George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton

George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton (c. 1641 – 6 March 1704) was a Scottish Royalist, Privy Councillor, and Sheriff of Haddingtonshire. He was in Europe for his studies, a boy of under ten years of age, when he succeeded his grandfather in the family estates in 1650. Notwithstanding his youth, a heavy fine of £2000 was imposed on him by Cromwell's Act Of Grace and Pardon in 1654.

His tutor and uncle was Lord Kingston, by whom he was brought up "in the true Protestant religion", thus severing the long attachment of his family to the Catholic Church. On 19 June 1656, Lord Kingston reported to the Haddington Presbytery by order of the Synod that Lord Winton had hitherto been educated in the Protestant Religion and his education should still be carefully attended to.

Lord Winton was accomplished in the knowledge of arms, and gave proof of his skill and gallantry serving with the French army at the siege of Besançon in 1660. Returning to England with a brilliant reputation he was well received by King Charles II, who appointed him a member of the Privy Council of Scotland, and give him command of the East Lothian Regiment of Foot against the Covenanters in 1666, following which he defeated the rebels at Pentland, and also, in 1679 he again commanded the same regiment "upon his own charges, with all his vassals, in noble equipage, in his Majestie's army of 14,000 men", at Bothwell Bridge, were the rebels were totally defeated. After the battle he entertained the Duke of Monmouth and all the Scottish and English officers with at Seton.

In 1682 he was appointed Sheriff of Haddingtonshire, and in May of the same year he accompanied the Duke of York from London to Edinburgh in the frigate Gloucester, which was wrecked, with great loss of life, on Yarmouth Sands. An interesting letter written to Mr. Hewer from Edinburgh, on Monday 8 May 1682, on this disaster is found in the correspondence of Samuel Pepys who was also with the Duke of York. In 1685, Lord Winton was appointed by King James II as Grand Master of the Household.

...
Wikipedia