ABERDEEN,
earldom of, a peerage possessed by a branch of the ancient family of
Gordon. In 1644, Sir John Gordon of Haddo was beheaded at Edinburgh, for
his adherence to the cause of Charles I. After the Restoration, Sir John
Gordon, his eldest son, was restored to the baronetage which had been
bestowed on his father in 1642, and to the estates of the family. He was
succeeded by his brother George, who was lord high chancellor of Scotland
in 1682, and the same year was created Earl of Aberdeen, Viscount
Formartine, Baron Haddo, Methlic, Tarves, and Kellie. In 1814 the fourth
earl of Aberdeen was created Viscount Gordon of Aberdeen, in the peerage
of the United Kingdom. See GORDON, p. 323. |