Navorska tree » George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly (1535-1576)

Personal data George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly 

  • He was born in the year 1535 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.
  • (note1) .Source 1
    Source: Debra Lee Andersen, Lisa Maria Jensen, Margie Mize, et al.
  • He died on October 19, 1576 in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, he was 41 years old.
  • He is buried on October 20, 1576 in Blackfriars, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • A child of George Gordon and Elizabeth Keith
  • This information was last updated on June 15, 2025.

Household of George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly

He is married to Anne Hamilton.

They got married on August 12, 1558 at Scotland, he was 23 years old.


Child(ren):

  1. Margaret Gordon  1564-1638 


Notes about George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly

Sources: Author: Andersen, Debra Lee; Jensen, Lisa Maria; Mize, Margie; et al.; Title: "George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: vii June MMXXV)

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L5RB-4W9

"... George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly Last Changed: April 30, 2024 Jules [NN-family name not given] Sex Male Last Changed: December 8, 2024 Catherine Sutherland

Birth 1535 Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Last Changed: January 23, 2023 Luke Christiaan Patterson

Death 19 October 1576 Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Last Changed: July 5, 2022 Robert P. Campbell

Burial 20 October 1576 Blackfriars, Edinburgh, Scotland ... Last Changed: January 28, 2025 Sharon Cuthbertson

Alternate Name Also Known As George Gordon of Gight
Alternate Name Also Known As George Earl of Huntly Gordon V

Occupation from 1556 Sheriff of Inverness

Spouses & Children

George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly Male 1535-1576 L5RB-4W9 [<-ancestor]
Lady Anne Hamilton Countess of Huntly Female 1535-1574 LY4W-49R [<-ancestress]
Marriage 12 August 1558 Scotland

Children (8)

[1] George Gordon 1st Marquess of Huntly Male 1562-1636 LZGB-32F
[2] Margaret Gordon Female 1564-1638 GH51-26D
[3] Katherine Gordon Female 1564-Deceased KZPK-S8F
[4] Alexander Gordon of Strathdon Male 1565-1622 LZ86-BF5
[5] William Gordon Male 1565-1622 KNBT-TSR
[6] Charles Gordon Male 1567-Deceased G1H7-KCM
[7] Countess Jean Gordon Female 1569-1615 LRCJ-PGZ
[8] John Gordon Male 1574-Deceased G1HW-G4Z

Parents & Siblings

George Gordon 4th Earl of Huntly Male 1513-1562 M4ZF-WT6
Elizabeth Keith Countess of Huntly Female 1510-1562 L4TH-FPJ
Marriage 27 March 1530 Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Children (12)

[1] Elizabeth Gordon Countess of Atholl Female 1530-1557 GVNW-9ZD
[2] Alexander Gordon Male 1531-1553 G1GG-LDV
[3] George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly Male 1535-1576 L5RB-4W9
[4] Sir John Gordon of Findlater Male 1536-1562 G9KB-BVX
[5] Robert Gordon Male 1537-1572 G1GG-J3V
[6] William Gordon Male 1537-Deceased G1GP-Q6K
[7] Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun Male 1538-1594 LJK3-RSQ
[8] James Gordon Male 1541-1620 MR6F-DD3
[9] Adam Gordon of Auchindoun Male 1545-1580 GP1Q-898
[10] Lady Jean Gordon Countess of Sutherland Female 1546-1629 M994-LTX
[11] Margaret Gordon Female 1548-1606 LBHW-H61
[12] Thomas Gordon Male 1550-1584 LH5W-4YY

Brief Life History

On 8 February 1562 he was found guilty of treason, and narrowly escaped a death sentence.
He held the office of Lord Chancellor [Scotland] from March 1564 to 1567. He succeeded to the title of 5th Earl of Huntly in 1567, after being restored to this title.
He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography (http://www.thepeerage.com/p2073.htm#i20728)

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George Gordon Died 19 October 1576 Strathbogie Title 5th Earl of Huntly Tenure 1565-1576 Nationality Scottish Offices Sheriff of Inverness Lord Chancellor of Scotland Predecessor George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly Successor George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly Spouse(s) Anne Hamilton Parents George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly Elizabeth Keith
George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly (died 19 October 1576, Strathbogie), was Lord Chancellor of Scotland and major conspirator of his time.

Contents

Biography

Second son of the 4th Earl, he was Sheriff of Inverness from 1556. As Captain of Badenoch, he was in charge of carrying letters send from Edinburgh to Mary of Guise in Inverness from Dunkeld throughout the summer of 1556.[1] Mary, Queen of Scots came north to reduce the power of the Gordons and take Inverness Castle in 1562. The Earl was captured at Corrichie with his other sons, John Gordon and Adam Gordon, and the Earl suddenly died. John, the eldest, was executed three days later. George (called Lord Gordon) was imprisoned at Kinneil House.[2] He was attainted and sentenced to death for treason in 1563. He was then imprisoned at Dunbar castle until the marriage of Queen Mary to Darnley in 1565, when his lands and dignities were nominally restored.[3]

He allied himself with James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who was married to his sister Jean, and joined Queen Mary at Dunbar after Rizzio's murder in 1566. He became Lord Chancellor of Scotland in 1567, and joined Bothwell in the plot to murder the Regent Moray at Jedburgh. He signed the bond at Craigmillar Castle for Darnley's murder, and accompanied Bothwell and Mary on the visit to Darnley before his murder.

His estates were fully restored after Bothwell's acquittal in 1567. Bothwell's divorce from his sister was facilitated by his influence over her, and he witnessed the marriage contract between Mary and Bothwell. He connived at the capture of the Queen, and accompanied her to Edinburgh, escaping to the north after her flight. He joined the partisans at Dumbarton Castle, and after a temporary agreement with Regent Moray he conspired for her deliverance from Loch Leven Castle in 1567. After the Queen's escape to England in 1568, he held all the north in alliance with Argyll, but received Mary's order to disperse.

Huntly made an agreement with Regent Moray at St Andrews on 14 May 1569. Huntly was to make up his quarrel with the Earl of Morton, repress rebellion amongst his former allies, and surrender a royal cannon kept at Huntly Castle. In return, Regent Moray would give the Earl and his followers a remission for all their crimes against the King since 11 June 1567, and promised an Act of Parliament to forgive his role as 'pretended Lieutenant to the Queen's Grace' between August 1568 and March 1569.[4]

After this temporary submission, continuing the Marian civil war, he gained possession of Edinburgh Castle, held a parliament, and captured Regent Lennox at Stirling. His brother Adam Gordon of Auchindoun was his lieutenant in the north, and fought for Queen Mary in Aberdeenshire and the Mearns.

In 1572 the Earl came to terms with the Regent Morton.

Family
He married Anne, daughter of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and had a daughter Jean, and his successor, George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly.[5]

Sources
Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 10, (1913), 314.
Bain, Joseph, ed., Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), p. 662, 665, 668
http://thepeerage.com/p2073.htm
Miscellany of the Spalding Club, vol. 3 (1846), 241-245.
http://thepeerage.com/p2073.htm

5th Earl of Huntly, son of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly and Elizabeth Keith. He married Lady Anne Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran and Lady Margaret Douglas. He was much involved with the troubles of Mary Queen of Scots. He was Chancellor of Scotland. He was killed at the Battle of Corrichie, fighting against James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, who was supporting the queen. (Sources: The Peerage; A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland by R. Gordon, p. 142)"
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Timeline George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly

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Ancestors (and descendant) of George Gordon

John Gordon
1479-1517
Margaret Stewart
1497-1562
George Gordon
1513-1562

George Gordon
1535-1576

1558

Anne Hamilton
1535-1574

Margaret Gordon
1564-1638

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    Historical events

    Day of marriage August 12, 1558

    • Graaf Filips III (Oostenrijks Huis) was from 1555 till 1581 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Graafschap Holland)
    • In the year 1558: Source: Wikipedia
      • January 7 » French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
      • April 24 » Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
      • July 13 » Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines.
      • October 17 » Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
      • November 17 » Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England.

    Day of burial October 20, 1576

    • Graaf Filips III (Oostenrijks Huis) was from 1555 till 1581 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Graafschap Holland)
    • In the year 1576: Source: Wikipedia
      • January 20 » The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
      • March 25 » Jerome Savage takes out a sub-lease to start the Newington Butts Theatre outside London.
      • May 1 » Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
      • July 11 » While exploring the North Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, Martin Frobisher sights Greenland, mistaking it for the hypothesized (but non-existent) island of "Frisland".
      • November 4 » Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captures Antwerp (after three days the city is nearly destroyed).
      • November 8 » Eighty Years' War: Pacification of Ghent: The States General of the Netherlands meet and unite to oppose Spanish occupation.
    

    Same birth/death day

    Source: Wikipedia


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    The Navorska tree publication was prepared by .contact the author
    When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
    David Allen Navorska, "Navorska tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/navorska-tree/I48615.php : accessed December 22, 2025), "George Gordon 5th Earl of Huntly (1535-1576)".