JUST KILTS, Eskbank, Scotland
presents
Scottish
Clans
and
Tartans
This page: Clans ANDERSON - FRASER of LOVAT
Part
2: Clans GORDON - MacDONELL of GLENGARRY
Part
3: Clans MacDONELL of KEPPOCH - MacQUARRIE
Part
4: Clans MacQUEEN - WALLACE
Clan
Anderson or MacAndrew
Gaelic name:
Mac
Ghille Aindrais
Crest Badge:
Oak
tree
Motto: Stand
sure
Anderson means "son
of Andrew". In the Highlands they are usually called "MacAndrew", in the
Lowlands "Anderson".
Some of the Andersons
are traditionally associated with ther MacDonells of Glengarry. However,
the clan is regarded as a sept of Clan Chattan from the beginning of the
15th century. It is recorded that the MacAndrews came to Badenoch from
Moidart around 1400.
A famous clan member
was John MacAndrew of Dalnahatnich, a great bowman. There
are many tales and legends about his dangerous adventures. So he is said
to have killed most members of a group of raiders from Lochaber who plundered
Badenoch in 1670 driving away much cattle. Only one raider could
escape and the Lochaber men swore vengeance but for years they weren´t
able to kill their enemy.
Clan
Armstrong
Gaelic name:
Mac
Ghillielàidir
Crest Badge:
An
embowed arm
Motto: Invitus
maneo (I remain unvanquished)
The Armstrongs were one of the most important
and notorious Border families quieting and keeping in obedience that very
unsafe and turbulent region beyond the border to England.
It is said that there was one Fairbairn,
an armour bearer to a Scottish king. When his horse was killed under him
in a battle the king granted him lands on the Borders and named him Armstrong.
This had taken place around 1376 when the Armstrongs first appeared. Their
power was unquestionable. So could they recruit 3.000 men at a time and
their lawlessness kept the Borders in turmoil.
The most notorious Armstrong was John Armstrong
of Gilnockie who was hanged together with over 30 of his followers
at Carlingrigg. This event became subject of one of the best-known Border
ballads.
Clan
Baird
Gaelic name:
Mac
a´bhaird
Crest Badge:
An
erased eagle´s head
Motto: Dominus
fecit (The Lord made)
"Baird" is the Gaelic name for a poet. The
beginning of the clan was in the time of king William I. who made extensive
grants of land in Lanarkshire to a clan member who saved his life from
a wild boar. In the early 14th ct. Robert the Bruce granted Robert Baird
the Barony of Cambusnethan, also in Lanarkshire.
Later this family spread north to Banffshire
and Aberdeenshire. There one George Baird married the niece of the
Earl Marischal and the family increased in importance supplying many sheriffs.
Another branch made it to East Lothian.
The family produced a lot of notable leaders.
General
Sir David Baird from the East Lothian branch served in India where
he was one of the only two survivors of the 73rd Highland Regiment at the
defeat of the British forces in 1780. After his release he was the commander
in the battle of Seringapatam in 1799, captured the Cape of Good Hope from
the Dutch in 1806 and was at the siege of Copenhagen in 1807.
Clan
Barclay
Crest Badge:
A
hand holding a dagger
Motto: Aut
agere aut mori (Either action or death)
The Scottish Barclays are said to be descended
from the Berkeleys who came to England with William the Conqueror. In 1165
Walter
de Berkeley was Chamberlain of Scotland and there were a lot of Berkeleys
in Kincardineshire and East Scotland in the 12th and 13th ct.
The first who called himself Barclay was the
son
of Alexander Berkeley who obtained lands in Kincardineshire in 1351.
The lands remained in the possession of the family until David Barclay
had to sell his estates at the beginning of the 17th ct. In the 19th ct.
the chiefship passed to the descendants of James Barclay of Mill of
Towie.
A famous Barclay was Colonel David Barclay
of Urie who served under the Swedish king Gustav Adolf and purchased
the Urie estates in 1647. His son Robert was appointed govenor of
New Jersey in 1682 but didn´t reside there. A branch in Aberdeenshire,
the Barclays of Tolly produced the famous Russian General and Field
Marshall Prince Barclay de Tolly who died in 1818.
Clan
Brodie
Gaelic name:
Brothaigh
Crest Badge:
An
arm holding three arrows
Motto: Unite
Residence of the Chief: Brodie
Castle in Morayshire
From earliest times the Clan Brodie was associated
with the ancient province of Moray. In the 12th ct. king Malcolm IV. confirmed
their lands there. In 1312 Michael, Thane of Brodie, received a
charter from Robert the Bruce and served at the battle of Bannockburn.
Between the 13th and the 15th ct. many charters
were granted. John Brodie assisted the MacKenzies against the MacDonalds
in the battle of Blair-na-park in 1466. In 1550 Alexander Brodie
and a lot of other people were denounced as rebels for attacking Alexander
Cumming of Altyre.
Alexander Brodie of Brodie, born in
1617, was a senator of the College of Justice representing the county of
Elgin in the Parliament from 1643. As a royalist he went to Holland after
the death of king Charles I. in 1649 to treat with Charles II. Nevertheless
he was called to London by Cromwell to negotiate a union between England
and Scotland but avoided emplayment under him. He died in 1679.
Another Alexander Brodie of Brodie,
born in 1697, was appointed Lord Lyon King at Arms in 1727.
Clan
Bruce
Gaelic name:
Brus
Crest Badge:
A
standing lion with extended tail
Motto: Fuimus
(We have been)
Sir Robert de Brus, a Norman knight
who accompanied king William the Conqueror to England is said to be the
founder of this clan. Everything started when he Robert de Brus was the
companion of Prince David, the later king David I. during his stay at the
court of Henry I. of England in London. As a reward the king granted him
the Lordship of Annandale. He gave the lands to his son Robert at
the outbreak of the war between England and Scotland, and at the battle
of the Standard in 1138, the father who fought on the English side is said
to have taken his own son prisoner.
The Bruce´s claim to the throne of Scotland
were based on a marriage of Robert, 4th Lord of Annandale with a
niece of king William the Lion.
Robert, the 7th Lord of Annandale and 2nd
Earl of Carrick was the famous Robert the Bruce, born in 1274. He
was the victor of the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 which led to the independence
from England acknowledged by the Treaty of Northampton in 1328. He died
at Cardross in Dumbartonshire in 1329. His body was buried in Dunfermline
but his heart in Melrose.
Clan
Buchanan
Gaelic name:
Canonach
Crest Badge:
A
dexter hand holding up a chapeau within a laurel wreath
Motto: Clarior
hinc honos (Brighter hence the honour)
The clan Buchanan derives from Anselan
o´Kyan, son of an Irish Ulster king who landed in Argyll in 1016.
For his service against the Danish vikings he received the lands of Buchanan
to the east of Loch Lomond from king Malcolm II. These lands remained in
the family for almost seven centuries until the death of John, 22nd laird
of Buchanan, in 1682 when the chiefship passed to the Leny branch. The
principal line became extinct in 1762 when the chieftain passed to Buchanan
of Spittal.
The clan supported Robert the Bruce and assisted
the French king after the battle of Agincourt. It is said that Sir Alexander
Buchanan killed the Duke of Clarence at the battle of Bauge in 1421. Supporting
Mary Stewart the clan also took an active part in the battle of Pinkie
in 1547 and at Langside in 1568.
George Buchanan, a famous Latin scholar,
was tutor of both Mary Stewart and her son, the later king James VI. and
keeper of the Privy Seal from 1570 until 1578.
Clan
Cameron
Gaelic name:
Camshron
Crest Badge:
A
sheaf of five arrows tied with a band
Motto: Aonaibh
ri cheile (Unite)
Described as "fiercer than fierceness itself"
the clan Cameron is reputed to be one of the ancient clans of Scotland
consisting originally of three branches - the MacMartins of Letterfinlay,
the MacGillonies of Strone and the MacSorlies of Glen Nevis. The famous
Camerons of Lochiel descended from the Strone branch getting their lands
and the chiefship through marriage with the Letterfinlay branch.
The Camerons assisted Donald, Lord of the
Isles, at the battle of Harlaw in 1411. Later, however, the Camerons became
enemies of the Lord of the Isles and for a long time fierce feuds followed.
A notable chief was Sir Ewen of Lochiel,
born in 1629, who was knighted by king Charles II. in 1680. Nine years
later he fought at Killiecrankie. As a strong supporter of Bonnie Prince
Charlie but already too old to fight Sir Ewen sent the clan under his son
to help the Earl of Mar in the Jacobite cause in 1715. In 1745 his grandson
Donald, known as "the Gentle Lochiel", joined Bonnie Prince Charlie
and was one of the outstanding personalities of that Rising. Although wounded
at Culloden he managed to escape to France and died there in 1748. The
family estates were forfeited but through the General Act od Amnesty in
1748 his grandson Donald resumed possession as the 22nd chief.
Clan
Campbell
Gaelic name:
Caimbeul
Crest Badge:
A
boar´s head
Motto: Ne
obliviscaris (Never forget)
Known as "the race of Diarmid" the Campbells
were for centuries one of the most powerful families of Argyll and the
west of Scotland. In the 13th ct. Archibald Campbell obtained the
Lordship of Lochow through his marriage with the daughter of the king´s
Treasurer so this branch was for centuries the most important one of the
clan. Sir Colin of Lochow, progenitor of the Campbells of Argyll,
was knighted in 1280. His son, Sir Duncan, was created a peer by
James III. in 1445, and his grandson Colin was made 1st Earl of
Argyll in 1457.
Another famous member of the clan was Archibald,
the 5th Earl, who although a Reformer, commanded the army of Queen
Mary at the battle of Langside in 1568, while his brother Colin supported
King James VI. Archibald, the 7th Earl, was defeated at Glenlivet
by the Earls Huntly and Erroll in 1594 and his son, the "cross-eyed
Archibald", was a famous Covenanter leader being created a marquis
in 1641 but in spite of his loyalty was beheaded in 1661. In 1685, his
son Archibald was also beheaded for his part in the Monmouth rebellion.
Archibald, the 10th Earl, became a
supporter of King William of Orange and was made a duke. John, 9th Duke,
married Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria.
Clan
Campbell of Braedalbane
Gaelic name:
Caimbeul
Crest Badge:
A
boar´s head
Motto: Follow
me
The Campbells of Braedalbane trace their family
back to the above mentioned Sir Colin, son of Sir Duncan Campbell
of Lochow. He received the lands of Glenorchy from his father, and through
the marriage with the daughter of Lord Lorn he got the third part of these
lands too. It was he who built Kilchurn Castle in 1440 und was made a Knight
of Rhodes for his participation in a crusade to the Holy Land.
His descendants were sucessful in adding lands
in Glenlyon, Finlarig and throughout Argyll and Perthshire. The famous
Sir
John Campbell, 11th laird of Glenorchy and described as cunning as
a fox, as wise as a serpent and as slippery as an eel, was created Earl
of Braedalbane in 1681 and was a strong supporter of King Charles II. Despite
Jacobite leanings he bribed the Highland clans, especially the MacDonalds,
to submit to William III in 1689 which culminated in the massacre of Glancoe
in 1692 for which he was blamed. He died in 1716.
Clan
Campbell of Cawdor
Gaelic name:
Caimbeul
Crest Badge:
A
crowned swan
Motto: Be
mindful
Residence of
the chief: Cawdor Castle near Nairn
The founder of this Campbell branch was Sir
John Campbell, 3rd son of the 2nd Earl of Argyll, who married Murielly,
daughter of Sir John Calder of Calder, in 1510. He died in 1546 but his
widow survived him for almost thrity years. On her death the Thanedom of
Cawdor passed to her grandson John Campbell, who purchased the Isle
of Islay remaining in the possession of the family until 1726 when it was
purchased by Campbell of Shawfield.
Another Sir John Campbell, 9th Thane
of Cawdor, spent most time of his life in Wales being created Lord Cawdor
of Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire in 1796. During the last invasion of Great
Britain in 1797, when 1200 French soldiers landed at Fishguard, Lord Cawdor
with only a few troups and a large number of local people took them all
prisoner. He died in 1821 and was succeeded by his son, John Frederick
Campbell who became Earl of Cawdor in 1827.
Clan
Chisholm
Gaelic name:
Siosal
Crest Badge:
A
dexter hand holding an erected dagger with a boar´s head on it
Motto: Feros
ferio (I am fierce with the fierce)
It is claimed by some that the Chisholms would
be of Celtic origin. Others say the clan would be of Norman origin and
came from the Borders. The first known Chisholm was Sir Robert Gordon,
Thane of Caithness, who lived in the 12th ct. In the Ragman Rolls of 1296
one Richard de Cheschelme and one John de Cheshome are mentioned who had
given allegiance to King Edward I. of England.
In 1359 Sir Robert, Lord of Chisholm,
became Constable of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. His son Alexander
Chisholm married the heiress of Erchless in Kintail and founded the
family of Erchless and Strathglass. In 1513, when this line became extinct,
Wiland
de Chesholm of another branch obtained the lands of Erchless.
In 1715 the clan supported the Jacobite cause
under the Earl of Mar, and in 1745 the Chisholm chief joined Bonnie Prince
Charlie and fought at Culloden. It was a Chisholm who sheltered the Prince
after the battle in Glenmoriston and led him across the country to Arisaig
where he could escape to the Isle of Skye.
Clan
Chattan
Gaelic name:
Clann
Gillacatan
Crest Badge:
A
salient cat
Motto: Don´t
touch the cat but a glove (=without a glove)
Clan Chattan, the "Clan of the Cats",
was a very ancient federation of several clans originally made up of the
Macintoshes, Davidsond, MacPhersons, MacGillivrays and MacBeans and later
strenthened by other clans like the Farquharsons.
The first authentic chief was Gillechattan
Mor from whom descended Dougall Dall, the 6th chief. He passed
his chiefship to his daughter Eva and when, in 1291, she married
Angus,
6th Laird of Mackintosh, he became Chief of Clan Chattan as well although
also the MacPherson Clan claimed the chiefship through descent from Muireach,
the Parson of Kingussie.
The feud over the chiefship lasted for over
200 years, the only gain by the MacPhersons being the right of arms of
a cadet of Clan Chattan. This position held until 1938 when the 28th chief
of Mackintosh died without a male descendant. He nominated his successor
as chief of Clan Mackintosh but not of Clan Chattan so the chiefships of
the two clans separated. In 1947 Duncan Alexander Elliot Mackintosh
was again granted the arms of Clan Chattan by Lord Lyon.
Clan
Colquhoun
Gaelic name:
Mac
a´ Chombaich
Crest Badge:
A
couped hart´s head
Motto: Si
je puis (If I can)
This clan takes its name from the lands of
Colquhoun in Dumbartonshire which were granted to Humphrey of Kilpatrick
by Malcolm, Earl of Lennox in the time of King Alexander II. In the 14th
ct., Sir Robert Kilpatrick of Colquhoun married the daughter of
the Laird of Luss, and since then the chief of Clan Colquhoun is also the
one of Luss.
The Colquhouns were one of the clans outlawing
the MacGregors in the 16th and 17th ct. In 1602, after a conference between
the two clans, the Colquhouns hoped to trap the MacGregors in Glenfruin.
Their intention was anticipated, however, by Alastair MacGregor of Glenstrae,
and after a bloody conflict the Colquhouns were defeated and their chief
killed. In revenge they denounced the MacGregors which were proscribed
by King James VI. and their name forbidden under pain of death for almost
two centuries.
Clan
Cumming
Gaelic name:
Cuimean
Crest Badge:
A
rampant lion holding a dagger in his dexter paw
Motto: Courage
When Robert the Bruce secured the throne to
Scotland he generally rewarded his friends at the expense of his enemies,
and the family of Comyn (Cumming) was among those who lost land and titles.
However, the Cummings remained numerous in the northeast of Scotland.
The most important branches are the Cummings
of Culter and those of Altyre. The Cummings of Culter traced their descent
from Jardine Comyn, son of a 13th ct. Earl of Buchan but it were
the Cummings of Altyre who occupied the principal position since the fall
of the Comyn Clan. The first Cumming of Altyre was Ferquhard,
son of Sir Richard Cumming, a 14th ct. descendant of the Lords of Badenoch.
In 1594 Alexander Cumming of Altyre commanded a troop of horse in
Huntly´s army at the battle of Glenlivet.
In 1657 Robert Cumming of Altyre married
Lucy, daughter of Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstown, and when the last
Gordon of Gordonstown died another Alexander Cumming was his
heir, assumed name and arms of the Gordons of Gordonstown and was finially
created a baronet in 1804. He died 1806.
Clan
Cunningham
Gaelic name:
MacCuinneagain
Crest Badge:
A unicorn´s head
Motto: Over fork
over
The name Cunningham first appaered in the
12th ct. and is derived from the district of Cunninghame in Ayrshire. For
his bravery in the battle of Largs against the Vikings in 1263, Hervey
de Cunningham received from King Alexander III. the lands of Kilmaurs.
His descendants could increase the family possessions including Glencairn,
from which Alexander de Cunningham took his title when created Earl
of Glencairn by James III. in 1488. He was killed at the battle of Sauchieburn
in the same year.
William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn
was born about 1610. He became Privy Councillor and Commissioner of the
Treasury in 1641 and Lord Justice General in 1646. In 1653 he raised an
army in the Highlands in support of Charles II and against Cromwell. After
the restauration he became Lord Chancellor of Scotland and died 1664.
James, 14th Earl of Glencairn, was
a friend of Robert Burns, and when he died in 1791, Burns wrote his well-known
"Lament for the Earl of Glencairn". With the death of John, the 15th
Earl, who died without issue in 1796, the earldom of Glencairn became
dormant.
Clan
Davidson
Gaelic name:
MacDhaibhidh
Crest Badge:
An
erased stag´s head
Motto: Sapienter
si sincere (Wisely if sincerely)
Residence of the chief: Tulloch
Castle near Dingwall
The clan is known as Clann Dhai from its first
chief, David Dubh of Invernahaven.
Shortly before 1350, Donald Dubh of Invernahaven,
chief of the Davidsons, had married the daughter of Angus, 6th of Mackintosh
and sought the protection of his brother-in-law William, 7th of Mackintosh.
Thus he became associated with the Clan Chattan confederation.
Of course the entry into the Clan Chattan
led to some serious disputes. Especially between the Davidsons and the
MacPhersons there was enmity. In 1370, when the Mackintosh headed several
branches of the Clan Chattan in a battle with the Camerons on the matter
of conflicting land claims in Lochaber, the MacPhersons dissociated themselves
from the confederation and watched its defeat. During the night, Mackintosh
sent his bard, as coming from the Cameronsd, to the camp of the MacPhersons
and accused them of cowardice. Thus enraged, the MacPhersons attacked the
Camerons and completly defeated them.
In 1396 again the Clann Dhai is said to have
opposed the MacPhersons at the battle of the North Inch of Perth.
Clan
Douglas
Gaelic name:
Dobhghlas
Crest Badge:
A
salamander in fire on a chapeau
Motto: Jamais
arrière (Never behind)
Although this was one of the most powerful
families in Scotland the origin of the Douglas family is unknown. The first
bearer of the name was William de Duglas who lived between 1175
and 1199. He had 6 sons, five associated with the Province of Moray.
The Douglases were prominent in the struggle
for Scotland´s independence in the days of Wallace and Bruce, and
"the
Good Sir James", while carrying Bruce´s heart to the Holy Land,
was killed fighting against the Moors in Spain in 1330. His nephew, William
Douglas, was created Earl of Douglas in 1357 and became Earl of Mar
through the marriage with Margaret, sister of the 13th Earl of Mar. His
son James Douglas was killed at Otterburn in 1388 and his half-brother
George
Douglas became Earl of Angus in 1389 and was for a long time in rebellion
against King James V. He took the young king prisoner for over three years.
The earldom of Douglas was forfeited in 1455 when James, 9th Earl,
deserted the Scottish cause.
In 1633 William, 11th Earl of Angus,
was created Marquis of Douglas, and Archibald, 3rd Marquis, became
Duke of Douglas in 1703. He died without heir in 1761 and his titles, except
the dukedom, passed to the 7th Duke of Hamilton.
Clan
Drummond
Gaelic name:
Drummann
Crest Badge:
A
goshawk with expanded wings
Motto: Gang
warily (Go careful)
One Gilbert de Dromond - Counte de
Dunbrettan - swore fealty to the English king Edward I. That points to
Drymen as the original territory of the clan. We know that Sir Malcolm
de Drymen supported Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn and is said to
have strewn the ground with the spiked caltrops which had been so disatrous
for the English cavalry. After Bannockburn he got lands in Perthshire with
which the Drummonds are associated since then.
Sir John Drummond was created Lord
Drummond in 1488, and in 1605 James VI. conferred the earldom of Perth
on the 4th Lord of Drummond. The Drummonds were always loyal to the Stuarts
and got several earldoms and viscountries. During the Jacobite Risings,
the Earl of Perth was create a Duke by Bonnie Prince Charlie after his
escape to France the clan followed him leaving the forfeited estates behind.
In 1785 the great-grandson of the 1st Earl got them back and became Lord
Perth in 1797.
Clan
Duncan
Gaelic name:
Mac
Dhonnchaidh
Crest Badge:
A
ship under sail
Motto: Disce
pati (Learn to suffer)
The Duncans and the Robertson seem to have
the same origin. They were descended from the ancient Earls of Atholl and
took their name from the chief Donnachadh Reamhar - the fat Duncan,
who led the clan at the battle of Bannockburn.
They possessed lands in the old Forfarshire
(today´s Angus) including the barony of Lundie and the estate of
Gourdie. Sir William Duncan was one of the physicians to King George
III. and became a baronet in 1764. On his death in 1774 the title became
extinct.
Alexander Duncan of Lundie became provost
of Dundee and was a royalist during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. His second
son Adam Duncan was born in 1731 and defeated the Spanish at Cape
St. Vincent. In 1795 he was appointed commander of the fleet in the North
Sea and was Admiral of the Blue. He blockaded the Dutch fleet for two years
and gained one of the most glorious vixtories in the history of the British
Navy deafeating the Dutch fleet at Camperdown in 1797. For these services
he was created Viscount Du7ncan of Camperdown by King George IV. in 1800.
Clan
Elliot
Crest Badge:
An
erected arm in armour with a broad sword
Motto: Fortiter
et recte (With strength and right)
The Elloits are a Border clan, although it
is thought that the family took their name from the villiage of Eliot in
Angus. Today the principal families are the Elliots of Redheugh and Stobs.
Contributing to settlements in Nova Scotia
Gilbert
Elliot of Stobs was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia by King Charles
II. George Elliot, the youngest son of the 3rd baronet, was born
in 1718. He entered the army and served in the Austrian Succession War.
When Spain and France laid siege to Gibraltar in 1799, he was Govenor there.
Over 100.000 soldiers, 48 ships and 450 cannons were used by the enemy
but the British under Elliot remained undefeated.
Clan
Erskine
Gaelic name:
Arascain
Crest Badge:
A
dexter hand holding a dagger
Motto: Je
pense plus (I think more)
This ancient name derived from the barony
of Erskine in Renfrewshire, owned by Henry of Erskine in the 13.
ct. The family was loyal to Robert the Bruce and related to him by marriage.
Sir
Robert de Erskine was Great Chamberlain of Scotland and constable and
keeper of the castles of Stirling, Edinburgh and Dumbarton. He died in
1385.
His son Sir Robert Erskine assumed
the old Celtic title of Earl of Mar in 1435. His son, Sir Thomas Erskine,
was dispossessed by King James II. in 1457, but in 1467 he was created
Lord Erskine. As a strong supporter of the royals Sir John, 4th Lord
Erskine, had charge of the infant Queen Mary in Stirling Castle and
Inchmaholme and took her to France. His son Alexander Erskine was
ancestor of the Earls of Kellie.
In 1565 John, the 5th Lord Erskine,
was confirmed in the earldom of Mar by Mary Stewart but in 1716 the title
and the lands were forfeited because of the participation of the Earl of
Mar in the Jacobite Rising. In 1824 James Erskine, son of the 7th
Earl of Mar, got the lands and the title back and acquired the earldom
of Buchan through marriage.
Clan
Farquharson
Gaelic name:
MacFhearchair
Crest Badge:
A
rampant lion holding a sword in his dexter paw
Motto: Fide
et fortitudine (Fidelity and fortitude)
This Aberdeenshire clan was a memeber of the
Clan Chattan confederation and took its name from Farqhuar, son of Shaw
of Rothiemurchus.
A prominent member of the clan was Finlay
Mor, who carried the royal standard at the battle of Pinkie where he
was killed in 1547. In 1645 the Farquharsons of Monaltrie fought in the
army of Montrose and at the battle of Worcester in 1651. In the Jacobite
Risings they were loyal supporters of the royals and distinguished themselves
at Falkirk and Culloden. Francis of Monaltrie, known as the Baron
Ban, was taken prisoner there but he reprieved and was allowed to reside
in England. He returned to Scotland in 1766.
The Farquharsons acquired Invercauld by marriage
with the MacHardy clan and acknowledged the Mackintoshes as their chiefs
in a document signed at Invercauld. Anne Farquharson, the so-called
"Colonel Anne", raised the Mackintoshes for Bonnie Prince Charlie, while
her husband fought on the side of the enemy.
Clan
Fergusson
Gaelic name:
MacFhearghuis
Crest Badge:
A
bee on a thistle
Motto: Dulcius
ex asperis (Sweeter after difficulties)
Many families of that name were established
throughout Scotland by an early date. In Perthshire there were the Fergussons
of Dunfallandy and Balquhidder, in Aberdeenshire the Fergussons of Kinmundy
and Pitfour, in Fife the families of Raith, in Ayrshire the Kilkerran family
and in Dumfriesshire the Fergussons of Craigdarroch who always claim to
descend from Fergus, Prince of Galloway who lived in the 12th ct.
In Argyll, where the clan is numerous, the
Fergussons held lands in Strachur until the early 19th ct. and there was
a connection to the Fergussons of Kilkerran who produced a Lord of Session
in 1735 when Sir James, 2nd Baronet, was appointed Lord of Session
and took the title Lord Kilkerran. His son George, who too became
Lord of Session in 1799, took the title Lord Hermand.
The Fergussons of Perthshire were recognized
as the principal Highland branch of the clan.
Clan
Fletcher
Gaelic name:
Mac
an Fhleisteir
Crest Badge:
Two naked arms shooting an arrow out of a bow sable
A fletcher is a maker of arrows, and therefore
the name is associated with many clans like the Stewarts or the Campbells.
The Fletchers of Glenlyon in Argyll originally were arrow-makers of the
MacGregors. It is said that one Fletcher once saved Rob Roy´s life.
They also were supporters of the Jacobites in the Rising of 1745.
In 1643 the Fletchers of Innerpeffer in Angus
purchased the estate of Saltoun in Haddington, East Lothian. To this family
belonged Andrew Fletcher, the celebrated Scottish patriot, and his
nephew, another Andrew Fletcher Lord Milton, who became a well-known
judge. Archibald Fletcher, born 1745 in Glenlyon, was the father of the
burgh reform.
Later the name Fletcher became confused with
that of Flesher so that many Fletchers may be Fleshers and vice versa.
Clan
Forbes
Gaelic name:
Foirbeis
Crest Badge:
A
stag´s head
Motto: Grace
me guide
This clan traces its origin to John of Forbes
who held the lands of Forbes in Aberdeenshire in the 13. ct. In 1303 Alexander
of Forbes was killed during an attack on Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness
by the English, and his son was killed at the battle of Dupplin near Perth
in 1332.
In 1442 another Alexander Forbes was
created Baron Forbes by King James II. and married the grand-daughter of
King Robert III.
The Forbes of Culloden were descended from
Sir
John Forbes of Forbes through the Forbes of Tolquhoun. Duncan Forbes,
Laird of Culloden, who was Lord President of the Court of Session at
the time of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, exercised his powerful influence
to prevent many clans from joining the army of Prince Charles. Perhaps
this Rising never have occurred if the government had been willing to take
his advice. He never got any reward for his loyalty to the English king.
In 1633 Alexander Forbes got the peerage
of Pitsligo. Alexander, the 4th Lord Pitsligo, opposed against the
Union Act of 1707 and took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715 and 1745.
His estate were therefore forfeited and on the death of his son the title
became dormant.
The Forbes of Craigievar were descended from
James,
2nd Lord Forbes. Sir William, 8th of Craigievar, succeeded his
cousin as Lord Sempill and Premier Baron of Scotland.
Clan
Fraser of Lovat
Gaelic name:
Friseal
Crest Badge:
A
buck´s head
Motto: Je
suis prest (I am ready)
The name of Fraser, said to be of Norman origin,
is first found in the south of Scotland in the 12th ct. The first recorded
Fraser in the Highlands was possibly Sir Andrew Fraser who acquired
the lands of Lovat through his wife, the daughter of the Earl of Orkney
and Caithness.
In 1544 the Frasers supported the claim of
Ranald who had been fostered by Lovat, to the chiefship of Clan Ranald,
against that of John MacDonald of Moidart. As a result, the Battle of the
Shirts was fought on the shores of Loch Lochy between the two clans with
the terrible result that only five Frasers and eight MacDonalds survived.
In the royalist cause the Frasers opposed
Montrose but supported the Viscount Dundee. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord
Lovat, the so-called "Old Fox", supported the government in the 1715
Rising but switched to the Jacobite cause in 1745. For his part in that
rebellion he was finally executed, although it was his son who had commanded
the clan at Culloden. The son was pardoned, and in 1757 raised 1800 Frasers
for service in America.
Because of the Jacobite activity, the title
was attainted in 1747, and about 50 years later the direct line failed.
In 1837 Thomas of Strichen was created Baron Lovat. Today Lady
Saltoun is the Fraser Chief, but the Frasers of Lovat have for long
formed the Highland branch.
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