A somewhat mysterious figure who doesn't appear in any of the published Clan Macleod genealogies,... more A somewhat mysterious figure who doesn't appear in any of the published Clan Macleod genealogies, Donald Macleod of Galtrigill (c. 1677-1749), 1 was one of a network of related individuals who protected Charles Edward Stuart in the aftermath of the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in April 1746. 2 Although an account of his ancestry has thus far eluded Macleod genealogists, there are families who claim to be descended from him. Indeed, one of those families, resident in Australia, still possesses a scarf pin said to have been found amongst clothes given to the fugitive Prince by either Lady Clanranald or Lady Margaret Macdonald. 3 These Australian Macleods also possess a family tree (dated 1939) detailing their emigrant ancestor's connection to a Norman Macleod, (son of Malcolm, son of Norman Mor) who lived at a place, named Bolvean, near Orbost in Skye. According to notes written by a Dr. Neil Ross, Norman Macleod of Bolvean was married to a lady (named Janet MacNeil), who was nurse to the Chief Norman Macleod of Dunvegan (1812-1895) and his siblings, in what was known as the yellow bedroom of the castle. Her own children were the same age. One of her sons Angus Dubh was a Sheriff Officer and in the late nineteenth century his son Kenneth Macleod of Kirkton Cottage, Dunvegan, was the Dunvegan estate joiner. Kenneth Macleod was succeeded in this position by his son Dugald. Prior to these men, the position of estate joiner was held by Macleod of Dunvegan's hereditary galley makers, a family who lived at Colbost, near Galtrigill. Both the Colbost and Bolvean families trace their descent to a Norman Macleod, (though not necessarily the same man) who was probably born in the early part of the eighteenth century. Indeed the Colbost family's ancestor Norman is said to have fought at Culloden as part of the Raasay contingent. The croft at Bolvean was subsequently occupied by a Macleod family who claimed the previous occupants as kin. 4 Indeed, earlier generations of this family are on record in Galtrigill from the 1810s to the 1850s. Genealogical notes pertaining to the family tell us their ancestor Alexander Macleod (also likely born in the early eighteenth century) was 'the first to take the mills to Skye to grind corn', his descendants 'were generally called the millers and the miller's children for generations'. 5 Another genealogical note tells us he was a son of Donald, son of John of Raasay. 6 The obituary of his three times great granddaughter, printed in the 1962 Clan Macleod Magazine, states the following: Mrs Chirsty Macleod, Borreraig, Glendale, Skye. It was with regret that news was received of the death of Mrs Chirsty Macleod of the Parks, Borreraig, Dunvegan …. Her passing, however, strikes a page of history,
The yellow and black 'loud Macleod' tartan, today primarily associated with the Macleods of Lewis... more The yellow and black 'loud Macleod' tartan, today primarily associated with the Macleods of Lewis, appears to have been originally worn by the Raasay branch of the clan. Generally credited to the Sobieski Stuarts and their fraudulent publication the Vestiarium Scoticum, its origin-if the following anecdote from 1907 is to be believed-may in fact considerably predate that text 1 With regard to the Vestiarium Scoticum … the work was believed to have been a creation …. The yellow tartan there described, however, is Macleod. It was worn by the Raasay family, and is still worn by Macleod of Cadboll, representer of the old Lewis family. We have an old clansman in our Society who tells the following story:-He was employed in a firm of tartan merchants in Edinburgh-the most important in Scotland at that time-some 50 years ago. The manager had been in the firm since he was a boy in the early years of the century, and knew everything about tartans. Seeing our clansman took an interest in them, the manager told him many things about the tartans, and among others he described a call, he one time had from Macleod of Raasay, who brought with him what looked like an old blanket, but which proved to be old tartan. Raasay said it was very old-over 100 years-and he (our clansman) could well remember the manager's expression, 'and indeed it looked like it.' Raasay had a web made to this pattern, and our clansman has a piece of that web still in his possession. 2 A notice of the death of this old clansman appeared a year later in 1908, in an article concerning the Clan Macleod Society: 3 Reference is made to the death of Mr. George Macleod, who had been connected with the Society since its formation, and took a keen interest in all that concerned it, particularly the tartan. He had served in some of the best Tartan warehouses, was considered an authority on the subject, and was not unfrequently consulted by the present day establishments.
The Genealogy of the Macleods of Raasay Two letters printed in the The Oban Times in March and Ap... more The Genealogy of the Macleods of Raasay Two letters printed in the The Oban Times in March and April 1921, appear to name several early and hitherto unknown generations of the Macleods of Raasay. Although the genealogy given contradicts previously published accounts of the family and their descent from the Macleods of Lewis, it is partly corroborated by the available primary sources. In the first letter the writer an Alan Macleod of Edgbaston, Birmingham, stated the following: 1 A document which was in our family for generations, and came into my possession some years ago, puts a different construction to that given in your paragraph as to the fate of the Raasay Macleods. It gives every successor of the family for seven generations, from Torquil, Malcolm, John, Iain Garbh, with the names of their places and occupations, down to the present day. A cadet of the Raasay family settled in Ratagan, Kintail …. His descendants settled in Glenelg …. My grandfather's name is sixth on the list. I am over seventy years of age, with sons and grandsons. Alan Macleod provided some more details in his second letter: 2 Regarding the branch I belong to, I beg to send … a short copy of the papers I hold, with list of names:-Malcolm I. of Raasay had two sons or more, John and Duncan. Duncan was I. of Ratagan …. He had two sons or more, Donald and Duncan. From Donald came the Arnisdale Macleods. But Duncan settled in Maoil (now Moyle), Glenelg, with issue … Donald. Donald had issue … Roderick …. Roderick had issue … Kenneth-Mor, a soldier. Kenneth-Mor had issue … one of whom, Duncan … had five sons, one of whom Donald, married Sarah Macaskill … with issue … Angus … issue … Duncan … issue, five sons …. The writer is the eldest son.
An old tradition concerning the Macleods, especially those of Lewis and Raasay, names them Sìol n... more An old tradition concerning the Macleods, especially those of Lewis and Raasay, names them Sìol na Làire or Sìol a' Chapaill-the seed or tribe of the mare or horse-the horse being their emblem or totem. 1 It was said if you dreamt of a grey horse you were sure to have dealings with a Lewis man for good or ill. There is also at least one example of a horse crest featuring in the arms of the Macleods of Dunvegan. 2 Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's 'Leabhar na nGenealach' appears to be the earliest written evidence for this tradition, the following is taken from his list of the notable ancestors (historical and mythological) of one Alexander Macleod: 3 m. Leód ó ttáid Clanna Leóid, m. Lára (agus as í táining a síoth-broghaibh i riocht lára ionnus go rug triar mac ar a ffuil sliocht) … m. Balair … m. Ned a quo Uí Néid 'son or descendant of Leód from whom are the Clann Leóid, son or descendant of Láir (and it is she who came from the Sí-palaces in the form of a mare so that she bore three sons from whom are progeny) … son or descendant of Balor … son or descendant of Néit from whom the Uí Néid' Balor, a giant with a single deadly eye who has been interpreted as a personification of the scorching sun, was a mythological king of the Hebrides and champion of the malevolent and supernatural Fomorians. His grandfather Néit or Néid, 4 who dwelt in a place called Ailech Néit, was a son of Indui, king of the north country and lord of horse breeding peoples. 5 Ailech Imchell, the 'bright home of horses' and Ailech Frigrenn-after Frigriu-'a wright of Cé in Pictland' were the other names of this place. 6 Ailech Néit is also said to have been the burial place of the god of the underworld, Aed 'of the wind-swift horses', 7 who was a son of Néit's nephew the Dagda. 8 The name Aed or Aodh, according to a tradition preserved by the Fullertons of Arran, was also associated with the Macleods, who were said to have been known as the 'Mac Gille Aoidh', after their supposed ancestor the Pictish King Aodh of Dalriada who died in 878. 9 The tradition linking the Fullertons to the Macleods, however, is questionable and is probably connected to their Gaelic patronymic 'Mac Lughaidh' and the fact that Mac Firbhisigh named the founder of
My father came from an old family of the Macleods of Lewis or Clan Torcill, who owned Waternish i... more My father came from an old family of the Macleods of Lewis or Clan Torcill, who owned Waternish in the Isle of Skye for generations until it was bought by the MacLeod of Dunvegan. .. My ancestors had Trumpan in Waternish for many generations. My father was the third son of Murdoch Macleod who was a farmer in Waternish. Murdoch, my father's father was the son of Allan Macleod of Trumpan in Waternish. His father again was Murdoch, in the same place. This Murdoch and Allan his son were of the gentry in those days, the MacLeod of Dunvegan were their associates. My father John Ban Macleod was married on Marion MacLeod daughter of Neil MacLeod, Upper Milovaig, Glendale, Skye. … Her father, Neil MacLeod was a man of talent and wit. He was a poet and his only son Donald, was Domhnullnan oran. He was called MacLeod of MacLeod's poet. His works were published in 1811 and were very popular then. … My mother's family was a branch of the same family as my father's family, natives of Waternish, Skye. Roderick (myself) born 1821, was at home with my parents until I was 19 years of age. My education was very much neglected as there was no proper school in the place except one and I had to cross a wild hill to it with some peats under my oxter for the fire in the school so that my education was of very little use to me when I came to the south country. However when I came I did all I could to improve the small education I had particularly, the English language. I worked my way step by step until I became a tea merchant here in Edinburgh. I started on my own account in the year 1859 and have been very successful till now, 1893. The business is large and good. Ruaraidh na Tì b. 1821 was a son of John Ban b. c. 1787 who was a son of Murdoch b. c. 1750 who was a son of Allan b. c. 1710 a son of Murdoch b. c. 1675. Ruaraidh na Tì goes no further back than Murdoch, who is on record in the Judicial Rental of 1724 as a tenant of Trumpan Mor. 2 However, Ruaraidh's son Alexander Mathers Macleod-who also wrote a genealogy of the family 3-appears to name the father of Murdoch (c. 1675) ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh, literally singeing Sandy because he set fire all the houses between Claggan and Dunvegan-a near relative of Dunvegan with whom he quarrelled'. If that's the case the quarrel would most likely have taken place during the Commonwealth period, when MacLeod of Dunvegan found himself opposing those of his name who remained active in the cause of the king. 4 ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh', however, is not mentioned by Ruaraidh na Tì in his notes (dated 1893) which is strange, given that they appear to have been written after those of his son, which mention a relative who died in 1892, as still being alive. Perhaps Ruaraidh disagreed with his son's placement of ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh' in the lineage? Perhaps he considered him a much earlier ancestor and one not necessarily in the direct male line? Indeed, an account of the Battle of Waternish (said to have taken place c. 1582) by Ruaraidh's brother Major Neil Macleod, mentions a 'John son of Alexander 4
A somewhat mysterious figure who doesn't appear in any of the published Clan Macleod genealogies,... more A somewhat mysterious figure who doesn't appear in any of the published Clan Macleod genealogies, Donald Macleod of Galtrigill (c. 1677-1749), 1 was one of a network of related individuals who protected Charles Edward Stuart in the aftermath of the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in April 1746. 2 Although an account of his ancestry has thus far eluded Macleod genealogists, there are families who claim to be descended from him. Indeed, one of those families, resident in Australia, still possesses a scarf pin said to have been found amongst clothes given to the fugitive Prince by either Lady Clanranald or Lady Margaret Macdonald. 3 These Australian Macleods also possess a family tree (dated 1939) detailing their emigrant ancestor's connection to a Norman Macleod, (son of Malcolm, son of Norman Mor) who lived at a place, named Bolvean, near Orbost in Skye. According to notes written by a Dr. Neil Ross, Norman Macleod of Bolvean was married to a lady (named Janet MacNeil), who was nurse to the Chief Norman Macleod of Dunvegan (1812-1895) and his siblings, in what was known as the yellow bedroom of the castle. Her own children were the same age. One of her sons Angus Dubh was a Sheriff Officer and in the late nineteenth century his son Kenneth Macleod of Kirkton Cottage, Dunvegan, was the Dunvegan estate joiner. Kenneth Macleod was succeeded in this position by his son Dugald. Prior to these men, the position of estate joiner was held by Macleod of Dunvegan's hereditary galley makers, a family who lived at Colbost, near Galtrigill. Both the Colbost and Bolvean families trace their descent to a Norman Macleod, (though not necessarily the same man) who was probably born in the early part of the eighteenth century. Indeed the Colbost family's ancestor Norman is said to have fought at Culloden as part of the Raasay contingent. The croft at Bolvean was subsequently occupied by a Macleod family who claimed the previous occupants as kin. 4 Indeed, earlier generations of this family are on record in Galtrigill from the 1810s to the 1850s. Genealogical notes pertaining to the family tell us their ancestor Alexander Macleod (also likely born in the early eighteenth century) was 'the first to take the mills to Skye to grind corn', his descendants 'were generally called the millers and the miller's children for generations'. 5 Another genealogical note tells us he was a son of Donald, son of John of Raasay. 6 The obituary of his three times great granddaughter, printed in the 1962 Clan Macleod Magazine, states the following: Mrs Chirsty Macleod, Borreraig, Glendale, Skye. It was with regret that news was received of the death of Mrs Chirsty Macleod of the Parks, Borreraig, Dunvegan …. Her passing, however, strikes a page of history,
The yellow and black 'loud Macleod' tartan, today primarily associated with the Macleods of Lewis... more The yellow and black 'loud Macleod' tartan, today primarily associated with the Macleods of Lewis, appears to have been originally worn by the Raasay branch of the clan. Generally credited to the Sobieski Stuarts and their fraudulent publication the Vestiarium Scoticum, its origin-if the following anecdote from 1907 is to be believed-may in fact considerably predate that text 1 With regard to the Vestiarium Scoticum … the work was believed to have been a creation …. The yellow tartan there described, however, is Macleod. It was worn by the Raasay family, and is still worn by Macleod of Cadboll, representer of the old Lewis family. We have an old clansman in our Society who tells the following story:-He was employed in a firm of tartan merchants in Edinburgh-the most important in Scotland at that time-some 50 years ago. The manager had been in the firm since he was a boy in the early years of the century, and knew everything about tartans. Seeing our clansman took an interest in them, the manager told him many things about the tartans, and among others he described a call, he one time had from Macleod of Raasay, who brought with him what looked like an old blanket, but which proved to be old tartan. Raasay said it was very old-over 100 years-and he (our clansman) could well remember the manager's expression, 'and indeed it looked like it.' Raasay had a web made to this pattern, and our clansman has a piece of that web still in his possession. 2 A notice of the death of this old clansman appeared a year later in 1908, in an article concerning the Clan Macleod Society: 3 Reference is made to the death of Mr. George Macleod, who had been connected with the Society since its formation, and took a keen interest in all that concerned it, particularly the tartan. He had served in some of the best Tartan warehouses, was considered an authority on the subject, and was not unfrequently consulted by the present day establishments.
The Genealogy of the Macleods of Raasay Two letters printed in the The Oban Times in March and Ap... more The Genealogy of the Macleods of Raasay Two letters printed in the The Oban Times in March and April 1921, appear to name several early and hitherto unknown generations of the Macleods of Raasay. Although the genealogy given contradicts previously published accounts of the family and their descent from the Macleods of Lewis, it is partly corroborated by the available primary sources. In the first letter the writer an Alan Macleod of Edgbaston, Birmingham, stated the following: 1 A document which was in our family for generations, and came into my possession some years ago, puts a different construction to that given in your paragraph as to the fate of the Raasay Macleods. It gives every successor of the family for seven generations, from Torquil, Malcolm, John, Iain Garbh, with the names of their places and occupations, down to the present day. A cadet of the Raasay family settled in Ratagan, Kintail …. His descendants settled in Glenelg …. My grandfather's name is sixth on the list. I am over seventy years of age, with sons and grandsons. Alan Macleod provided some more details in his second letter: 2 Regarding the branch I belong to, I beg to send … a short copy of the papers I hold, with list of names:-Malcolm I. of Raasay had two sons or more, John and Duncan. Duncan was I. of Ratagan …. He had two sons or more, Donald and Duncan. From Donald came the Arnisdale Macleods. But Duncan settled in Maoil (now Moyle), Glenelg, with issue … Donald. Donald had issue … Roderick …. Roderick had issue … Kenneth-Mor, a soldier. Kenneth-Mor had issue … one of whom, Duncan … had five sons, one of whom Donald, married Sarah Macaskill … with issue … Angus … issue … Duncan … issue, five sons …. The writer is the eldest son.
An old tradition concerning the Macleods, especially those of Lewis and Raasay, names them Sìol n... more An old tradition concerning the Macleods, especially those of Lewis and Raasay, names them Sìol na Làire or Sìol a' Chapaill-the seed or tribe of the mare or horse-the horse being their emblem or totem. 1 It was said if you dreamt of a grey horse you were sure to have dealings with a Lewis man for good or ill. There is also at least one example of a horse crest featuring in the arms of the Macleods of Dunvegan. 2 Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's 'Leabhar na nGenealach' appears to be the earliest written evidence for this tradition, the following is taken from his list of the notable ancestors (historical and mythological) of one Alexander Macleod: 3 m. Leód ó ttáid Clanna Leóid, m. Lára (agus as í táining a síoth-broghaibh i riocht lára ionnus go rug triar mac ar a ffuil sliocht) … m. Balair … m. Ned a quo Uí Néid 'son or descendant of Leód from whom are the Clann Leóid, son or descendant of Láir (and it is she who came from the Sí-palaces in the form of a mare so that she bore three sons from whom are progeny) … son or descendant of Balor … son or descendant of Néit from whom the Uí Néid' Balor, a giant with a single deadly eye who has been interpreted as a personification of the scorching sun, was a mythological king of the Hebrides and champion of the malevolent and supernatural Fomorians. His grandfather Néit or Néid, 4 who dwelt in a place called Ailech Néit, was a son of Indui, king of the north country and lord of horse breeding peoples. 5 Ailech Imchell, the 'bright home of horses' and Ailech Frigrenn-after Frigriu-'a wright of Cé in Pictland' were the other names of this place. 6 Ailech Néit is also said to have been the burial place of the god of the underworld, Aed 'of the wind-swift horses', 7 who was a son of Néit's nephew the Dagda. 8 The name Aed or Aodh, according to a tradition preserved by the Fullertons of Arran, was also associated with the Macleods, who were said to have been known as the 'Mac Gille Aoidh', after their supposed ancestor the Pictish King Aodh of Dalriada who died in 878. 9 The tradition linking the Fullertons to the Macleods, however, is questionable and is probably connected to their Gaelic patronymic 'Mac Lughaidh' and the fact that Mac Firbhisigh named the founder of
My father came from an old family of the Macleods of Lewis or Clan Torcill, who owned Waternish i... more My father came from an old family of the Macleods of Lewis or Clan Torcill, who owned Waternish in the Isle of Skye for generations until it was bought by the MacLeod of Dunvegan. .. My ancestors had Trumpan in Waternish for many generations. My father was the third son of Murdoch Macleod who was a farmer in Waternish. Murdoch, my father's father was the son of Allan Macleod of Trumpan in Waternish. His father again was Murdoch, in the same place. This Murdoch and Allan his son were of the gentry in those days, the MacLeod of Dunvegan were their associates. My father John Ban Macleod was married on Marion MacLeod daughter of Neil MacLeod, Upper Milovaig, Glendale, Skye. … Her father, Neil MacLeod was a man of talent and wit. He was a poet and his only son Donald, was Domhnullnan oran. He was called MacLeod of MacLeod's poet. His works were published in 1811 and were very popular then. … My mother's family was a branch of the same family as my father's family, natives of Waternish, Skye. Roderick (myself) born 1821, was at home with my parents until I was 19 years of age. My education was very much neglected as there was no proper school in the place except one and I had to cross a wild hill to it with some peats under my oxter for the fire in the school so that my education was of very little use to me when I came to the south country. However when I came I did all I could to improve the small education I had particularly, the English language. I worked my way step by step until I became a tea merchant here in Edinburgh. I started on my own account in the year 1859 and have been very successful till now, 1893. The business is large and good. Ruaraidh na Tì b. 1821 was a son of John Ban b. c. 1787 who was a son of Murdoch b. c. 1750 who was a son of Allan b. c. 1710 a son of Murdoch b. c. 1675. Ruaraidh na Tì goes no further back than Murdoch, who is on record in the Judicial Rental of 1724 as a tenant of Trumpan Mor. 2 However, Ruaraidh's son Alexander Mathers Macleod-who also wrote a genealogy of the family 3-appears to name the father of Murdoch (c. 1675) ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh, literally singeing Sandy because he set fire all the houses between Claggan and Dunvegan-a near relative of Dunvegan with whom he quarrelled'. If that's the case the quarrel would most likely have taken place during the Commonwealth period, when MacLeod of Dunvegan found himself opposing those of his name who remained active in the cause of the king. 4 ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh', however, is not mentioned by Ruaraidh na Tì in his notes (dated 1893) which is strange, given that they appear to have been written after those of his son, which mention a relative who died in 1892, as still being alive. Perhaps Ruaraidh disagreed with his son's placement of ' Alister Dhu an Dadhidh' in the lineage? Perhaps he considered him a much earlier ancestor and one not necessarily in the direct male line? Indeed, an account of the Battle of Waternish (said to have taken place c. 1582) by Ruaraidh's brother Major Neil Macleod, mentions a 'John son of Alexander 4
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