known regarding the origin of the Grants. They have been said to
be of Danish, English, French, Norman, and of Gaelic extraction;
but each of these suppositions depends for support upon conjecture
alone, and amidst so many conflicting opinions it is difficult to fix
upon the most probable. It is maintained by the supporters of their
Gaelic origin, that they are a branch of the Macgregors, and in this
opinion they are certainly borne out by the ancient and unvarying
tradition of the country; for their Norman origin, I have upon
examination entirely failed in discovering any further reason than
that their name may be derived from the French, grand or great, and
that they occasionally use the Norman form of de Grant. The latter
reason, however, is not of any force, for it is impossible to trace
an instance of their using the form de Grant until the 15th century;
on the contrary, the form is invariably Grant or le Grant, and on
the very first appearance of the family it is ‘dictus Grant.’ It is
certainly not a territorial name, for there was no ancient property
of that name, and the peculiar form under which it invariably appears
in the earlier generations, proves that the name is derived from a
personal epithet. It so happens, however, that there was no epithet
so common among the Gael as that of Grant, as a perusal of the Irish
annals will evince; and at the same time Ragman’s Roll shows that
the Highland epithets always appear among the Norman signatures with
the Norman ‘le’ prefixed to them. The clan themselves unanimously
assert their descent from Gregor Mor Macgregor, who lived in the 12th
century; and this is supported by their using to this day the same
badge of distinction. So strong is this belief in both the clans
of Grant and Macgregor, that in the early part of the last century
a meeting of the two was held in the Blair of Athole, to consider
the policy of re-uniting them. Upon this point all agreed, and also
that the common surname should be Macgregor, if the reversal of
the attainder of that name could be got from government. If that
could not be obtained it was agreed that either MacAlpine or Grant
should be substituted. This assembly of the clan Alpine lasted for
fourteen days, and was only rendered abortive by disputes as to
the chieftainship of the combined clan. Here then is as strong an
attestation of a tradition as it is possible to conceive, and when to
this is added the utter absence of the name in the old Norman rolls,
the only trustworthy mark of a Norman descent, we are warranted in
placing the Grants among the Siol Alpine.”
[Illustration: GRANT. (Tartan)]
With Mr Smibert we are inclined to think that, come the clan
designation whence it may, the great body of the Grants were Gael of
the stock of Alpine, which, as he truly says, is after all the main
point to be considered.[220]
The first of the name on record in Scotland is Gregory de Grant, who,
in the reign of Alexander II. (1214 to 1249), was sheriff of the
shire of Inverness, which then, and till 1583, comprehended Ross,
Sutherland, and Caithness, besides what is now Inverness-shire. By
his marriage with Mary, daughter of Sir John Bisset of Lovat, he
became possessed of the lands of Stratherrick, at that period a part
of the province of Moray, and had two sons, namely, Sir Lawrence, his
heir, and Robert, who appears to have succeeded his father as sheriff
of Inverness.
The elder son, Sir Lawrence de Grant, with his brother Robert,
witnessed an agreement, dated 9th Sept. 1258, between Archibald,
bishop of Moray, and John Bisset of Lovat; Sir Lawrence is
particularly mentioned as the friend and kinsman of the latter.
Chalmers[221] states that he married Bigla, the heiress of Comyn of
Glenchernach, and obtained his father-in-law’s estates in Strathspey,
and a connection with the most potent family in Scotland. Douglas,
however, in his _Baronage_,[222] says that she was the wife of
his elder son, John. He had two sons, Sir John and Rudolph. They
supported the interest of Bruce against Baliol, and were taken
prisoners in 1296, at the battle of Dunbar. After Baliol’s surrender
of his crown and kingdom to Edward, the English monarch, with his
victorious army, marched north as far as Elgin. On his return to
Berwick he received the submission of many of the Scottish barons,
whose names were written upon four large rolls of parchment, so
frequently referred to as the Ragman Roll. Most of them were
dismissed on their swearing allegiance to him, among whom was Rudolph
de Grant, but his brother, John de Grant, was carried to London. He
was released the following year, on condition of serving King Edward
in France, John Comyn of Badenoch being his surety on the occasion.
Robert de Grant, who also swore fealty to Edward I. in 1296, is
supposed to have been his uncle.
At the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306, the Grants do not
seem to have been very numerous in Scotland; but as the people of
Strathspey, which from that period was known as “the country of the
Grants,” came to form a clan, with their name, they soon acquired the
position and power of Highland chiefs.
Sir John had three sons--Sir John, who succeeded him; Sir Allan,
progenitor of the clan Allan, a tribe of the Grants, of whom the
Grants of Auchernick are the head; and Thomas, ancestor of some
families of the name. Sir John’s grandson, John de Grant, had a son;
and a daughter, Agnes, married to Sir Richard Comyn, ancestor of the
Cummings of Altyre. The son, Sir Robert de Grant, in 1385, when the
king of France, then at war with Richard II., remitted to Scotland
a subsidy of 40,000 French crowns, to induce the Scots to invade
England, was one of the principal barons, about twenty in all, among
whom the money was divided. He died in the succeeding reign.
At this point there is some confusion in the pedigree of the Grants.
The family papers state that the male line was continued by the son
of Sir Robert, named Malcolm, who soon after his father’s death
began to make a figure as chief of the clan. On the other hand, some
writers maintain that Sir Robert had no son, but a daughter, Maud
or Matilda, heiress of the estate, and lineal representative of the
family of Grant, who about the year 1400 married Andrew Stewart, son
of Sir John Stewart, commonly called the Black Stewart, sheriff of
Bute, and son of King Robert II., and that this Andrew sunk the royal
name, and assumed instead the name and arms of Grant. This marriage,
however, though supported by the tradition of the country, is not
acknowledged by the family or the clan, and the very existence of
such an heiress is denied.
Malcolm de Grant, above mentioned, had a son, Duncan de Grant, the
first designed of Freuchie, the family title for several generations.
By his wife, Muriel, a daughter of Mackintosh of Mackintosh, captain
of the clan Chattan, he had, with a daughter, two sons, John and
Patrick. The latter, by his elder son, John, was ancestor of the
Grants of Ballindalloch, county of Elgin, of whom afterwards, and of
those of Tomnavoulen, Tulloch, &c.; and by his younger son, Patrick,
of the Grants of Dunlugas in Banffshire.
Duncan’s elder son, John Grant of Freuchie, by his wife, Margaret,
daughter of Sir James Ogilvie of Deskford, ancestor of the Earls of
Findlater, had, with a daughter, married to her cousin, Hector, son
of the chief of Mackintosh, three sons--John, his heir; Peter or
Patrick, said to be the ancestor of the tribe of Phadrig, or house
of Tullochgorum; and Duncan, progenitor of the tribe called clan
Donachie, or house of Gartenbeg. By the daughter of Baron Stewart
of Kincardine, he had another son, also named John, ancestor of the
Grants of Glenmoriston.
His eldest son, John, the tenth laird, called, from his poetical
talents, the Bard, succeeded in 1508. He obtained four charters under
the great seal, all dated 3d December 1509, of various lands, among
which were Urquhart and Glenmoriston in Inverness-shire. He had three
sons; John, the second son, was ancestor of the Grants of Shogglie,
and of those of Corrimony in Urquhart.
The younger son, Patrick, was the progenitor of the Grants of Bonhard
in Perthshire. John the Bard died in 1525.
His eldest son, James Grant of Freuchie, called, from his daring
character, _Shemas nan Creach_, or James the Bold, was much employed,
during the reign of King James V., in quelling insurrections in the
northern counties. His lands in Urquhart were, in November 1513,
plundered and laid waste by the adherents of the Lord of the Isles,
and again in 1544 by the Clanranald, when his castle of Urquhart was
taken possession of. This chief of the Grants was in such high favour
with King James V. that he obtained from that monarch a charter,
dated 1535, exempting him from the jurisdiction of all the courts
of judicature, except the court of session, then newly instituted.
He died in 1553. He had, with two daughters, two sons, John and
Archibald; the latter the ancestor of the Grants of Cullen, Monymusk,
&c.
His eldest son, John, usually called _Evan Baold_, or the Gentle,
was a strenuous promoter of the Reformation, and was a member
of that parliament which, in 1560, abolished Popery as the
established religion in Scotland. He died in 1585, having been twice
married--first, to Margaret Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Athole,
by whom he had, with two daughters, two sons, Duncan and Patrick, the
latter ancestor of the Grants of Rothiemurchus; and, secondly, to a
daughter of Barclay of Towie, by whom he had an only son, Archibald,
ancestor of the Grants of Bellintomb, represented by the Grants of
Monymusk.
Duncan, the elder son, predeceased his father in 1581, leaving four
sons--John; Patrick, ancestor of the Grants of Easter Elchies, of
which family was Patrick Grant, Lord Elchies, a lord of session;
Robert, progenitor of the Grants of Lurg; and James, of Ardnellie,
ancestor of those of Moyness.
John, the eldest son, succeeded his grandfather in 1585, and was much
employed in public affairs. A large body of his clan, at the battle
of Glenlivet, was commanded by John Grant of Gartenbeg, to whose
treachery, in having, in terms of a concerted plan, retreated with
his men as soon as the action began, as well as to that of Campbell
of Lochnell, Argyll owed his defeat in that engagement. This laird of
Grant greatly extended and improved his paternal estates, and is said
to have been offered by James VI., in 1610, a patent of honour, which
he declined. From the Shaws he purchased the lands of Rothiemurchus,
which he exchanged with his uncle Patrick for the lands of Muchrach.
On his marriage with Lilias Murray, daughter of John, Earl of Athole,
the nuptials were honoured with the presence of King James VI. and
his queen. Besides a son and daughter by his wife, he had a natural
son, Duncan, progenitor of the Grants of Cluny. He died in 1622.
His son, Sir John, by his extravagance and attendance at court,
greatly reduced his estates, and when he was knighted he got the name
of “Sir John Sell-the-land.” He had eight sons and three daughters,
and dying at Edinburgh in April 1637, was buried at the abbey church
of Holyrood-house.
His elder son, James, joined the Covenanters on the north of the Spey
in 1638, and on 19th July 1644, was, by the Estates, appointed one
of the committee for trying the malignants in the north. After the
battle of Inverlochy, however, in the following year, he joined the
standard of the Marquis of Montrose, then in arms for the king, and
ever after remained faithful to the royal cause. In 1663, he went
to Edinburgh, to see justice done to his kinsman, Allan Grant of
Tulloch, in a criminal prosecution for manslaughter, in which he was
successful; but he died in that city soon after his arrival there. A
patent had been made out creating him Earl of Strathspey, and Lord
Grant of Freuchie and Urquhart, but in consequence of his death it
did not pass the seals. The patent itself is said to be preserved
in the family archives. He had two sons, Ludovick and Patrick, the
latter ancestor of the family of Wester Elchies in Speyside.
Ludovick, the eldest son, being a minor, was placed under the
guardianship of his uncle, Colonel Patrick Grant, who faithfully
discharged his trust, and so was enabled to remove some of the
burdens on the encumbered family estates. Ludovick Grant of Grant and
Freuchie took for his wife Janet, only child of Alexander Brodie of
Lethen. By the favour of his father-in-law, the laird of Grant was
enabled in 1685, to purchase the barony of Pluscardine, which was
always to descend to the second son. By King William he was appointed
colonel of a regiment of foot, and sheriff of Inverness. In 1700 he
raised a regiment of his own clan, being the only commoner that did
so, and kept his regiment in pay a whole year at his own expense. In
compensation, three of his sons got commissions in the army, and his
lands were erected into a barony. He died at Edinburgh in 1718, in
his 66th year, and, like his father and grandfather, was buried in
Holyrood abbey.
Alexander, his eldest son, after studying the civil law on the
continent, entered the army, and soon obtained the command of a
regiment of foot, with the rank of brigadier. When the rebellion
broke out, being with his regiment in the south, he wrote to his
brother, Captain George Grant, to raise the clan for the service
of government, which he did, and a portion of them assisted at the
reduction of Inverness. As justiciary of the counties of Inverness,
Moray, and Banff, he was successful in suppressing the bands of
outlaws and robbers which infested these counties in that unsettled
time. He succeeded his father in 1718, but died at Leith the
following year, aged 40. Though twice married, he had no children.
His brother, Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, was the next laird. In
1702, in his father’s lifetime, he married Anne, only daughter of
Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet. By the marriage contract
it was specially provided that he should assume the surname and
arms of Colquhoun, and if he should at any time succeed to the
estate of Grant, his second son should, with the name of Colquhoun,
become proprietor of Luss. In 1704, Sir Humphrey obtained a new
patent in favour of his son-in-law, James Grant, who on his death,
in 1715, became in consequence Sir James Grant Colquhoun of Luss,
Baronet. On succeeding, however, to the estate of Grant four years
after, he dropped the name of Colquhoun, retaining the baronetcy,
and the estate of Luss went to his second surviving son. He had
five daughters, and as many sons, viz. Humphrey, who predeceased
him in 1732; Ludovick; James, a major in the army, who succeeded to
the estate and baronetcy of Luss, and took the name of Colquhoun;
Francis, who died a general in the army; and Charles, a captain in
the Royal Navy.
The second son, Ludovick, was admitted advocate in 1728; but on the
death of his brother he relinquished his practice at the bar, and his
father devolving on him the management of the estate, he represented
him thereafter as chief of the clan. He was twice married--first, to
a daughter of Sir Robert Dalrymple of North Berwick, by whom he had a
daughter, who died young; secondly, to Lady Margaret Ogilvie, eldest
daughter of James Earl of Findlater and Seafield, in virtue of which
marriage his grandson succeeded to the earldom of Seafield. By his
second wife Sir Ludovick had one son, James, and eleven daughters,
six of whom survived him. Penuel, the third of these, was the wife of
Henry Mackenzie, Esq., author of the _Man of Feeling_. Sir Ludovick
died at Castle Grant, 18th March 1773.
[Illustration: Castle Grant. From a photograph.]
His only son, Sir James Grant of Grant, Baronet, born in 1738,
was distinguished for his patriotism and public spirit. On the
declaration of war by France in 1793, he was among the first to raise
a regiment of fencibles, called the Grant or Strathspey fencibles, of
which he was appointed colonel. After a lingering illness, he died at
Castle Grant on 18th February 1811. He had married, in 1763, Jean,
only child of Alexander Duff, Esq. of Hatton, Aberdeenshire, and had
by her three sons and three daughters. Sir Lewis Alexander Grant, the
eldest son, in 1811 succeeded to the estates and earldom of Seafield,
on the death of his cousin, James Earl of Findlater and Seafield,
and his brother, Francis William, became, in 1840, sixth earl. The
younger children obtained in 1822 the rank and precedency of an
earl’s junior issue.
The Grants of BALLINDALLOCH, in the parish of Inveravon,
Banffshire--commonly called the Craig-Achrochean Grants--as already
stated, descend from Patrick, twin brother of John, ninth laird of
Freuchie. Patrick’s grandson, John Grant, was killed by his kinsman,
John Roy Grant of Carron, as afterwards mentioned, and his son, also
John Grant, was father of another Patrick, whose son, John Roy Grant,
by his extravagant living and unhappy differences with his lady, a
daughter of Leslie of Balquhain, entirely ruined his estate, and was
obliged to consent to placing it under the management and trust of
three of his kinsmen, Brigadier Grant, Captain Grant of Elchies, and
Walter Grant of Arndilly, which gave occasion to W. Elchies’ verses
of “What meant the man?”
General James Grant of Ballindalloch succeeded to the estate on
the death of his nephew, Major William Grant, in 1770. He died at
Ballindalloch, on 13th April 1806, at the age of 86. Having no
children, he was succeeded by his maternal grand-nephew, George
Macpherson, Esq. of Invereshie, who assumed in consequence the
additional name of Grant, and was created a baronet in 1838.
The Grants of GLENMORISTON, in Inverness-shire, are sprung from John
More Grant, natural son of John Grant, ninth laird of Freuchie. His
son, John Roy Grant, acquired the lands of Carron from the Marquis
of Huntly. In a dispute about the marches of their respective
properties, he killed his kinsman, John Grant of Ballindalloch, in
1588, an event which led to a lasting feud between the families,
of which, in the first part of the work we have given a detailed
account. John Roy Grant had four sons--Patrick, who succeeded him in
Carron; Robert of Nether Glen of Rothes; James _an Tuim_, or James of
the hill; and Thomas.
The Glenmoriston branch of the Grants adhered faithfully to the
Stuarts. Patrick Grant of Glenmoriston appeared in arms in Viscount
Dundee’s army at Killiecrankie. He was also at the skirmish at
Cromdale against the government soon after, and at the battle of
Sheriffmuir in 1715. His estate was, in consequence, forfeited, but
through the interposition of the chief of the Grants, was bought back
from the barons of the Exchequer. The laird of Glenmoriston in 1745
also took arms for the Pretender; but means were found to preserve
the estate to the family. The families proceeding from this branch,
besides that of Carron, which estate is near Elchies, on the river
Spey, are those of LYNACHOARN, AVIEMORE, CROSKIE, &c.
The favourite song of “Roy’s Wife of Aldivalloch” (the only one she
was ever known to compose), was written by a Mrs Grant of Carron,
whose maiden name was Grant, born, near Aberlour, about 1745. Mr
Grant of Carron, whose wife she became about 1763, was her cousin.
After his death she married, a second time, an Irish physician
practising at Bath, of the name of Murray, and died in that city in
1814.
The Grants of DALVEY, who possess a baronetcy, are descended from
Duncan, second son of John the Bard, tenth laird of Grant.
The Grants of MONYMUSK, who also possess a baronetcy (date of
creation, December 7, 1705), are descended from Archibald Grant of
Ballintomb, an estate conferred on him by charter, dated 8th March
1580. He was the younger son of John Grant of Freuchie, called _Evan
Baold_, or the Gentle, by his second wife, Isobel Barclay. With three
daughters, Archibald Grant had two sons. The younger son, James, was
designed of Tombreak. Duncan of Ballintomb, the elder, had three
sons--Archibald, his heir; Alexander, of Allachie; and William, of
Arndillie. The eldest son, Archibald, had, with two daughters, two
sons, the elder of whom, Archibald Grant, Esq. of Bellinton, had a
son, Sir Francis, a lord of session, under the title of Lord Cullen,
the first baronet of this family.
The Grants of KILGRASTON, in Perthshire, are lineally descended,
through the line of the Grants of Glenlochy, from the ninth laird
of Grant. Peter Grant, the last of the lairds of Glenlochy, which
estate he sold, had two sons, John and Francis. The elder son, John,
chief justice of Jamaica from 1783 to 1790, purchased the estates
of Kilgraston and Pitcaithley, lying contiguous to each other in
Strathearn; and, dying in 1793, without issue, he was succeeded by
his brother, Francis. This gentleman married Anne, eldest daughter of
Robert Oliphant, Esq. of Rossie, postmaster-general of Scotland, and
had five sons and two daughters. He died in 1819, and was succeeded
by his son, John Grant, the present representative of the Kilgraston
family. He married--first, 1820, Margaret, second daughter of the
late Lord Gray; second, 1828, Lucy, third daughter of Thomas, late
Earl of Elgin. Heir, his son, Charles Thomas Constantine, born, 1831,
and married, 1856, Matilda, fifth daughter of William Hay, Esq. of
Dunse Castle.
The badge of the clan Grant was the pine or cranberry heath, and
their slogan or gathering cry, “Stand fast, Craigellachie!” the bold
projecting rock of that name (“the rock of alarm”) in the united
parishes of Duthil and Rothiemurchus, being their hill of rendezvous.
The Grants had a long-standing feud with the Gordons, and even among
the different branches of themselves there were faction fights, as
between the Ballindalloch and Carron Grants. The clan, with few
exceptions, was noted for its loyalty, being generally, and the
family of the chief invariably, found on the side of government. In
Strathspey the name prevailed almost to the exclusion of every other,
and to this day Grant is the predominant surname in the district, as
alluded to by Sir Alexander Boswell, Baronet, in his lively verses--
“Come the Grants of Tullochgorum,
Wi’ their pipers gaun before ’em,
Proud the mothers are that bore ’em.
Next the Grants of Rothiemurchus,
Every man his sword and durk has,
Every man as proud ’s a Turk is.”
In 1715, the force of the clan was 800, and in 1745, 850.
MACKINNON.
The clan FINGON or the MACKINNONS, another clan belonging to the
Siol Alpine, are said to have sprung from Fingon, brother of Anrias
or Andrew, an ancestor of the Macgregors. This Fingon or Finguin is
mentioned in the MS. of 1450 as the founder of the clan Finguin,
that is, the Mackinnons. Of the history of this clan, Mr Skene says,
little is known. At an early period they became followers of the
Lords of the Isles, and they appear to have been engaged in few
transactions “by which their name is separately brought forward.”
MACKINNON.
[Illustration: BADGE--Pine.]
Their seat was in the islands of Skye and Mull, and the first
authentic notice of them is to be found in an indenture (printed in
the Appendix to the second edition of Hailes’ _Annals of Scotland_)
between the Lords of the Isles and the Lord of Lorn. The latter
stipulates, in surrendering to the Lord of the Isles the island of
Mull and other lands, that the keeping of the castle of Kerneburg in
the Treshinish Isles, is not to be given to any of the race of clan
Finnon. “This,” says Mr Gregory, “proves that the Mackinnons were
then connected with Mull. They originally possessed the district
of Griban in that island, but exchanged it for the district of
Mishnish, being that part of Mull immediately to the north and west
of Tobermory. They, likewise, possessed the lands of Strathairdle
in Skye, from which the chiefs usually took their style. Lauchlan
Macfingon, or Mackinnon, chief of his clan, witnessed a charter
by Donald, Lord of the Isles, in 1409. The name of the chief in
1493 is uncertain; but Neil Mackinnon of Mishnish was at the head
of the tribe in 1515.”[223] Two years afterwards this Neil and
several others, described as “kin, men, servants, and part-takers”
of Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart, were included in a remission which
that chief obtained for their share in the rebellion of Sir Donald
Macdonald of Lochalsh. In 1545 the chief’s name was Ewen. He was
one of the barons and council of the Isles who, in that year, swore
allegiance to the king of England at Knockfergus in Ireland.
“In consequence,” says Mr Skene, “of their connection with the
Macdonalds, the Mackinnons have no history independent of that
clan; and the internal state of these tribes during the government
of the Lords of the Isles is so obscure that little can be learned
regarding them, until the forfeiture of the last of these lords.
During their dependence upon the Macdonalds there is but one event
of any importance in which we find the Mackinnons taking a share,
for it would appear that on the death of John of the Isles, in the
fourteenth century, Mackinnon, with what object it is impossible now
to ascertain, stirred up his second son, John Mor, to rebel against
his eldest brother, apparently with a view to the chiefship, and his
faction was joined by the Macleans and the Macleods. But Donald, his
elder brother, was supported by so great a proportion of the tribe,
that he drove John Mor and his party out of the Isles, and pursued
him to Galloway, and from thence to Ireland. The rebellion being
thus put down, John Mor threw himself upon his brother’s mercy, and
received his pardon, but Mackinnon was taken and hanged, as having
been the instigator of the disturbance.”[224] This appears to have
taken place after 1380, as John, Lord of the Isles, died that year.
In the disturbances in the Isles, during the 16th century, Sir
Lauchlan Mackinnon bore an active part.
As a proof of the common descent of the Mackinnons, the Macgregors
and the Macnabs, although their territories were far distant from
each other, two bonds of friendship exist, which are curious
specimens of the manners of the times. The one dated 12th July
1606, was entered into between Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle
and Finlay Macnab of Bowaine, who, as its tenor runs, happened “to
forgether togedder, with certain of the said Finlay’s friends, in
their rooms, in the laird of Glenurchy’s country, and the said
Lauchlan and Finlay, being come of ane house, and being of one
surname and lineage, notwithstanding the said Lauchlan and Finlay
this long time bygane oversaw their awn dueties, till udderis, in
respect of the long distance betwixt their dwelling places,” agreed,
with the consent of their kin and friends, to give all assistance
and service to each other. And are “content to subscribe to the
same, _with their hands led to the pen_.” Mackinnon’s signature
is characteristic. It is “Lauchland, mise (i.e. myself) Mac
Fingon.” The other bond of manrent, dated at Kilmorie in 1671, was
between Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle and James Macgregor of
Macgregor, and it is therein stated that “for the special love
and amitie between these persons, and condescending that they are
descended lawfully _fra twa breethren of auld descent_, wherefore
and for certain onerous causes moving, we witt ye we to be bound and
obleisit, likeas by the tenor hereof we faithfully bind and obleise
us and our successors, our kin, friends, and followers, faithfully to
serve ane anither in all causes with our men and servants, against
all who live or die.”
During the civil wars the Mackinnons joined the standard of the
Marquis of Montrose, and formed part of his force at the battle of
Inverlochy, Feb. 2, 1645. In 1650, Lauchlan Mackinnon, the chief,
raised a regiment of his clan for the service of Charles II., and, at
the battle of Worcester, in 1646, he was made a knight banneret. His
son, Daniel Mohr, had two sons, John, whose great-grandson died in
India, unmarried, in 1808, and Daniel, who emigrated to Antigua, and
died in 1720. The latter’s eldest son and heir, William Mackinnon of
Antigua, an eminent member of the legislature of that island, died at
Bath, in 1767. The son of the latter, William Mackinnon of Antigua
and Binfield, Berkshire, died in 1809. The youngest of his four sons,
Henry, major-general Mackinnon, a distinguished officer, was killed
by the explosion of a magazine, while leading on the main storming
party, at Ciudad Rodrigo, Feb. 29, 1812. The eldest son, William
Mackinnon, died young, leaving, with two daughters, two sons, William
Alexander Mackinnon, who succeeded his grandfather, and Daniel,
colonel of the Coldstream Guards.
William Alexander Mackinnon of Mackinnon, M.P., the chief magistrate
and deputy lieutenant for the counties of Middlesex, Hampshire, and
Essex, born in 1789, succeeded in 1809. He married Emma, daughter of
Joseph Palmer, Esq. of Rush House, county Dublin, with issue, three
sons and three daughters. The eldest son, William Alexander, also
M.P., born in 1813, married daughter of F. Willes, Esq.
Lauchlan Mackinnon of Letterfearn also claims to be the heir-male
of the family. Although there are many gentlemen of the name still
resident in Skye, there is no Mackinnon proprietor of lands now
either in that island or in Mull.
The Mackinnons engaged in both rebellions in favour of the Stuarts.
In 1715, 150 of them fought with the Macdonalds of Sleat at the
battle of Sheriffmuir, for which the chief was forfeited, but
received a pardon, 4th January 1727. In 1745, Mackinnon, though then
old and infirm, joined Prince Charles with a battalion of his clan.
President Forbes estimated their effective force at that period at
200 men. After the battle of Culloden, the prince, in his wanderings,
took refuge in the country of the Mackinnons, when travelling in
disguise through Skye, and was concealed by the chief in a cave, to
which Lady Mackinnon brought him a refreshment of cold meat and wine.
MACNAB.
The clan ANABA or MACNAB has been said by some to have been a branch
of the Macdonalds, but we have given above a bond of manrent which
shows that they were allied to the Mackinnons and the Macgregors.
“From their comparatively central position in the Highlands,” says
Smibert, “as well as other circumstances, it seems much more likely
that they were of the primitive Albionic race, a shoot of the Siol
Alpine.” The chief has his residence at Kinnell, on the banks of
the Dochart, and the family possessions, which originally were
considerable, lay mainly on the western shores of Loch Tay. The
founder of the Macnabs, like the founder of the Macphersons, is said
to have belonged to the clerical profession, the name Mac-anab being
said to mean in Gaelic, the son of the abbot. He is said to have been
abbot of Glendochart.
MACNAB.
[Illustration: BADGE--Common Heath.]
The Macnabs were a considerable clan before the reign of Alexander
III. When Robert the Bruce commenced his struggle for the crown,
the baron of Macnab, with his clan, joined the Macdougalls of Lorn,
and fought against Bruce at the battle of Dalree. Afterwards, when
the cause of Bruce prevailed, the lands of the Macnabs were ravaged
by his victorious troops, their houses burnt, and all their family
writs destroyed. Of all their possessions only the barony of Bowain
or Bovain, in Glendochart, remained to them, and of it, Gilbert
Macnab of that ilk, from whom the line is usually deduced, as the
first undoubted laird of Macnab, received from David II., on being
reconciled to that monarch, a charter, under the great seal, to him
and his heirs whomsoever, dated in 1336. He died in the reign of
Robert II.
[Illustration: MACNAB. (Tartan)]
His son, Finlay Macnab, styled of Bovain, as well as “of that ilk,”
died in the reign of James I. He is said to have been a famous
bard. According to tradition he composed one of the Gaelic poems
which Macpherson attributed to Ossian. He was the father of Patrick
Macnab of Bovain and of that ilk, whose son was named Finlay Macnab,
after his grandfather. Indeed, Finlay appears to have been, at
this time, a favourite name of the chief, as the next three lairds
were so designated. Upon his father’s resignation, he got a charter,
under the great seal, in the reign of James III., of the lands of
Ardchyle, and Wester Duinish, in the barony of Glendochart and county
of Perth, dated January 1, 1486. He had also a charter from James
IV., of the lands of Ewir and Leiragan, in the same barony, dated
January 9, 1502, He died soon thereafter, leaving a son, Finlay
Macnab, fifth laird of Macnab, who is witness in a charter, under the
great seal, to Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, wherein he is designed
“_Finlaus Macnab, dominus de eodem_,” &c., Sept. 18, 1511. He died
about the close of the reign of James V.
His son, Finlay Macnab of Bovain and of that ilk, sixth chief from
Gilbert, alienated or mortgaged a great portion of his lands to
Campbell of Glenorchy, ancestor of the Marquis of Breadalbane, as
appears by a charter to “Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, his heirs and
assignees whatever, according to the deed granted to him by Finlay
Macnab of Bovain, 24th November 1552, of all and sundry the lands of
Bovain and Ardchyle, &c., confirmed by a charter under the great seal
from Mary, dated 27th June 1553.” Glenorchy’s right of superiority
the Macnabs always refused to acknowledge.
His son, Finlay Macnab, the seventh laird, who lived in the reign of
James VI., was the chief who entered into the bond of friendship and
manrent with his cousin, Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle, 12th
July 1606. This chief carried on a deadly feud with the Neishes or
M’Ilduys, a tribe which possessed the upper parts of Strathearn, and
inhabited an island in the lower part of Loch Earn, called from them
Neish Island. Many battles were fought between them, with various
success. The last was at Glenboultachan, about two miles north of
Loch Earn foot, in which the Macnabs were victorious, and the Neishes
cut off almost to a man. A small remnant of them, however, still
lived in the island referred to, the head of which was an old man,
who subsisted by plundering the people in the neighbourhood. One
Christmas, the chief of the Macnabs had sent his servant to Crieff
for provisions, but, on his return, he was waylaid, and robbed of
all his purchases. He went home, therefore, empty-handed, and told
his tale to the laird. Macnab had twelve sons, all men of great
strength, but one in particular exceedingly athletic, who was called
for a bye-name, _Iain mion Mac an Appa_, or “Smooth John Macnab.”
In the evening, these men were gloomily meditating some signal
revenge on their old enemies, when their father entered, and said in
Gaelic, “The night is the night, if the lads were but lads!” Each man
instantly started to his feet, and belted on his dirk, his claymore,
and his pistols. Led by their brother John, they set out, taking a
fishing-boat on their shoulders from Loch Tay, carrying it over the
mountains and glens till they reached Loch Earn, where they launched
it, and passed over to the island. All was silent in the habitation
of Neish. Having all the boats at the island secured, they had gone
to sleep without fear of surprise. Smooth John, with his foot dashed
open the door of Neish’s house; and the party, rushing in, attacked
the unfortunate family, every one of whom was put to the sword, with
the exception of one man and a boy, who concealed themselves under
a bed. Carrying off the heads of the Neishes, and any plunder they
could secure, the youths presented themselves to their father, while
the piper struck up the pibroch of victory.
The next laird, “Smooth John,” the son of this Finlay, made a
distinguished figure in the reign of Charles I., and suffered many
hardships on account of his attachment to the royal cause. He was
killed at the battle of Worcester in 1651. During the commonwealth,
his castle of Eilan Rowan was burned, his estates ravaged and
sequestrated, and the family papers again lost. Taking advantage
of the troubles of the times, his powerful neighbour, Campbell of
Glenorchy, in the heart of whose possessions Macnab’s lands were
situated, on the pretence that he had sustained considerable losses
from the clan Macnab, got possession of the estates in recompense
thereof.
The chief of the Macnabs married a daughter of Campbell of Glenlyon,
and with one daughter, had a son, Alexander Macnab, ninth laird,
who was only four years old when his father was killed on Worcester
battle-field. His mother and friends applied to General Monk for some
relief from the family estates for herself and children. That general
made a favourable report on the application, but it had no effect.
After the Restoration, application was made to the Scottish estates,
by Lady Macnab and her son, for redress, and in 1661 they received a
considerable portion of their lands, which the family enjoyed till
the beginning of the present century, when they were sold.
By his wife, Elizabeth, a sister of Sir Alexander Menzies of Weem,
Baronet, Alexander Macnab of that ilk had a son and heir, Robert
Macnab, tenth laird, who married Anne Campbell, sister of the Earl
of Breadalbane. Of several children only two survived, John, who
succeeded his father, and Archibald. The elder son, John, held a
commission in the Black Watch, and was taken prisoner at the battle
of Prestonpans, and, with several others, confined in Doune Castle,
under the charge of Macgregor of Glengyle, where he remained till
after the battle of Culloden. The majority of the clan took the side
of the house of Stuart, and were led by Allister Macnab of Inshewan
and Archibald Macnab of Acharne.
John Macnab, the eleventh laird, married the only sister of Francis
Buchanan, Esq. of Arnprior, and had a son, Francis, twelfth laird.
Francis, twelfth laird, died, unmarried, at Callander, Perthshire,
May 25, 1816, in his 82d year. One of the most eccentric men of his
time, many anecdotes are related of his curious sayings and doings.
We give the following as a specimen, for which we are indebted to Mr
Smibert’s excellent work on the clans:--
“Macnab had an intense antipathy to excisemen, whom he looked on as
a race of intruders, commissioned to suck the blood of his country:
he never gave them any better name than _vermin_. One day, early in
the last war, he was marching to Stirling at the head of a corps of
fencibles, of which he was commander. In those days the Highlanders
were notorious for incurable smuggling propensities; and an excursion
to the Lowlands, whatever might be its cause or import, was an
opportunity by no means to be neglected. The Breadalbane men had
accordingly contrived to stow a considerable quantity of the genuine
‘peat reek’ (whisky) into the baggage carts. All went well with
the party for some time. On passing Alloa, however, the excisemen
there having got a hint as to what the carts contained, hurried
out by a shorter path to intercept them. In the meantime, Macnab,
accompanied by a gillie, in the true feudal style, was proceeding
slowly at the head of his men, not far in the rear of the baggage.
Soon after leaving Alloa, one of the party in charge of the carts
came running back and informed their chief that they had all been
seized by a posse of excisemen. This intelligence at once roused
the blood of Macnab. ‘Did the lousy villains _dare_ to obstruct the
march of the Breadalbane Highlanders!’ he exclaimed, inspired with
the wrath of a thousand heroes; and away he rushed to the scene of
contention. There, sure enough, he found a party of excisemen in
possession of the carts. ‘Who the devil are you?’ demanded the angry
chieftain. ‘Gentlemen of the excise,’ was the answer. ‘Robbers!
thieves! you mean; how dare you lay hands on His Majesty’s stores?
If you be gaugers, show me your commissions.’ Unfortunately for the
excisemen, they had not deemed it necessary in their haste to bring
such documents with them. In vain they asserted their authority, and
declared they were well known in the neighbourhood. ‘Ay, just what
I took ye for; a parcel of highway robbers and scoundrels. Come, my
good fellows,’ (addressing the soldiers in charge of the baggage, and
extending his voice with the lungs of a stentor,) ‘prime!--load!--’
The excisemen did not wait the completion of the sentence; away they
fled at top speed towards Alloa, no doubt glad they had not caused
the waste of His Majesty’s ammunition. ‘Now, my lads,’ said Macnab,
‘proceed--your whisky’s safe.’”
He was a man of gigantic height and strong originality of character,
and cherished many of the manners and ideas of a Highland
gentleman, having in particular a high notion of the dignity of the
chieftainship. He left numerous illegitimate children.
The only portion of the property of the Macnabs remaining is the
small islet of Innis-Buie, formed by the parting of the water of the
Dochart just before it issues into Loch Tay, in which is the most
ancient burial place of the family; and outside there are numerous
gravestones of other members of the clan. The lands of the town
of Callander chiefly belong to a descendant of this laird, not in
marriage.
[Illustration: The last Laird of Macnab.]
Archibald Macnab of Macnab, nephew of Francis, succeeded as
thirteenth chief. The estates being considerably encumbered, he was
obliged to sell his property for behoof of his creditors.
Many of the clan having emigrated to Canada about the beginning of
the nineteenth century, and being very successful, 300 of those
remaining in Scotland were induced about 1817 to try their fortunes
in America, and in 1821, the chief himself, with some more of the
clan, took their departure for Canada. He returned in 1853, and died
at Lannion, Cotes du Nord, France, Aug. 12, 1860, aged 83. Subjoined
is his portrait, from a daguerreotype, taken at Saratoga, United
States of America, in 1848.
He left a widow, and one surviving daughter, Sophia Frances.
The next Macnabs by descent entitled to the chiefship are believed
to be Sir Allan Napier Macnab, Bart., Canada; Dr Robert Macnab, 5th
Fusileers; and Mr John Macnab, Glenmavis, Bathgate.
The lairds of Macnab, previous to the reign of Charles I.,
intermarried with the families of Lord Gray of Kilfauns, Gleneagles,
Inchbraco, Robertson of Strowan, &c.
The chief cadets of the family were the Macnabs of Dundurn, Acharne,
Newton, Cowie, and Inchewen.
CLAN DUFFIE OR MACFIE.
The clan DUFFIE (in Gaelic, _clann Dhubhie_ means “the coloured
tribe”) or MACPHIE (generally spelt Macfie) appear to have been the
original inhabitants of the island of Colonsay, which they held till
the middle of the 17th century, when they were dispossessed of it by
the Macdonalds. They were probably a branch of the ancient Albionic
race of Scotland, and their genealogy given in the MS. of 1450,
according to Skene, evinces their connection by descent with the
Macgregors and Mackinnons.
On the south side of the church of the monastery of St Augustine in
Colonsay, according to Martin (writing in 1703), “lie the tombs of
Macduffie, and of the cadets of his family; there is a ship under
sail, and a two handed sword engraven on the principal tombstone, and
this inscription: ‘Hic jacet Malcolumbus Macduffie de Collonsay;’
his coat of arms and colour-staff is fixed in a stone, through which
a hole is made to hold it. About a quarter of a mile on the south
side of the church there is a cairn, in which there is a stone cross
fixed, called Macduffie’s cross; for when any of the heads of this
family were to be interred, their corpses were laid on this cross for
some moments, in their way toward the church.”
Donald Macduffie is witness to a charter by John, Earl of Ross, and
Lord of the Isles, dated at the Earl’s castle of Dingwall, 12th
April 1463.[225] After the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles
in 1493, the clan Duffie followed the Macdonalds of Isla. The name
of the Macduffie chief in 1531 was Murroch. In 1609 Donald Macfie
in Colonsay was one of the twelve chiefs and gentlemen who met the
bishop of the Isles, the king’s representative, at Iona, when,
with their consent, the nine celebrated “Statutes of Icolmkill”
were enacted. In 1615, Malcolm Macfie of Colonsay joined Sir James
Macdonald of Isla, after his escape from the castle of Edinburgh, and
was one of the principal leaders in his subsequent rebellion. He and
eighteen others were delivered up by Coll Macgillespick Macdonald,
the celebrated Colkitto, to the Earl of Argyll, by whom he was
brought before the privy council. He appears afterwards to have been
slain by Colkitto, as by the Council Records for 1623 we learn that
the latter was accused, with several of his followers, of being “art
and pairt guilty of the felonie and cruell slaughter of umquhill
Malcolm Macphie of Collonsay.”
“From this period,” says Skene, “their estate seems to have gone into
the possession of the Macdonalds, and afterwards of the Macneills,
by whom it is still held; while the clan gradually sunk until they
were only to be found, as at present, forming a small part of the
inhabitants of Colonsay.”
A branch of the clan Duffie, after they had lost their inheritance,
followed Cameron of Lochiel, and settled in Lochaber.
MACQUARRIE.
[Illustration: BADGE--Pine.]
The clan QUARRIE or MACQUARRIE is another clan held by Mr Skene to
belong to the ancient stock of Alpine, their possessions being the
small island of Ulva, and a portion of Mull.
The Gaelic MS. of 1450 deduces their descent from Guarie or Godfrey,
called by the Highland Sennachies, Gor or Gorbred, said to have
been “a brother of Fingon, ancestor of the Mackinnons, and Anrias
or Andrew, ancestor of the Macgregors.” This is the belief of Mr
Skene, who adds, “The history of the Macquarries resembles that of
the Mackinnons in many respects; like them they had migrated far from
the head-quarters of their race, they became dependent on the Lords
of the Isles, and followed them as if they had become a branch of the
clan.”
Mr Smibert, however, thinks this origin highly improbable, and
is inclined to believe that they constituted one branch of the
Celto-Irish immigrants. “Their mere name,” he says, “connects them
strongly with Ireland--the tribe of the Macquarries, Macquires,
Macguires (for the names are the same), being very numerous at this
day in that island, and having indeed been so at all times.” We do
not think he makes out a very strong case in behalf of this origin.
According to a history of the family, by one of its members, in
1249 Cormac Mohr, then “chief of Ulva’s Isle,” joined Alexander
II., with his followers and three galleys of sixteen oars each,
in his expedition against the western islands, and after that
monarch’s death in the Island of Kerrera, was attacked by Haco of
Norway, defeated and slain. His two sons, Allan and Gregor, were
compelled to take refuge in Ireland, where the latter, surnamed Garbh
or the rough, is said to have founded the powerful tribe of the
MacGuires, the chief of which at one time possessed the title of Lord
Inniskillen. Allan returned to Scotland, and his descendant, Hector
Macquarrie of Ulva, chief in the time of Robert the Bruce, fought
with his clan at Bannockburn.
The first chief of whom there is any notice in the public records was
John Macquarrie of Ulva, who died in 1473.[226] His son, Dunslaff,
was chief when the last Lord of the Isles was forfeited twenty years
afterwards. After that event, the Macquarries, like the other vassal
tribes of the Macdonalds, became independent. In war, however, they
followed the banner of their neighbour, Maclean of Dowart. With the
latter, Dunslaff supported the claims of Donald Dubh to the Lordship
of the Isles, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and in 1504,
“MacGorry of Ullowaa” was summoned, with some other chiefs, before
the Estates of the kingdom, to answer for his share in Donald Dubh’s
rebellion.
His son, John Macquarrie of Ulva, was one of the thirteen chiefs
who were denounced the same year for carrying on a traitorous
correspondence with the king of England, with the view of
transferring their allegiance to him.
Allan Macquarrie of Ulva was slain, with most of his followers, at
the battle of Inverkeithing against the English parliamentary troops,
20th July 1651, when the Scots army was defeated, and a free passage
opened to Cromwell to the whole north of Scotland.
According to tradition one of the chiefs of Ulva preserved his
life and estate by the exercise of a timely hospitality under the
following circumstances:--Maclean of Dowart had a natural son by
a beautiful young woman of his own clan, and the boy having been
born in a barn was named, from his birth-place, _Allan-a-Sop_, or
Allan of the straw. The girl afterwards became the wife of Maclean
of Torloisk, residing in Mull, but though he loved the mother he
cared nothing for her boy, and when the latter came to see her, he
was very unkind to him. One morning the lady saw from her window
her son approaching and hastened to put a cake on the fire for his
breakfast. Her husband noticed this, and snatching the cake hot from
the girdle, thrust it into his stepson’s hands, forcibly clasping
them on the burning bread. The lad’s hands were severely burnt, and
in consequence he refrained from going again to Torloisk. As he grew
up Allan became a mariner, and joined the Danish pirates who infested
the western isles. From his courage he soon got the command of one
galley, and subsequently of a flotilla, and made his name both feared
and famous. Of him it may be said that--
“Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away,
He scoured the seas for many a day,
And now, grown rich with plunder’d store,
He steers his way for Scotland’s shore.”
The thought of his mother brought him back once more to the island
of Mull, and one morning he anchored his galleys in front of the
house of Torloisk. His mother had been long dead, but his stepfather
hastened to the shore, and welcomed him with apparent kindness. The
crafty old man had a feud with Macquarrie of Ulva, and thought this a
favourable opportunity to execute his vengeance on that chief. With
this object he suggested to Allan that it was time he should settle
on land, and said that he could easily get possession of the island
of Ulva, by only putting to death the laird, who was old and useless.
Allan agreed to the proposal, and, setting sail next morning,
appeared before Macquarrie’s house. The chief of Ulva was greatly
alarmed when he saw the pirate galleys, but he resolved to receive
their commander hospitably, in the hope that good treatment would
induce him to go away, without plundering his house or doing him any
injury. He caused a splendid feast to be prepared, and welcomed Allan
to Ulva with every appearance of sincerity. After feasting together
the whole day, in the evening the pirate-chief, when about to retire
to his ships, thanked the chief for his entertainment, remarking, at
the same time, that it had cost him dear. “How so?” said Macquarrie,
“when I bestowed this entertainment upon you in free good will.”
“It is true,” said Allan, who, notwithstanding his being a pirate,
seems to have been of a frank and generous disposition, “but it has
disarranged all my plans, and quite altered the purpose for which I
came hither, which was to put you to death, seize your castle and
lands, and settle myself here in your stead.” Macquarrie replied
that he was sure such a suggestion was not his own, but must have
originated with his stepfather, old Torloisk, who was his personal
enemy. He then reminded him that he had made but an indifferent
husband to his mother, and was a cruel stepfather to himself, adding,
“Consider this matter better, Allan, and you will see that the estate
and harbour of Torloisk lie as conveniently for you as those of Ulva,
and if you must make a settlement by force, it is much better you
should do so at the expense of the old churl, who never showed you
kindness, than of a friend like me who always loved and honoured you.”
Allan-a-Sop, remembering his scorched fingers, straightway sailed
back to Torloisk, and meeting his stepfather, who came eagerly
expecting to hear of Macquarrie’s death, thus accosted him: “You
hoary old villain, you instigated me to murder a better man than
yourself. Have you forgotten how you scorched my fingers twenty years
ago with a burning cake? The day has come when that breakfast must
be paid for.” So saying, with one stroke of his battle-axe he cut
down his stepfather, took possession of his castle and property,
and established there that branch of the clan Maclean afterwards
represented by Mr Clephane Maclean.
Hector, brother of Allan Macquarrie of Ulva, and second son of Donald
the twelfth chief of the Macquarries, by his wife, a daughter of
Lauchlan Oig Maclean, founder of the Macleans of Torloisk, obtained
from his father the lands of Ormaig in Ulva, and was the first of the
Macquarries of Ormaig. This family frequently intermarried with the
Macleans, both of Lochbuy and Dowart. Lauchlan, Donald’s third son,
was ancestor of the Macquarries of Laggan, and John, the fourth son,
of those of Ballighartan.
Lauchlan Macquarrie of Ulva, the sixteenth chief in regular
succession, was compelled to dispose of his lands for behoof of his
creditors, and in 1778, at the age of 63, he entered the army. He
served in the American war, and died in 1818, at the age of 103,
without male issue. He was the last chief of the Macquarries, and was
the proprietor of Ulva when Dr Samuel Johnson and Mr Boswell visited
that island in 1773.
A large portion of the ancient patrimonial property was repurchased
by General Macquarrie, long governor of New South Wales, and from
whom Macquarrie county, Macquarrie river, and Port Macquarrie in that
colony, Macquarrie’s harbour, and Macquarrie’s island in the South
Pacific, derive their name. He was the eldest cadet of his family,
and was twice married, first, to Miss Baillie of Jerviswood, and
secondly, to a daughter of Sir John Campbell of Airds, by whom he
had an only son, Lauchlan, who died without issue.
MACAULAY.
The last clan claimed by Mr Skene as belonging to the Siol Alpine is
the minor one of MacAulay, or clan Aula. Many formerly held that the
MacAulays derived their origin from the ancient earls of Lennox, and
that their ancestor was Maurice, brother of Earl Maldouin and son of
Aulay, whose name appears in the Ragman Roll as having sworn fealty
to Edward I. in 1296. According to Skene, these Aulays were of the
family of De Fasselan, who afterwards succeeded to the earldom.
The MacAulays consider themselves a sept of the clan Gregor,
their chief being designed of Ardincaple from his residence in
Dumbartonshire. That property was in their possession in the reign
of Edward I. They early settled in the Lennox, and their names often
occur in the Lennox chartulary, hence the very natural supposition
that they sprung from that distinguished house. In a bond of manrent,
or deed of clanship, entered into between MacGregor of Glenstrae
and MacAulay of Ardincaple, of date 27th May 1591, the latter
acknowledges his being a cadet of the former, and agrees to pay him
the “calp,” that is, a tribute of cattle given in acknowledgment of
superiority. In 1694, in a similar bond given to Sir Duncan Campbell
of Auchinbreck, they again declared themselves MacGregors. “Their
connection with the MacGregors,” says Mr Skene, “led them to take
some part in the feuds that unfortunate race were at all times
engaged in, but the protection of the Earls of Lennox seems to have
relieved the MacAulays from the consequences which fell so heavily on
the MacGregors.”
Mr Joseph Irving, in his _History of Dumbartonshire_ (p. 418), states
that the surname of the family was originally Ardincaple of that
ilk, and seems inclined to believe in their descent from the Earl of
Lennox. He says, “A Celtic derivation may be claimed for this family,
founded on the agreement entered into between the chief of the
clan Gregor and Ardincaple in 1591, where they describe themselves
as originally descended from the same stock, ‘M’Alpins of auld,’
but the theory most in harmony with the annals of the house (of
Ardincaple of that ilk) fixes their descent from a younger son of
the second Alwyn, Earl of Lennox.” Alexander de Ardincaple who lived
in the reign of James V., son of Aulay de Ardincaple, was the first
to assume the name of MacAulay, as stated in the _Historical and
Critical Remarks_ on the Ragman Roll,[227] “to humour a patronymical
designation, as being more agreeable to the head of a clan than the
designation of Ardincaple of that ilk.”
When the MacGregors fell under the ban of the law, Sir Aulay
MacAulay, the then chief, became conspicuous by the energy with which
he turned against them, probably to avert suspicion from himself,
as a bond of caution was entered into on his account on Sept. 8,
1610. He died in Dec. 1617, and was succeeded by his cousin-german,
Alexander.
Walter MacAulay, the son of Alexander, was twice sheriff of Dumbarton.
With Aulay MacAulay, his son and successor, commenced the decline
of the family. He and his successors indulged in a system of
extravagant living, which compelled them to dispose, piece by piece,
of every acre of their once large possessions. Although attached to
Episcopacy, he was by no means a partisan of James VII., for in 1689
he raised a company of fencibles in aid of William and Mary.
Aulay MacAulay, the twelfth and last chief of the MacAulays, having
seen the patrimony of his house sold, and his castle roofless, died
about 1767. Ardincaple had been purchased by John, fourth Duke of
Argyll, and now belongs to the Argyll family.
About the beginning of the 18th century, a number of MacAulays
settled in Caithness and Sutherland. Others went into Argyleshire,
and some of the MacPheiderans of that county acknowledged their
descent from the MacAulays.
A tribe of MacAulays were settled at Uig, Ross-shire, in the
south-west of the island of Lewis, and many were the feuds which
they had with the Morrisons, or clan _Alle Mhuire_, the tribe of
the servant or disciple of Marg, who were located at Ness, at the
north end of the same island. In the reign of James VI., one of
the Lewis MacAulays, Donald Cam, so called from being blind of one
eye, renowned for his great strength, distinguished himself on the
patriotic side, in the troubles that took place, first with the
Fifeshire colonies at Stornoway. Donald Cam Macaulay had a son, _Fear
Bhreinis_, “The Man,” or Tacksman “of Brenish,” of whose feats of
strength many songs and stories are told. His son, Aulay MacAulay,
minister of Harris, had six sons and some daughters. Five of his sons
were educated for the church, and one named Zachary he bred for the
bar.
One of Aulay MacAulay’s sons was the Rev. John Macaulay, A.M., was
grandfather of the celebrated orator, statesman, and historian, Lord
Macaulay. One of his sons entered the East India Company’s military
service, and attained the rank of general.
Another son, Aulay Macaulay, was known as a miscellaneous writer.
In 1796 he was presented to the vicarage of Rothley, by Thomas
Babington, Esq., M.P., who had married his sister Jane. He died
February 24, 1819.
Zachary, a third son, was for some years a merchant at Sierra
Leone. On his return to London, he became a prominent member of the
Anti-slavery Society, and obtained a monument in Westminster Abbey.
He married Miss Mills, daughter of a Bristol merchant, and had a son,
Thomas Babington Macaulay, LORD MACAULAY, author of “The History
of England,” “Lays of Ancient Rome,” &c., and M.P. for the city of
Edinburgh.
FOOTNOTES:
[216] _Highlanders_, vol. ii. p. 235.
[217] _Highlands and Isles of Scotland_, p. 111.
[218] Vol. ii. p. 435.
[219] Introduction to _Rob Roy_.
[220] A MS., part of it evidently of ancient date, a copy of which
was kindly lent to the editor by John Grant of Kilgraston, Esq.,
boldly sets out by declaring that the great progenitor of the Grants
was the Scandinavian god Wodin, who “came out of Asia about the
year 600” A.D. While a thread of genealogical truth seems to run
through this MS., little reliance can be placed on the accuracy of
its statements. It pushes dates, till about the 16th century, back
more than 200 years, and contains many stories which are evidently
traditionary or wholly fabulous. The latter part of it, however,
written about the end of last century, may undoubtedly be relied upon
as the work of a contemporary.
[221] _Caledonia_, vol. i. p. 596.
[222] P. 321.
[223] _Highlands and Isles of Scotland_, p. 80.
[224] _Skene’s Highlanders_, vol. ii. p. 259.
[225] _Register of the Great Seal_, lib. vi. No. 17
[226] _Register of Great Seal_, 31, No. 159.
[227] _Nisbet_, vol. ii. App.