Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Seton, George

by Thomas Finlayson Henderson

SETON, GEORGE (1822–1908), Scottish genealogist, herald, and legal writer, only son of George Seton of the East India Company's service, and Margaret, daughter of James Hunter of Seaside, was born at Perth on 25 June 1822. He was the representative of the Setons of Cariston, senior coheir of Sir Thomas Seton of Olivestob and heir of a line of Mary Seton, one of ’the Four Maries' of the Queen of Scots. He was brought up by his widowed mother, and after attending the High School and University of Edinburgh, entered on 11 Nov. 1841 Exeter College, Oxford (B.A. 1845 and M.A. 1848). He was called to the Scottish bar in 1846, but did not persevere in seeking to obtain a practice. In 1854 he was appointed secretary to the registrar-general for Scotland in Edinburgh, and in 1862 superintendent of t;he civil service examinations in Scotland; he held both offices till 1889. He was one of the founders of the St. Andrews Boat Club (Edinburgh) in 1846, the first vice-chairman of the Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor, a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Society of 'Antiquaries of Scotland. Keenly interested in the characteristics of different 'nations and peoples, he spent much of his time in travelling, visiting Russia, Canada, and South Africa. Over six feet five inches in height, he was also of fine athletic build and lithe and active to an advanced age. Owing to his great height he occupied the position of right-hand man in the royal bodyguard of Scottish archers. He raised in 1859 a company of forty volunteer grenadier artillerymen (Midlothian coast artillery), all over six feet high. He died in Edinburgh on 14 Nov. 1908. By Sarah Elizabeth (d. 1883), second daughter of James Hunter of Thurston, whom he married in 1849, he had a surviving son, George, engaged in Indian tea-planting industry at first in Calcutta and then in London, and three daughters, of whom two predeceased him.

Seton's two principal works are 'The Law and Practice of Heraldry in Scotland' (Edinburgh, 1863), a standard work, and the minutely learned and sumptuous 'Memoirs of an Ancient House: a History of the Family of Seton during Eight Centuries' (2 vols., privately printed, Edinburgh, 1896). Two other privately printed books are 'The Life of Alexander Seton, Earl of Dumfermline. Lord Chancellor of Scotland ' (Edinburgh, 1882) and 'The House of Moncrieff' for Sir Alexander Moncrieff, K.C.B. (Edinburgh, 1890). His other works include:

1. 'Genealogical Tables of the Kings of England and Scotland,' 1845.
2. 'Treatment of Social Evils,' 1853.
3. 'Sketch of the History and Imperfect Condition of the Parochial Records of Scotland,' 1854.
4. 'Practical Analysis of the Acts relating to the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages,' 1854; 5th edit. 1861.
5. 'Cakes, Leeks, Puddings, and Potatoes' (a lecture on the national characteristics of the United Kingdom), 1864; 2nd edit. 1865.
6. 'Gossip about Letters and Letter Writers,' 1870.
7. 'The Convent of St. Catherine of Sienna near Edinburgh,' 1871.
8. 'The Social Pyramid,' 1878.
9. 'St. Kilda, Past and Present,' 1878.
10. 'Amusements for the People,' 1880.
11. 'Budget of Anecdotes relating to the Current Century,' 1886; 3rd edit. 1903.

He also contributed various papers to the 'Transactions' of the Edinburgh Royal Society and the Scottish Society of Antiquaries.

[Who's Who; The Times, 16 Nov. 1908; Scotsman, 16 Nov. 1908; Seton's History of the House of Seton, which includes a biography of himself; Foster's Alumni Oxonienses.]

T. F. H.