Anne, daughter of
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of ErrollFrancis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll , Scottish nobleman, was the son of Andrew, 8th earl, and of Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William, 6th earl...
. They had the following issue:
- William, Lord Keith, died young.
- Mary, married 1stly Sir James Hope of Hopetoun in 1657, and 2ndly Sir Archibald Murray of Blackbarony.
- Elizabeth, married in 1658, Robert Arbuthnot, 2nd Viscount Arbuthnot
- Jean, married in 1669, George Ogilvy, 3rd Lord Banff
George Ogilvy, 2nd Lord Banff, 2nd Baronet was member of the old Scottish Parliament, a feudal baron, and a Cavalier.-Family:...