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THE EGLINTON CLAIM
The Service of the
Earl of Eglinton
as
Heir-Male General, and Heir-Male of Provision
to
George, the Fourth Earl of Winton, Lord Seton, and Tranent.
 The
origins of the Montgomeries began with Roger de Montgomery, Earl
of Shrewsbury (d. 1094), one of William the Conqueror’s followers,
and
though this won't bear examination, the sure pedigree of the
family begins later with Sir John Montgomerie, Lord of Eaglesham,
who fought at the Battle of Otterbourne in 1388 and died about
1398.
His grandson, Sir Alexander Montgomerie (d. circa 1460), was
made a Lord of the Scottish parliament about 1445 as Lord
Montgomerie, and Sir Alexander’s great-grandson Hugh, the 3rd Lord
(c. 1460-1545), was created 1st Earl of Eglinton, or Eglintoun, in
1508. The 3rd Earl of Eglinton was a firm supporter of Mary
queen of Scots for whom he fought at Langside, and in 1612, by
the death of Hugh, the 5th Earl, the direct male line of the Montgomeries
became extinct.
Having no children Earl Hugh had settled his
title and estates on his cousin, Sir Alexander Seton of Foulstruther (commonly
called Greysteel, 1588-1661), a younger son of Robert Seton, 1st Earl
of Winton (c. 1550-1603), and his wife Margaret, daughter of the
3rd Earl of Eglinton.
This succession was
not without contention, and King James VI personally intervened
and objected. It was only through the negotiation and the
influence of Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline and
Chancellor of Scotland that Alexander Seton of Foulstruther was
able to become the 6th Earl of Eglinton. However, the
arrangement precluded that he and his heirs take the name of Montgomerie
for that family line to continue.
He was a prominent Covenanter and fought against
Charles I at Marston Moor.
Archibald William, the 13th Earl was
born at Palermo in the 29th of September 1812. He was a
staunch Tory, and in February 1852 he became Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland. With the death of George Seton of Bellingham and
his legal claim to the Winton Honours gone, in 1859 he
successfully petitioned Her Majesty Queen Victoria as heir-male
to the Seton's Winton Honours.
Within the same year,
his claim was recognized and he was created 1st Earl of Winton
within the United Kingdom as a new creation. The Earldom
which had been held by his kinsfolk, the Setons, was within the
Scottish Peerage and which had ended with the forfeiture of
George Seton, 5th Earl of Winton.
The Earls of Eglinton continued the Seton's
Templarist traditions, later continued in Freemasonry, and were
Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge in Scotland (and the Order of
the Temple). Alexander Montgomerie, 10th Earl of Eglinton,
was Knight of the Red Feather in the 18th century and who passed
the Ceremonial Sword onto Lord Kilmarnock, and was Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge following shortly after Hugh Seton of Touch,
in 1750-51. Archibald Seton Montgomerie, 16th Earl of
Eglinton and 4th Earl of Winton was Grand Master in 1920-21, and
Archibald Montgomerie, 17th Earl of Eglinton and 5th Earl of
Winton was Grand Master from 1957 to 1961.
The present head of
the family is Archibald George Montgomerie, 18th Earl of
Eglinton and 6th Earl of Winton. | 
