The Macdougalls--Bruce’s adventures with the Macdougalls of
Lorn--The Brooch of Lorn--The Stewarts acquire Lorn--Macdougalls
of Raray, Gallanach, and Scraba--Macalisters--Siol
Gillevray--Macneills--Partly of Norse descent--Two branches
of Barra and Gigha--Sea exploits of the former--Ruari the
Turbulent’s two families--Gigha Macneills--Macneills of
Gullochallie, Carskeay, and Tirfergus--The chiefship--Macneills
of Colonsay--Maclauchlans--Kindred to the Lamonds and MacEwens
of Otter--Present representative--Castle Lachlan--Force of the
clan--Cadets--MacEwens--Macdougall Campbells of Craignish--Policy of
Argyll Campbells--Lamonds--Massacred by the Campbells--The laird of
Lamond and MacGregor of Glenstrae.
MACDOUGALL.
[Illustration: BADGE.--Cypress; according to others, Bell Heath.]
The next clan that demands our notice is that of the Macdougalls,
Macdugalls, Macdovals, Macdowalls, for in all these ways is the
name spelled. The clan derives its descent from Dugall, who was
the eldest son of Somerled, the common ancestor of the clan Donald;
and it has hitherto been supposed, that Alexander de Ergadia, the
undoubted ancestor of the clan Dugall, who first appears in the year
1284, was the son of Ewen de Ergadia, who figured so prominently
at the period of the cession of the Isles. This opinion, however,
Mr Skene conceives to be erroneous; first, because Ewen would seem
to have died without leaving male issue; and, secondly, because it
is contradicted by the manuscript of 1450, which states that the
clan Dugall, as well as the clan Rory and the clan Donald, sprung
not from Ewen, but from Ranald, the son of Somerled, through his
son Dugall, from whom indeed they derived their name. Mr Smibert’s
remarks, however, on this point are deserving of attention. “It
seems very evident,” he says, “that they formed one of the primitive
branches of the roving or stranger tribes of visitants to Scotland
of the Irish, or at least Celtic race. Their mere name puts the fact
almost beyond doubt. It also distinguishes them clearly from the
Norsemen of the Western Isles, who were always styled _Fion-galls_,
that is, Fair Strangers (Rovers, or Pirates). The common account of
the origin of the Macdougalls is, that they sprung from a son or
grandson of Somerled, of the name of Dougal. But though a single
chieftain of that appellation may have flourished in the primitive
periods of Gaelic story, it appears most probable, from many
circumstances, that the clan derived their name from their descent
and character generally. They were Dhu-Galls, ‘black strangers.’
The son or grandson of Somerled, who is said to have specially
founded the Macdougall clan, lived in the 12th century. In the 13th,
however, they were numerous and strong enough to oppose Bruce, and
it is therefore out of the question to suppose that the descendant
of Somerled could do more than consolidate or collect an already
existing tribe, even if it is to be admitted as taking from him its
name.”[162]
[Illustration: MACDOUGALL. (Tartan)]
The first appearance which this family makes in history is at the
convention which was held in the year 1284. In the list of those
who attended on that occasion, we find the name of Alexander de
Ergadia, whose presence was probably the consequence of his holding
his lands by a crown charter; but from this period we lose sight of
him entirely, until the reign of Robert Bruce, when the strenuous
opposition offered by the Lord of Lorn and by his son John to the
succession of that king, restored his name to history, in connection
with that of Bruce. Alister having married the third daughter of
the Red Comyn, whom Bruce slew in the Dominican church at Dumfries,
became the mortal enemy of the king; and, upon more than one
occasion, during the early part of his reign, succeeded in reducing
him to the greatest straits.
Bruce, after his defeat at Methven, on the 19th of June 1306,
withdrew to the mountainous parts of Breadalbane, and approached the
borders of Argyleshire. His followers did not exceed three hundred
men, who, disheartened by defeat, and exhausted by privation, were
not in a condition to encounter a superior force. In this situation,
however, he was attacked by Macdougall of Lorn, at the head of a
thousand men, part of whom were Macnabs, who had joined the party
of John Baliol; and, after a severe conflict, he was compelled to
abandon the field. In the retreat from Dalree, where the battle had
been fought, the king was hotly pursued, and especially by three of
the clansmen of Lorn, probably personal attendants or _henchmen_
of the Macdougalls, who appear to have resolved to slay the Bruce
or die. These followed the retreating party, and when King Robert
entered a narrow pass, threw themselves suddenly upon him. The king
turning hastily round, cleft the skull of one with his battle-axe.
“The second had grasped the stirrup, and Robert fixed and held him
there by pressing down his foot, so that the captive was dragged
along the ground as if chained to the horse. In the meantime, the
third assailant had sprung from the hillside to the back of the
horse, and sat behind the king. The latter turned half round and
forced the Highlander forward to the front of the saddle, where ‘he
clave the head to the harns.’ The second assailant was still hanging
by the stirrup, and Robert now struck at him vigorously, and slew
him at the first blow.” Whether the story is true or not, and it is
by no means improbable, it shows the reputation for gigantic strength
which the doughty Bruce had in his day. It is said to have been in
this contest that the king lost the magnificent brooch, since famous
as the “brooch of Lorn.” This highly-prized trophy was long preserved
as a remarkable relic in the family of Macdougall of Dunolly, and
after having been carried off during the siege of Dunolly Castle,
the family residence, it was, about forty years ago, again restored
to the family.[163] In his day of adversity the Macdougalls were the
most persevering and dangerous of all King Robert’s enemies.
But the time for retribution at length arrived. When Robert Bruce
had firmly established himself on the throne of Scotland, one of the
first objects to which he directed his attention, was to crush his
old enemies the Macdougalls,[164] and to revenge the many injuries
he had suffered at their hands. With this view, he marched into
Argyleshire, determined to lay waste the country, and take possession
of Lorn. On advancing, he found John of Lorn and his followers posted
in a formidable defile between Ben Cruachan and Loch Awe, which it
seemed impossible to force, and almost hopeless to turn. But having
sent a party to ascend the mountain, gain the heights, and threaten
the enemy’s rear, Bruce immediately attacked them in front, with the
utmost fury. For a time the Macdougalls sustained the onset bravely;
but at length, perceiving themselves in danger of being assailed
in the rear, as well as the front, and thus completely isolated
in the defile, they betook themselves to flight. Unable to escape
from the mountain gorge, they were slaughtered without mercy, and
by this reverse, their power was completely broken. Bruce then laid
waste Argyleshire, besieged and took the castle of Dunstaffnage,
and received the submission of Alister of Lorn, the father of John,
who now fled to England. Alister was allowed to retain the district
of Lorn: but the rest of his possessions were forfeited and given
to Angus of Isla, who had all along remained faithful to the king’s
interests.
When John of Lorn arrived as a fugitive in England, King Edward was
making preparations for that expedition, which terminated in the
ever-memorable battle of Bannockburn. John was received with open
arms, appointed to the command of the English fleet, and ordered
to sail for Scotland, in order to co-operate with the land forces.
But the total defeat and dispersion of the latter soon afterwards
confirmed Bruce in possession of the throne; and being relieved from
the apprehension of any further aggression on the part of the English
kings he resolved to lose no time in driving the Lord of Lorn from
the Isles, where he had made his appearance with the fleet under
his command. Accordingly, on his return from Ireland, whither he
had accompanied his brother Edward, he directed his course towards
the Isles, and having arrived at Tarbet, is said to have caused his
galleys to be dragged over the isthmus which connects Kintyre and
Knapdale. This bold proceeding was crowned with success. The English
fleet was surprised and dispersed; and its commander having been made
prisoner, was sent to Dumbarton, and afterwards to Lochleven, where
he was detained in confinement during the remainder of King Robert’s
reign.
In the early part of the reign of David II., John’s son, John or
Ewen, married a grand-daughter of Robert Bruce, and through her
not only recovered the ancient possessions of his family, but even
obtained a grant of the property of Glenlyon. These extensive
territories, however, were not destined to remain long in the family.
Ewen died without male issue; and his two daughters having married,
the one John Stewart of Innermeath, and the other his brother Robert
Stewart, an arrangement was entered into between these parties, in
virtue of which the descendants of John Stewart acquired the whole of
the Lorn possessions, with the exception of the castle of Dunolly and
its dependencies, which remained to the other branch of the family;
and thus terminated the power of this branch of the descendants of
Somerled. The chieftainship of the clan now descended to the family
of Dunolly, which continued to enjoy the small portion which remained
to them of their ancient possessions until the year 1715, when the
representative of the family incurred the penalty of forfeiture for
his accession to the insurrection of that period; thus, by a singular
contrast of circumstances, “losing the remains of his inheritance
to replace upon the throne the descendants of those princes, whose
accession his ancestors had opposed at the expense of their feudal
grandeur.” The estate, however, was restored to the family in
1745, as a reward for their not having taken any part in the more
formidable rebellion of that year. In President Forbes’s Report on
the strength of the clans, the force of the Macdougalls is estimated
at 200 men.
The Macdougalls of Raray, represented by Macdougall of Ardencaple,
were a branch of the house of Lorn. The principal cadets of the
family of Donolly were those of Gallanach and Soraba. The Macdougalls
still hold possessions in Galloway, where, however, they usually
style themselves Macdowall.
MACALISTERS.
A clan at one time of considerable importance, claiming connection
with the great clan Donald, is the Macalisters, or MacAlesters,
formerly inhabiting the south of Knapdale, and the north of Kintyre
in Argyleshire. They are traced to Alister or Alexander, a son of
Angus Mor, of the clan Donald. Exposed to the encroachments of the
Campbells, their principal possessions became, ere long, absorbed by
different branches of that powerful clan. The chief of this sept
of the Macdonalds is Somerville MacAlester of Loup in Kintyre, and
Kennox in Ayrshire. In 1805 Charles Somerville MacAlester, Esq. of
Loup, assumed the name and arms of Somerville in addition to his own,
in right of his wife, Janet Somerville, inheritrix of the entailed
estate of Kennox, whom he had married in 1792.
From their descent from Alexander, eldest son of Angus Mor, Lord
of the Isles and Kintyre in 1281, the grandson of Somerled, thane
of Argyle, the MacAlesters claim to be the representatives, after
MacDonell of Glengarry, of the ancient Lords of the Isles, as heirs
male of Donald, grandson of Somerled.
After the forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles in 1493, the
MacAlesters became so numerous as to form a separate and independent
clan. At that period their chief was named John or Ian Dubh, whose
residence was at Ard Phadriuc or Ardpatrick in South Knapdale. One of
the family, Charles MacAlester, is mentioned as steward of Kintyre in
1481.
Alexander MacAlester was one of those Highland chieftains who were
held responsible, by the act “called the Black Band,” passed in 1587,
for the peaceable behaviour of their clansmen and the “broken men”
who lived on their lands. He died when his son, Godfrey or Gorrie
MacAlester, was yet under age.
In 1618 the laird of Loup was named one of the twenty barons and
gentlemen of the shire of Argyle who were made responsible for
the good rule of the earldom during Argyll’s absence. He married
Margaret, daughter of Colin Campbell of Kilberry, and though, as
a vassal of the Marquis of Argyll, he took no part in the wars of
the Marquis of Montrose, many of his clan fought on the side of the
latter.
The principal cadet of the family of Loup was MacAlester of Tarbert.
There is also MacAlister of Glenbarr, county of Argyle.
SIOL GILLEVRAY.
Under the head of the Siol or clan Gillevray, Mr Skene gives other
three clans said by the genealogists to have been descended from the
family of Somerled, and included by Mr Skene under the Gallgael.
The three clans are those of the Macneills, the Maclauchlans, and
the Macewens. According to the MS. of 1450, the Siol Gillevray are
descended from a certain Gillebride, surnamed King of the Isles,
who lived in the 12th century, and who derived his descent from a
brother of Suibne, the ancestor of the Macdonalds, who was slain in
the year 1034. Even Mr Skene, however, doubts the genealogy by which
this Gillebride is derived from an ancestor of the Macdonalds in the
beginning of the 11th century, but nevertheless, the traditionary
affinity which is thus shown to have existed between these clans
and the race of Somerled at so early a period, he thinks seems to
countenance the notion that they had all originally sprung from the
same stock. The original seat of this race appears to have been in
Lochaber. On the conquest of Argyle by Alexander II., they were
involved in the ruin which overtook all the adherents of Somerled;
with the exception of the Macneills, who consented to hold their
lands of the crown, and the Maclauchlans, who regained their former
consequence by means of marriage with an heiress of the Lamonds.
After the breaking up of the clan, the other branches appear to have
followed, as their chief, Macdougall Campbell of Craignish, the head
of a family, which is descended from the kindred race of MacInnes of
Ardgour.
MACNEILL.
[Illustration: BADGE.--Sea Ware.]
The Macneills consisted of two independent branches, the Macneills of
Barra and the Macneills of Gigha, said to be descended from brothers.
Their badge was the sea ware, but they had different armorial
bearings, and from this circumstance, joined to the fact that they
were often opposed to each other in the clan fights of the period,
and that the Christian names of the one, with the exception of Neill,
were not used by the other, Mr Gregory thinks the tradition of their
common descent erroneous. Part of their possessions were completely
separated, and situated at a considerable distance from the rest.
The clan Neill were among the secondary vassal tribes of the lords
of the Isles, and its heads appear to have been of Norse or Danish
origin. Mr Smibert thinks this probable from the fact that the
Macneills were lords of Castle Swen, plainly a Norse term. “The
clan,” he says,[165] “was in any case largely Gaelic, to a certainty.
We speak of the fundamental line of the chiefs mainly, when we say
that the Macneills appear to have at least shared the blood of the
old Scandinavian inhabitants of the western islands. The names of
those of the race first found in history are partly indicative of
such a lineage. The isle of Barra and certain lands in Uist were
chartered to a Macneill in 1427; and in 1472, a charter of the
Macdonald family is witnessed by Hector _Mactorquil_ Macneill, keeper
of Castle Swen. The appellation ‘Mac-Torquil,’ half Gaelic, half
Norse, speaks strongly in favour of the supposition that the two
races were at this very time in the act of blending with one people.
After all, we proceed not beyond the conclusion, that, by heirs male
or heirs female, the founders of the house possessed a sprinkling of
the blood of the ancient Norwegian occupants of the western isles and
coasts, interfused with that of the native Gael of Albyn, and also of
the Celtic visitants from Ireland. The proportion of Celtic blood,
beyond doubt, is far the largest in the veins of the clan generally.”
About the beginning of the 15th century, the Macneills were a
considerable clan in Knapdale, Argyleshire. As this district was not
then included in the sheriffdom of Argyle, it is probable that their
ancestor had consented to hold his lands of the crown.
The first of the family on record is Nigellus Og, who obtained
from Robert Bruce a charter of Barra and some lands in Kintyre.
His great-grandson, Gilleonan Roderick Muchard Macneill, in 1427,
received from Alexander, Lord of the Isles, a charter of that island.
In the same charter were included the lands of Boisdale in South
Uist, which lies about eight miles distant from Barra. With John
Garve Maclean he disputed the possession of that island, and was
killed by him in Coll. His grandson, Gilleonan, took part with John,
the old Lord of the Isles, against his turbulent son, Angus, and
fought on his side at the battle of Bloody Bay. He was chief of this
sept or division of the Macneills in 1493, at the forfeiture of the
lordship of the Isles.
The Gigha Macneills are supposed to have sprung from Torquil
Macneill, designated in his charter, “filius Nigelli,” who, in the
early part of the 15th century, received from the Lord of the Isles
a charter of the lands of Gigha and Taynish, with the constabulary
of Castle Sweyn, in Knapdale. He had two sons, Neill his heir, and
Hector, ancestor of the family of Taynish. Malcolm Macneill of Gigha,
the son of Neill, who is first mentioned in 1478, was chief of this
sept of the Macneills in 1493. After that period the Gigha branch
followed the banner of Macdonald of Isla and Kintyre, while the Barra
Macneills ranged themselves under that of Maclean of Dowart.
In 1545 Gilliganan Macneill of Barra was one of the barons and
council of the Isles who accompanied Donald Dubh, styling himself
Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross, to Ireland, to swear allegiance
to the king of England. His elder son, Roderick or Ruari Macneill,
was killed at the battle of Glenlivet, by a shot from a fieldpiece,
on 3d Oct. 1594. He left three sons--Roderick, his heir, called
Ruari the turbulent, John, and Murdo. During the memorable and
most disastrous feud which happened between the Macleans and the
Macdonalds at this period, the Barra Macneills and the Gigha branch
of the same clan fought on different sides.
The Macneills of Barra were expert seamen, and did not scruple to act
as pirates upon occasion. An English ship having been seized off the
island of Barra by Ruari the turbulent, Queen Elizabeth complained of
this act of piracy. The laird of Barra was in consequence summoned to
appear at Edinburgh, to answer for his conduct, but he treated the
summons with contempt. All the attempts made to apprehend him proving
unsuccessful, Mackenzie, tutor of Kintail, undertook to effect
his capture by a stratagem frequently put in practice against the
island chiefs when suspecting no hostile design. Under the pretence
of a friendly visit, he arrived at Macneill’s castle of Chisamul
(pronounced Kisimul), the ruins of which stand on an insulated rock
in Castlebay, on the south-east end of Barra, and invited him and
all his attendants on board his vessel. There they were well plied
with liquor, until they were all overpowered with it. The chief’s
followers were then sent on shore, while he himself was carried a
prisoner to Edinburgh. Being put upon his trial, he confessed his
seizure of the English ship, but pleaded in excuse that he thought
himself bound by his loyalty to avenge, by every means in his power,
the fate of his majesty’s mother, so cruelly put to death by the
queen of England. This politic answer procured his pardon, but his
estate was forfeited, and given to the tutor of Kintail. The latter
restored it to its owner, on condition of his holding it of him, and
paying him sixty merks Scots, as a yearly feu duty. It had previously
been held of the crown. Some time thereafter Sir James Macdonald
of Sleat married a daughter of the tutor of Kintail, who made over
the superiority to his son-in-law, and it is now possessed by Lord
Macdonald, the representative of the house of Sleat.
The old chief of Barra, Ruari the turbulent, had several sons by a
lady of the family of Maclean, with whom, according to an ancient
practice in the Highlands, he had _handfasted_, instead of marrying
her. He afterwards married a sister of the captain of the Clanranald,
and by her also he had sons. To exclude the senior family from the
succession, the captain of the Clanranald took the part of his
nephews, whom he declared to be the only legitimate sons of the
Barra chief. Having apprehended the eldest son of the first family
for having been concerned in the piratical seizure of a ship of
Bourdeaux, he conveyed him to Edinburgh for trial, but he died there
soon after. His brothers-german, in revenge, assisted by Maclean of
Dowart, seized Neill Macneill, the eldest son of the second family,
and sent him to Edinburgh, to be tried as an actor in the piracy of
the same Bourdeaux ship; and, thinking that their father was too
partial to their half brothers, they also seized the old chief, and
placed him in irons. Neill Macneill, called Weyislache, was found
innocent, and liberated through the influence of his uncle. Barra’s
elder sons, on being charged to exhibit their father before the
privy council, refused, on which they were proclaimed rebels, and
commission was given to the captain of the Clanranald against them.
In consequence of these proceedings, which occurred about 1613,
Clanranald was enabled to secure the peaceable succession of his
nephew to the estate of Barra, on the death of his father, which
happened soon after.[166]
The island of Barra and the adjacent isles are still possessed by the
descendant and representative of the family of Macneill. Their feudal
castle of Chisamul has been already mentioned. It is a building of
hexagonal form, strongly built, with a wall above thirty feet high,
and anchorage for small vessels on every side of it. Martin, who
visited Barra in 1703, in his _Description of the Western Islands_,
says that the Highland Chroniclers or sennachies alleged that the
then chief of Barra was the 34th lineal descendant from the first
Macneill who had held it. He relates that the inhabitants of this
and the other islands belonging to Macneill were in the custom of
applying to him for wives and husbands, when he named the persons
most suitable for them, and gave them a bottle of strong waters for
the marriage feast.
The chief of the Macneills of Gigha, in the first half of the 16th
century, was Neill Macneill, who was killed, with many gentlemen of
his tribe, in 1530, in a feud with Allan Maclean of Torlusk, called
_Ailen nan Sop_, brother of Maclean of Dowart. His only daughter,
Annabella, made over the lands of Gigha to her natural brother,
Neill. He sold Gigha to James Macdonald of Isla in 1554, and died
without legitimate issue in the latter part of the reign of Queen
Mary.
On the extinction of the direct male line, Neill Macneill vic Eachan,
who had obtained the lands of Taynish, became heir male of the
family. His descendant, Hector Macneill of Taynish, purchased in 1590
the island of Gigha from John Campbell of Calder, who had acquired
it from Macdonald of Isla, so that it again became the property
of a Macneill. The estates of Gigha and Taynish were possessed by
his descendants till 1780, when the former was sold to Macneill of
Colonsay, a cadet of the family.
The representative of the male line of the Macneills of Taynish
and Gigha, Roger Hamilton Macneill of Taynish, married Elizabeth,
daughter and heiress of Hamilton Price, Esq. of Raploch, Lanarkshire,
with whom he got that estate, and assumed, in consequence, the name
of Hamilton. His descendants are now designated of Raploch.
The principal cadets of the Gigha Macneills, besides the Taynish
family, were those of Gallochallie, Carskeay, and Tirfergus. Torquil,
a younger son of Lachlan Macneill Buy of Tirfergus, acquired the
estate of Ugadale in Argyleshire, by marriage with the heiress of
the Mackays in the end of the 17th century. The present proprietor
spells his name Macneal. From Malcolm Beg Macneill, celebrated in
Highland tradition for his extraordinary prowess and great strength,
son of John Oig Macneill of Gallochallie, in the reign of James VI.,
sprung the Macneills of Arichonan. Malcolm’s only son, Neill Oig, had
two sons, John, who succeeded him, and Donald Macneill of Crerar,
ancestor of the Macneills of Colonsay, now the possessors of Gigha.
Many cadets of the Macneills of Gigha settled in the north of Ireland.
Both branches of the clan Neill laid claim to the chiefship.
According to tradition, it has belonged, since the middle of the 16th
century, to the house of Barra. Under the date of 1550, a letter
appears in the register of the privy council, addressed to “Torkill
Macneill, chief and principal of the clan and surname of Macnelis.”
Mr Skene conjectures this Torkill to have been the hereditary
keeper of Castle Sweyn, and connected with neither branch of the
Macneills. He is said, however, to have been the brother of Neill
Macneill of Gigha, killed in 1530, as above mentioned, and to have,
on his brother’s death, obtained a grant of the non-entries of Gigha
as representative of the family. If this be correct, according to
the above designation, the chiefship was in the Gigha line. Torquil
appears to have died without leaving any direct succession.
The first of the family of Colonsay, Donald Macneill of Crerar, in
South Knapdale, exchanged that estate in 1700, with the Duke of
Argyll, for the islands of Colonsay and Oronsay. The old possessors
of these two islands, which are only separated by a narrow sound,
dry at low water, were the Macduffies or Macphies. Donald’s
great-grandson, Archibald Macneill of Colonsay, sold that island to
his cousin, John Macneill, who married Hester, daughter of Duncan
Macneill of Dunmore, and had six sons. His eldest son, Alexander,
younger of Colonsay, became the purchaser of Gigha. Two of his
other sons, Duncan, Lord Colonsay, and Sir John Macneill, have
distinguished themselves, the one as a lawyer and judge, and the
other as a diplomatist.
MACLACHLAN.
[Illustration: BADGE.--Mountain Ash.]
Maclachlan, or Maclauchlan, is the name of another clan classified
by Skene as belonging to the great race of the Siol Conn, and in the
MS., so much valued by this writer, of 1450, the Maclachlans are
traced to Gilchrist, a grandson of that Anradan or Henry, from whom
all the clans of the Siol Gillevray are said to be descended. They
possessed the barony of Strathlachlan in Cowal, and other extensive
possessions in the parishes of Glassrie and Kilmartin, and on Loch
Awe side, which were separated from the main seat of the family by
Loch Fyne.
They were one of those Gaelic tribes who adopted the oared galley
for their special device, as indicative of their connection, either
by residence or descent, with the Isles. An ancestor of the family,
Lachlan Mor, who lived in the 13th century, is described in the
Gaelic MS. of 1450, as “son of Patrick, son of Gilchrist, son of De
dalan, called the clumsy, son of Anradan, from whom are descended
also the clan Neill.”
[Illustration: MACLACHLAN. (Tartan)]
By tradition the Maclachlans are said to have come from Ireland,
their original stock being the O’Loughlins of Meath.
According to the Irish genealogies, the clan Lachlan, the Lamonds,
and the MacEwens of Otter, were kindred tribes, being descended from
brothers who were sons of De dalan above referred to, and tradition
relates that they took possession of the greater part of the district
of Cowal, from Toward Point to Strachur at the same time; the Lamonds
being separated from the MacEwens by the river of Kilfinan, and
the MacEwens from the Maclachlans by the stream which separates
the parishes of Kilfinan and Strath Lachlan. De dalan, the common
ancestor of these families, is stated in ancient Irish genealogies to
have been the grandson of Hugh Atlaman, the head of the great family
of O’Neils, kings of Ireland.
About 1230, Gilchrist Maclachlan, who is mentioned in the manuscript
of 1450 as chief of the family of Maclachlan at the time, is a
witness to a charter of Kilfinan granted by Laumanus, ancestor of the
Lamonds.
In 1292, Gilleskel Maclachlan got a charter of his lands in Ergadia
from Baliol.
In a document preserved in the treasury of Her Majesty’s Exchequer,
entitled “Les petitions de terre demandees en Escoce,” there is the
following entry,--“Item Gillescop Macloghlan ad demandi la Baronie de
Molbryde juvene, apelle Strath, que fu pris contre le foi de Roi.”
From this it appears that Gillespie Maclachlan was in possession
of the lands still retained by the family, during the occupation of
Scotland by Edward I. in 1296.[167]
In 1314, Archibald Maclachlan in Ergadia, granted to the Preaching
Friars of Glasgow forty shillings to be paid yearly out of his lands
of Kilbride, “juxta castrum meum quod dicitur Castellachlan.” He died
before 1322, and was succeeded by his brother Patrick. The latter
married a daughter of James, Steward of Scotland, and had a son,
Lachlan, who succeeded him. Lachlan’s son, Donald, confirmed in 1456,
the grant by his predecessor Archibald, to the Preaching Friars of
Glasgow of forty shillings yearly out of the lands of Kilbride, with
an additional annuity of six shillings and eightpence “from his lands
of Kilbryde near Castellachlan.”[168]
Lachlan, the 15th chief, dating from the time that written evidence
can be adduced, was served heir to his father, 23d September 1719.
He married a daughter of Stewart of Appin, and was killed at
Culloden, fighting on the side of Prince Charles. The 18th chief, his
great-grandson, Robert Maclachlan of Maclachlan, convener and one
of the deputy-lieutenants of Argyleshire, married in 1823, Helen,
daughter of William A. Carruthers of Dormont, Dumfries-shire, without
issue. His brother, the next heir, George Maclachlan, Esq., has
three sons and a daughter. The family seat, Castle Lachlan, built
about 1790, near the old and ruinous tower, formerly the residence
of the chiefs, is situated in the centre of the family estate, which
is eleven miles in length, and, on an average, a mile and a half
in breadth, and stretches in one continued line along the eastern
side of Loch Fyne. The effective force of the clan previous to the
rebellion of 1745, was estimated at 300 men. Their original seat,
according to Mr Skene, appears to have been in Lochaber, where a very
old branch of the family has from the earliest period been settled as
native men of the Camerons.
In Argyleshire also are the families of Maclachlan of Craiginterve,
Inchconnell, &c., and in Stirlingshire, of Auchintroig. The
Maclachlans of Drumblane in Monteith were of the Lochaber branch.
MACEWENS.
Upon a rocky promontory situated on the coast of Lochfyne, may still
be discerned the vestige of a building, called in Gaelic Chaistel
Mhic Eobhuin, or the castle of MacEwen. In the Old Statistical
Account of the parish of Kilfinnan, quoted by Skene, this MacEwen
is described as the chief of a clan, and proprietor of the northern
division of the parish called Otter; and in the manuscript of 1450,
which contains the genealogy of the _Clan Eoghan na Hoitreic_,
or Clan Ewen of Otter, they are derived from Anradan, the common
ancestor of the Maclauchlans and the Macneills. This family soon
became extinct, and their property gave title to a branch of the
Campbells, by whom it appears to have been subsequently acquired,
though in what manner we have no means of ascertaining.
SIOL EACHERN.
Under the name of _Siol Eachern_ are included by Mr Skene the
Macdougall Campbells of Craignish, and the Lamonds of Lamond, both
very old clans in Argyleshire, and supposed to have been originally
of the same race.
MACDOUGALL CAMPBELLS OF CRAIGNISH.
“The policy of the Argyll family,” says Mr Skene, “led them to employ
every means for the acquisition of property, and the extension of the
clan. One of the arts which they used for the latter purpose was to
compel those clans which had become dependant upon them to adopt the
name of Campbell; and this, when successful, was generally followed
at an after period, by the assertion that that clan was descended
from the house of Argyll. In general, the clans thus adopted into the
race of Campbell, are sufficiently marked out by their being promoted
only to the honour of their being an illegitimate branch; but the
tradition of the country invariably distinguishes between the real
Campbells, and those who were compelled to adopt their name.” Of
the policy in question, the Campbells of Craignish are said to have
afforded a remarkable instance. According to the Argyll system, as
here described, they are represented as the descendants of Dugall,
an illegitimate son of a Campbell, who lived in the twelfth century.
But the common belief amongst the people is, that their ancient
name was MacEachern, and that they were of the same race with the
Macdonalds; nor are there wanting circumstances which seem to give
countenance to this tradition. Their arms are charged with the galley
of the Isles, from the mast of which depends a shield exhibiting
some of the distinctive bearings of the Campbells; and, what is even
more to the purpose, the manuscript of 1450 contains a genealogy
of the MacEacherns, in which they are derived from a certain Nicol
MacMurdoch, who lived in the twelfth century. Besides, when the
MacGillevrays and MacIans of Morvern and Ardgour were broken up and
dispersed, many of their septs, although not resident on the property
of the Craignish family, acknowledged its head as their chief. But
as the MacGillevrays and the MacIans were two branches of the same
clan, which had separated as early as the twelfth century; and as
the MacEacherns appear to have been of the same race, Murdoch, the
first of the clan, being contemporary with Murdoch the father of
Gillebride, the ancestor of the Siol Gillevray; it may be concluded
that the Siol Eachern and the MacIans were of the same clan; and
this is further confirmed by the circumstance, that there was an
old family of MacEacherns which occupied Kingerloch, bordering on
Ardgour, the ancient property of the MacIans. That branch of the
Siol Eachern which settled at Craignish, were called Clan Dugall
Craignish, and obtained, it is said, the property known by this
name from the brother of Campbell of Lochow, in the reign of David
II.[169] The lands of Colin Campbell of Lochow having been forfeited
in that reign, his brother, Gillespie Campbell, appears to have
obtained a grant of them from the crown; and it is not improbable
that the clan Dugall Craignish acquired from the latter their right
to the property of Craignish. After the restoration of the Lochow
family, by the removal of the forfeiture, that of Craignish were
obliged to hold their lands, not of the crown, but of the house of
Argyll. Nevertheless, they continued for some time a considerable
family, maintaining a sort of independence, until at length, yielding
to the influence of that policy which has already been described,
they merged, like most of the neighbouring clans, in that powerful
race by whom they were surrounded.[170]
LAMOND.
[Illustration: BADGE.--Crab-Apple Tree.]
It is an old and accredited tradition in the Highlands, that the
Lamonds or Lamonts were the most ancient proprietors of Cowal, and
that the Stewarts, Maclauchlans, and Campbells obtained possession
of their property in that district by marriage with daughters of
the family. At an early period a very small part only of Cowal was
included in the sheriffdom of Upper Argyle, the remainder being
comprehended in that of Perth. It may, therefore, be presumed that,
on the conquest of Argyle by Alexander II., the lord of Lower Cowal
had submitted to the king, and obtained a crown charter. But, in
little more than half a century after that event, we find the High
Steward in possession of Lower Cowal, and the Maclauchlans in
possession of Strathlachlan. It appears, indeed, that, in 1242,
Alexander the High Steward of Scotland, married Jean, the daughter
of James, son of Angus MacRory, who is styled Lord of Bute; and,
from the manuscript of 1450, we learn that, about the same period,
Gilchrist Maclauchlan married the daughter of Lachlan MacRory;
from which it is probable that this Roderic or Rory was the third
individual who obtained a crown charter for Lower Cowal, and that
by these intermarriages the property passed from his family into
the hands of the Stewarts and the Machlauchlans. The coincidence of
these facts, with the tradition above-mentioned, would seem also to
indicate that Angus MacRory was the ancestor of the Lamonds.
After the marriage of the Steward with the heiress of Lamond, the
next of that race of whom any mention is made is Duncan MacFercher,
and “Laumanus,” son of Malcolm, and grandson of the same Duncan,
who appear to have granted to the monks of Paisley a charter of the
lands of Kilmore, near Lochgilp, and also of the lands “which they
and their predecessors held at Kilmun” (_quas nos et antecessores
nostri apud Kilmun habuerunt_). In the same year, “Laumanus,” the
son of Malcolm, also granted a charter of the lands of Kilfinnan,
which, in 1295, is confirmed by Malcolm, the son and heir of the
late “Laumanus” (_domini quondam Laumanis_). But in an instrument,
or deed, dated in 1466, between the monastery of Paisley and John
Lamond of Lamond, regarding the lands of Kilfinan, it is expressly
stated, that these lands had belonged to the ancestors of John
Lamond; and hence, it is evident, that the “Laumanus,” mentioned in
the previous deed, must have been one of the number, if not indeed
the chief and founder of the family. “From Laumanus,” says Mr Skene,
“the clan appear to have taken the name of Maclaman or Lamond, having
previously to this time borne the name of Macerachar, and Clan Mhic
Earachar.”
The connection of this clan with that of Dugall Craignish, is
indicated by the same circumstances which point out the connection
of other branches of the tribe; for whilst the Craignish family
preserved its power it was followed by a great portion of the Clan
Mhic Earachar, although it possessed no feudal right to their
services. “There is one peculiarity connected with the Lamonds,”
says Mr Skene, “that although by no means a powerful clan, their
genealogy can be proved by charters, at a time when most other
Highland families are obliged to have recourse to tradition, and the
genealogies of their ancient sennachies; but their antiquity could
not protect the Lamonds from the encroachments of the Campbells, by
whom they were soon reduced to as small a portion of their original
possessions in Lower Cowal, as the other Argyleshire clans had been
of theirs.”[171] The Lamonds were a clan of the same description as
the Maclauchlans, and, like the latter, they have, notwithstanding
“the encroachments of the Campbells,” still retained a portion of
their ancient possessions. The chief of this family is Lamond of
Lamond.
According to Nisbet, the clan Lamond were originally from Ireland,
but whether they sprung from the Dalriadic colony, or from a still
earlier race in Cowal, it is certain that they possessed, at a very
early period, the superiority of the district. Their name continued
to be the prevailing one till the middle of the 17th century. In June
1646, certain chiefs of the clan Campbell in the vicinity of Dunoon
castle, determined upon obtaining the ascendency, took advantage of
the feuds and disorders of the period, to wage a war of extermination
against the Lamonds. The massacre of the latter by the Campbells,
that year, formed one of the charges against the Marquis of Argyll in
1661, although he does not seem to have been any party to it.
An interesting tradition is recorded of one of the lairds of Lamond,
who had unfortunately killed, in a sudden quarrel, the son of
MacGregor of Glenstrae, taking refuge in the house of the latter, and
claiming his protection, which was readily granted, he being ignorant
that he was the slayer of his son. On being informed, MacGregor
escorted him in safety to his own people. When the MacGregors were
proscribed, and the aged chief of Glenstrae had become a wanderer,
Lamond hastened to protect him and his family, and received them into
his house.
FOOTNOTES:
[162] _Clans_, 44, 45.
[163] Mr Smibert (_Clans_, p. 46) thus describes this interesting
relic:--“That ornament, as observed, is silver, and consists of
a circular plate, about four inches in diameter, having a tongue
like that of a common buckle on the under side. The upper side
is magnificently ornamented. First, from the margin rises a
neatly-formed rim, with hollows cut in the edge at certain distances,
like the embrasures in an embattled wall. From a circle within this
rim rise eight round tapering obelisks, about an inch and a quarter
high, finely cut, and each studded at top with a river pearl. Within
this circle of obelisks there is a second rim, also ornamented
with carved work, and within which rises a neat circular case,
occupying the whole centre of the brooch, and slightly overtopping
the obelisks. The exterior of this case, instead of forming a plain
circle, projects into eight semi-cylinders, which relieve it from
all appearance of heaviness. The upper part is likewise carved very
elegantly, and in the centre there is a large gem. This case may be
taken off, and within there is a hollow, which might have contained
any small articles upon which a particular value was set.”
[164] In referring to this incident in the first part of this work
(p. 63), the name “Stewart” (which had crept into the old edition)
was allowed to remain instead of that of “Macdougall.” The Stewarts
did not possess Lorn till some years after.
[165] _Clans_, p. 84.
[166] _Gregory’s Highlands and Isles_, p. 346.
[167] See _Sir Francis Palgrave’s Scottish Documents_, vol. i. p. 319.
[168] _Munimenta Fratrum Predicatorum de Glasgu. Maitland Club._
[169] “Nisbet, that acute heraldist,” says Smibert, “discovered an
old seal of the family, on which the words are, as nearly as they
can be made out, _S(igillum) Dugalli de Craignish_, showing that the
Campbells of Craignish were simply of the Dhu-Gall race. The seal is
very old, though noticed only by its use in 1500. It has the grand
mark upon it of the bearings of all the Gael of the Western Coasts,
namely, the Oared Galley.”
[170] Skene’s _Highlanders_.
[171] Skene’s _Highlanders_, vol. ii. part ii. chap. 4.