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

Anderson and MacAndrewClan 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.

ArmstrongClan 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.

BairdClan 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. 

BarclayClan 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. 

BrodieClan 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.

BruceClan 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.

BuchananClan 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.

CameronClan 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. 

CampbellClan 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. 

Campbell of BraedalbaneClan 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.

Campbell of CawdorClan 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. 

ChisholmClan 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 ChattanClan 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.

ColquhounClan 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. 

CummingClan 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. 

CunninghamClan 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.

DavidsonClan 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.

DouglasClan 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.

DrummondClan 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. 

DuncanClan 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.

ElliotClan 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. 

ErskineClan 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.

FarquharsonClan 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.

FergussonClan 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.

FletcherClan 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.

ForbesClan 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.

Fraser of LovatClan 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.

Part 2: Clans GORDON - MacDONELL of GLENGARRY

Part 3: Clans MacDONELL of KEPPOCH - MacQUARRIE

Part 4: Clans MacQUEEN - WALLACE


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