Genealogical Tables

Only the branches that could be linked to the main line of the Earls Marischal are described below, although this comprised all the most important branches. Note that some children before the second Earl Marischal are omitted and children after the hereditary successors are not necessarily placed in birth order. ‘Mr’ indicated the contemporary designation for someone possessing a university degree. Numerals indicate the generations from the first individual on each table, so 1 represents the first generation, 2 the second, and so forth.

Numbering the Earls Marischal

It is important to note that in previous publications I have erroneously referred to George as the fourth rather than the fifth Earl Marischal, following the convention of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. I am very grateful to Ian Dickson for pointing out this important oversight.

The 1699 genealogist of the Keiths, then Alexander Nisbett's 1722 System of Heraldry, counted three William Earls Marischal before George – noting William the first earl in 1455, then William, the second earl, known as ‘Harken and Take Heed’, then his grandson, William, the third earl, called ‘William of the Tower’. The Scots Peerage refined the list, adding an additional earl, establishing that William the first Earl Marischal succeeded in 1431 and died 1463; William the second Earl Marischal, his son, died 1483; then William the third Earl Marischal (‘Harken and Take Heed’), his son, died 1527; then William the fourth Earl (‘William of the Tower’), his grandson, died in 1581. In the old series the second and third Earls Marischal had been combined.

Thomas Innes revised this list in 1927, establishing that the actual first Earl Marischal was the son of the man previously thought to be the first. The man who was the real first earl had succeeded earlier than previously thought in 1446, being made earl in 1458. However, although the ODNB followed this revised convention, it managed to recombine the second and third Earls Marischal.

Appendix 1. Descent of the Earls Marischal from Hervey de Keith to Edward de Keith