David Seton of Parbroath facts for kids

David Seton of Parbroath was an important person in the Scottish court who worked for the king. He was the son of Gilbert Seton and Helen Leslie. His mother's father was the Earl of Rothes. Sadly, his father Gilbert died in a battle in 1547. David then took over his grandfather's estate.

His family home was Parbroath Castle in Creich, Fife. His last name was sometimes spelled "Seyton" or "Seytoun".

Working for the King

In March 1588, David Seton was given the job of looking after the East and West Lomond Hills in Fife. These hills are close to Falkland Palace. From November 1588 to 1597, he was Scotland's Comptroller. This meant he managed the king's money and household spending.

On May 25, 1590, he became the Chamberlain of Dunfermline for Anne of Denmark, who was the Queen. This job later went to William Schaw. His work as Comptroller sometimes left him with money problems.

The King's chief minister, John Maitland, gave David Seton money from Queen Anne's dowry. David invested this money in Scottish towns. King James VI later took the money back by 1594. Much of it was used to pay for big parties, like the one for Prince Henry's baptism.

In May 1590, David made a report about the money coming in and out of Dunfermline Abbey. This was for two Danish ambassadors, Steen Bille and Niels Krag. They came to Scotland to check Queen Anne's marriage agreement. The report showed money was spent on church ministers' wages and on people like John Gibb, who looked after Dunfermline Palace.

Fun Agreement and Disputes

On May 6, 1593, David Seton and 15 friends, including the Duke of Lennox, signed a funny agreement. They promised not to wear fancy gold and silver decorations on their clothes for a year. If someone broke the promise, they had to pay for a big dinner for everyone. This agreement was partly because some fake gold and silver threads were being used that quickly lost their shine.

Other people who signed this agreement included Lord Home, the Earl of Mar, Lord Spynie, and Sir George Home.

In 1593, David was involved in a disagreement about the border of Torwood forest. This was with John Drummond, whose son was the poet William Drummond of Hawthornden. The Torwood belonged to the Chapel Royal and was next to Torwood Castle. Another person, Alexander Forrester of Garden, even gathered armed men to try and scare the people who were checking the border.

In 1594, the Parliament of Scotland recognized that David had spent more money than he had in his Comptroller accounts. He had overspent by £8,297 Scots.

David Seton died in 1601.

The Seton Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots at Lyme Park

The writer Robert Seton mentioned a tiny portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots that was passed down in David Seton's family. The queen's hair in this portrait was described as "Titian gold." The background was dark blue, and it had the words "Maria Regina Scotorum" (Mary, Queen of Scots).

This portrait looks similar to another picture of Mary, Queen of Scots at Lyme Park. That picture was made in the 1700s. It was likely copied from an engraving made around 1715. The original tiny portrait for that engraving belonged to James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton. Another copy of this portrait belonged to William Maule of Panmure. However, the woman in these pictures does not look like other well-known portraits of the queen.

Family Life

Around 1590, David Seton married Mary Gray. She was the daughter of Patrick Gray, 5th Lord Gray and Barbara Ruthven.

Their children included:

• George Seton of Parbroath, who married Jean Sinclair.
• John Seton, who moved to the Virginia Colony in America in 1635.
• Margaret Seton, who married John Scrimgeour. He was the son of James Scrimgeour of Dudhope. As "Lady Dudhope," she was a friend of Jane Drummond, Countess of Roxburghe. Jane bought her clothes and visited her at Dudhope in 1619.
• Mary Seton, who married David Skene of Potterton. Their family became known as the Skene of Rubislaw family.
• Elizabeth Seton.