Sir John Keith, 1st Earl of Kintore PC (Scot) ( – 12 April 1715), was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

He was the fourth son of nine surviving children born to William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal, and Lady Mary Erskine. Among his siblings were brothers William Keith (the 7th Earl), George Keith (the 8th Earl), Sir Robert Keith, Alexander Keith, and sisters Mary Keith (wife of John, Lord Kinpont), Jean Keith (wife of Alexander, Lord Forbes of Pitsligo), Anne Keith, and Isobel Keith (wife of MP Edward Turnor, son of Edward Turnor,

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

). His father was the eldest son of

George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl Marischal. He succeeded as earl on 7 October 1581, upon the death of his grandfather, William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. Early life George Keith was the s ...

and his wife, the Hon. Margaret Home (a daughter of Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home). His mother was the eldest daughter of John Erskine, 19th and ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' 2nd

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

(the only son of another John Erskine and Annabella Murray)''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online (ODNB)'', "John Erskine, eighteenth or second earl of Mar," by Julian Goodare. and, his second wife, Marie Stewart (the daughter of

Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox, 6th Seigneur d'Aubigny (26 May 1583) of the Château d'Aubigny at Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient Provinces of France, province of Berry, France, Berry, France, was a Catholic French nob ...

Career

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Keith and his brother

William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal (16141670 or 1671) was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal. Life During the English Civil War, the 7th Earl Marischal joined James Graham, 1st Marque ...

held Dunnottar Castle against

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's forces in 1651. The

Honours of Scotland The Honours of Scotland (, ), informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by List of Scottish monarchs, Scottish monarchs at their Coronation_of_the_British_monarch#Scottish_coronations, coronation. Kept in the ...

had been placed at Dunnottar for safety during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

, and Robert Overton, commanding a force of the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

besieged the Castle hoping to recover them. While the regalia was smuggled out of the castle to be hidden at Kinneff Parish church, Keith boarded ship for France, and was captured on his return by the parliamentarians. Keith insisted that he had delivered them to Charles II. The regalia remained at Kinneff until the Restoration. In 1676, he was made Councillor to the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

and a commissioner of the Council for Public Affairs in 1677. He was created Knight Marischal of Scotland upon Charles II return, and in 1677 was created Earl of Kintore along with the subsidiary title of Lord Keith of

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and River Don, Aberdeenshire, Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography ...

and Keith Hall, a reward for his part in preserving the

in various hiding-places during the

British Interregnum The interregnum in the British Isles began with the execution of Charles I in January 1649 (and from September 1651 in Scotland) and ended in May 1660 when his son Charles II was restored to the thrones of the three realms, although he had be ...

. and Between 1684 and 1687 Kintore was Treasurer-Depute of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He was

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II of Scotland, David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peerage, peer, like the Great Seal of Sco ...

in 1689. Lord Kintore was a supporter of both the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

and the 1707 Acts of Union.
James Balfour Paul, Balfour Paul, Sir J., ''Scots Peerage'' IX vols. Edinburgh 1904. On 22 February 1694, Lord Kintore "had a regrant, after resignation, of his titles extending the remainder to his elder brother" George Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, "and the heirs male of his body, whom failing to the heirs general of his own body."

Personal life

On 24 April 1662, Kintore was married to Lady Margaret Hamilton (b. 1641), the only child, born posthumously, of

Thomas Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Haddington Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

by his second wife Lady Jean Gordon (the third daughter of

George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly (c. 1592March 1649), styled Earl of Enzie from 1599 to 1636, eldest son of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly by Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, born at Huntly Cast ...

and Lady Anne Campbell, herself a daughter of

Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Lady Jean Keith (b. 1678), who married Sir William Forbes, 4th Baronet of Monymusk * Lady Margaret Keith, who married Maj. Gavin Hamilton of Raploch, a son of William Hamilton of Raploch and Jean (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kennedy) Hamilton. *

William Keith, 2nd Earl of Kintore William Keith, 2nd Earl of Kintore (1660 – 5 December 1718), was a Scottish nobleman. Early life He was the only son born to John Keith, 1st Earl of Kintore and the former Lady Margaret Hamilton. His two sisters were Lady Jean Keith (the wife ...

(1695–1718), who married Hon. Catherine Murray, the eldest daughter of David Murray, 4th Viscount of Stormont and Lady Jean Murray (a widow of James Murray, 2nd Earl of Annandale and the eldest daughter of

James Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Southesk James Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Southesk (c. 1600–1669) was a Scottish nobleman. He inherited the Earldom of Southesk from David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk. His son, Robert Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Southesk, succeeded him. References ...

). Lord Kintore died on 12 April 1715. He was succeeded by his only son, William.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kintore, John Keith, 1st Earl Of 1630s births 1715 deaths Nobility from Aberdeenshire Earls of Kintore Peers of Scotland created by Charles II Year of birth unknown 17th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish nobility Younger sons of earls Scottish knights Cavaliers Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Treasurers-depute Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland