David Seton of Parbroath

David Seton of Parbroath (d. 1601) was a Scottish courtier and administrator.

He was the son of Gilbert Seton of Parbroath and Helen Leslie.

His home was Parbroath Castle in Creich, Fife. His surname was sometimes written "Seyton" or Seytoun".

In March 1588 he was made keeper of the East and West Lomond Hills of Fife, hills near Falkland Palace. He was Comptroller of Scotland, in charge of a branch of royal finance and expenses of the household from November 1588 to 1597. On 25 May 1590 he was made Chamberlain of Dunfermline for Anne of Denmark, an office which passed to William Schaw.[1] The position of comptroller left him with debts.[2]

The Chancellor John Maitland passed the Danish dowry money given to James VI to Seton.[3] He invested it with several Scottish "burghs" or towns at 10% interest. James VI withdrew the money by 1594, much of it to finance the masque at the baptism of Prince Henry.[4]

In May 1590 Seton drew up a rental of the income and expenditure of the lands of Dunfermline Abbey for the benefit of two Danish ambassadors, Steen Bille and Niels Krag who came to Scotland to assess Anna of Denmark's marriage settlement. Outgoings include the wages of several kirk ministers and of John Gibb, keeper of Dunfermline Palace and others.[5]

In 1593 he was involved in a boundary dispute at Torwood forest with John Drummond of Slipperfield, father of the poet William Drummond of Hawthornden. The Torwood belonged the lands of the Chapel Royal and had a boundary with Forrester's Mansion, or Torwood Castle. Alexander Forrester of Garden assembled a company of armed men to intimidate commissioners intemding to walk the boundary.[6]

He died in 1601.

Marriage and children

David Seton married Mary Gray, daughter of Patrick Gray, 5th Lord Gray and Marion Ogilvy.

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References
  1. George Seton, History of the family of Seton during eight centuries, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1896) pp. 881-2
  2. Julian Goodare, 'The debts of James VI of Scotland', The Economic History Review, 62:4 (November 2009), pp. 926-952 at pp. 934, 937.
  3. Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), p. 54.
  4. A. Montgomerie, 'King James VI's Tocher Gude and a Local Authorities Loan of 1590', Scottish Historical Review, 37:123:1 (April 1958), pp. 11-16.
  5. Annie I. Cameron, Calendar of State Papers: 1593-1595, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 109-114.
  6. Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), pp. 98-100.
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