Clan Chattan Association Magazine March 2012 Touch...

Chairman’s LetterDear Clansfolk

Welcome to the first issue of ‘TouchNot’, the new magazine of The ClanChattan Association. I sincerely

hope that all members will be as equallyenthusiastic about this publication as I am. Agreat deal of thought and effort regarding itsformat and content has been made over thepast weeks and months to try to ensure that aworthy publication would be available to ourmembers. Thank you for being patient whilewaiting for this magazine to drop throughyour letterbox. It is usually January whenyour Journal is expected. Now, nearly 3months on, I trust you will not bedisappointed. Like a good cheese, it willmature with age and grow in stature anddevelop into a fine magazine of which we canall be pleased and proud.

I said last year at the AGM when Councilintimated that a new publication was beingplanned that this had to be more people-

orientated, more about the constituent clansand more about its members. This is the startof the process and I welcome your commentsregarding the format and content.

I would like to add a special thank you toNigel Mac-fall who agreed to design the coverfor us. I am sure you will agree that he hascaptured a number of relevant elements ofwhat the Clan Chattan represents. The ‘C’ ofTouch represents a claw. The claw scratch onthe reverse and, of course, the constituentclans are represented by the bar code whichcame originally from Jamie Scarlett’s ‘Tartansof Clan Chattan’. Well done.

Recently, we have been looking to add to thenumber of Council members and I ampleased to announce that Nick Hide hasagreed to join us. Nick has been a member ofCCA for 8 years and is currently MembershipSecretary for Clan Davidson.

Last year’s Gathering in Inverness saw somechanges and, in particular, our dinner at theLochardil. The traditional two course meal

was increased to three and I think this metwith general approval. The format for thedinner and AGM this year will be planned along similar lines, although theentertainment has yet to be confirmed.

Denise and I look forward to seeing as manyof you as possible in August when we all havean opportunity to meet new members and seeold friends again.

Donald McIntosh

2012 The Clan ChattanGatheringTHE AGM AND ANNUAL DINNER OF THECLAN CHATTAN ASSOCIATION 2012

Thursday 2nd August 2012 atThe Lochardil House Hotel, Inverness4pm Registration for the AGM. Afternoon tea will be

served and there will be a chance to meet andtalk with Council members and Clan Chiefs.

5pm The AGM of the Clan Chattan Association.

The Clan Chattan Association Dinner6pm Reception.

7pm Annual Dinner.

8pm Entertainment

£26 per person

Friday 3rd August 2012 – The Clan Tent at HighlandField Sports Fair - Moy

10am Council members will be on duty at the Tent inthe Field Sports

There will be Museum Tours and Guided walksthroughout the day and Refreshments will beavailable.

1pm John Mackintosh of Mackintosh will officiallyopen the Field Sports Fair.

Saturday 4th August 2012 -The Clan Tent at The HighlandField Sports Fair – Moy

10am Council members will be on duty at the Tent inthe Field Sports

The Clan Tent will close at 2pm

Message from President

Ispent a day in China last December tryingto recapture something of an old photo inone of the albums at Moy Hall. A picture

taken at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing some100 years ago. It showed my grandfather,Lachlan Donald Mackintosh of Mackintosh,as a young boy on what must have been arather rare visit in those days to the Hall ofPrayer for Good Harvests. He was in China asmy great grandfather was working for HongKong and Shanghai Bank. The photo datedfrom the time when China was ruled by anemperor and the temple was then a place ofsignificant annual ritual in the country.

The temple still stands proudly, still brightlypainted, reflecting its past importance.Although there is no chance of an emperorpassing by today, the rotunda still has amagnificent presence. I failed to place myselfcorrectly in the photo where my grandfatherwould have stood, but it was pleasing to knowthat I had been in roughly the same spot. Inthe photo you can see my grandfather on theright. If there was an icy breeze anything likethe December chill I experienced, I’m sure hewould have been glad to have been wellwrapped up.

It is always pleasing to unearth something ofour past and we are all fortunate that we havesuch strong connections which provide uswith the opportunity to explore our history.At school I tell my students how an old photocan spark so many interesting questions andstories, just as my grandfather’s photo does in

me. And the Association continues to be afresh and vibrant forum for discussion andsharing of our roots. This wonderful new lookmagazine will continue to foster our interestand fascination with the Clan in an age wherecommunication evolves so rapidly. I am sureyou will enjoy reading its contents as much asI will and I congratulate the editor on havingtoiled to spark our interest and curiosity inour common heritage.

I wish you all the very best and happy reading.

John Mackintosh of Mackintosh

JOHN MACKINTOSH AT TEMPLE OFHEAVEN, BEIJING

Clan Chattan Association MagazineMarch 2012

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Touch Not – Magazine of the Clan Chattan Association

Message from Sir WilliamMacpherson of Cluny

Clan Macpherson and Clan MacphersonAssociation members send warmgreetings to the new "Touch Not"

Magazine/Newsletter.

All our Branches in 2011 had a successful year,and we had near record numbers at our annualAugust Rally in Badenoch---with manyyounger members dancing energetically, to theadmiration of the older members!

Six of the worldwide Branch Chairmen werethere, which must be another record.

Our splendid International Chairman is ontour in New Zealand with Alastair, showingonce again her strong Ambassadorial ability.

We look forward to joining other Clan Chattanmembers in Inverness later in the year, andsend all our good wishes to all Members.

Cluny, at Blairgowrie

Message from Capt AlwyneFarquharson of Invercauld

This being the first issue of the new ClanChattan Magazine ‘Touch Not’, may Itake this opportunity of extending to its

editors, Stuart and Louisa Cross, my fullsupport and best wishes. May it continuethrough its readership to hold us together inthe true spirit of clanship – as the old clanChattan journal has done so successfully overthe past forty years under its editors Robert andPauline McGillivray. So to Stuart and Louisa, Iraise my glass ‘Slainte!’ may you continue tokeep us in touch through ‘Touch Not’!

Capt AAC Farquharson of Invercauld

Greetings from Allan Macleanof Dochgarroch -

May I send my very best wishes for‘Touch Not’.

I seem to have spent the last forty years, onand off, assembling and editing magazines,for the Church and for Clans. At present Iam doing both again [for the Diocese ofEdinburgh and for the Clan Maclean], andhow at times I wish that someone elsewould do it instead of me. Then Iremember how important ‘communication’is; and how keeping in contact with peopleis a fundamental aspect of any family, smallor large, let alone a clan. I know too thatthe printed word has a permanence whichemail and emagazines do not have. It iswonderful to be able to go back and re-readarticles and look at illustrations at one’sleisure.

I am pleased that the Journal is going tocontinue too, wisely I think on a lessfrequent basis. It has a special nature, withits more weighty articles of permanentvalue, recording the life and times of ourgreat Confederacy. Its arrival every year,without fail, has been a part of my life’spattern for so long, and while I will missthat, I will just as eagerly look forward tothe arrival of ‘Touch Not’.

Allan Maclean of Dochgarroch

Message from McBain

Greetings to all of our worldwidemembership. Last spring we hadextensive damage to the McBain

Memorial Park near Inverness. Some personor persons removed the large bronze plaqueat the cairn near the top of the park. This wasput in place by my father in the early 1960's. Ithad a brief History of the Clan andmentioned several former Chiefs.

Dedicated to the Memory of

THE CLAN MACBEAN (MCBAIN)

Of long ago

Whose ancient Chiefs once owned

Extensive lands in this Area.

On September 15th, 1610

MacBheathain himself

Angus MacBean of that Ilk

(Mac Paul, Vic William, Vic Gillies, Vic Paul)

10th Hereditary Chief of Clan MacBean

Obtained in feu from Sir John Campbell

Of Cawdor

These lands of

KINCHYLE

Which had been held by his father

Paul MacBean, 9th Chief of MacBean

From before 1568

This was the latest in a string of thefts goingback almost 50 years. The first was the loss ofthe directional sign on the Inverness road thenlater the loss of two bronze Cats which were ateither end of the Carn. The theft was causedby the remoteness of the location of the park.Thieves can go about their crimes withoutfear of interference from passers by. Our planis to ultimately replace these items withsimilar designs made of a less valuablematerial such as plastic or cement. My sonRichard is working on this project. I hope wehave something by summer.

I have been working with something calledPaget's Disease it is a deformation of a bone

in my lower back. The Dr. has been doingsome steroid injections in the site where theproblem seems to be. They are helpingsomewhat.

James McBain of McBain

Message from Clan Davidson

Greetings to the Clan Chattan from the Clan Davidson on thelaunch of your new publication.

Congratulations to all concerned. The ClanDavidson looks forward to contributing tothis new venture.

The Clan Davidson Association in the UKcontinues to grow its membership and itssocial activities. Our Website, Newsletters, andour annual journal, The Pheon, attractinterest from around the world. Our researchand archival projects are expanding rapidly,which we do our best to share as widely aspossible.

We maintain excellent links with the ClanDavidson Societies in Australia, New Zealand,and North America, and all share links to ourChief, Alister [Jock] Davidson, in NewZealand.

NICK HIDE: CLAN DAVIDSON ASSOCIATION


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I have been involved with the Clan DavidsonAssociation [CDA] for almost a decade. Myconnection started because I was researchingmy own Davidson of Tulloch ancestry. Littledid I realize what I was about to discover.

Soon after joining, I took part in an AGMevent held near Dingwall, and found myself‘volunteered’ as the Hon. MembershipSecretary 24 hours later. Since then, theMembership Secretary’s role has widenedsubstantially. Today, it is really one ofnetworking on a world -wide basis, as I alsoact as the first point of call for the manyenquiries, which now arrive via the ClanDavidson Association website. I also keep incontact with the separate societies inAustralia, New Zealand & North America.

In conjunction with others in the Association,I contribute to the CDA publications, and alsoact as one of growing network of CDAresearchers. The research trips to Scotland,Ireland, England and Europe have becomemore frequent. Fortunately, I am ablysupported by my wife Katrina, who does herbest to stop the files taking over the home inNorth London. She has also learnt the darkarts of html to act as the CDA’s in-housewebmaster.

It is honour to be asked to take part in theClan Chattan, and I look forward to learning,sharing, and contributing in any relevant way.

The Gathering August 2011

Our Gathering in August 2011 was asmaller, but nonetheless just as largein terms of friendship and warmth of

spirit. We had around 40 to the AGM andDinner in the Lochardil House Hotel.Starting with a reception where we renewedfriendships with some well kent faces andwelcomed some new members. Somemembers made a particularly long journey tojoin in with the festivities, such as Michael,Christina and Oliver Brod from Germany;John and Gwen Macpherson from Australiaand Margaret Faed as well as George, Marjoryand Dianne McIntosh from New Zealand. Wealso welcomed Anne Marie Dallas fromFrance and Catherine and Jim Francis fromWest Glamorgan to their first gathering. Wewere also delighted to welcome back Heatherand Darel Fyson and Shiona and Jim Stuart.

This year, we moved from our traditional twocourse meal with no choices, to a three coursemeal with choices in all courses – and at noextra cost! This change was much appreciatedby all members. Our dinner was rounded offby a rendition of songs from a singer andaccordionist from Arbroath, giving anentertaining link between the dinner and thechance to catch up with old and new friendslater in the evening in the bar.

On the Friday and Saturday, clan members

were welcomed to Moy for the annual FieldSports Fair. Members visited the clan tent fora coffee and chat and on the Friday wereentertained by a buffet lunch in the clan tent,provided by Celia Mackintosh of Mackintosh.The Fair was opened this year by Louisa Cross,who was piped into the main ring by 6 pipers!Some of the highlights in the ring this yearwere the falconry, the pack of hunting houndsand the sheepdog which corralled ducks intopens of haystacks! Elsewhere on the field,there were opportunities to try your hand atarchery, clay pigeon shooting, fly fishing anda climbing wall for younger members.

DONALD AND ALLAN MACLEAN ATTHE CLAN TENT

The Clan Mascots Star and Rosie – Celia Mackintosh’s JackRussell terriers took part in the dog show onthe Saturday, where Rosie won 4 rosettes andon both days, the highlight for many is theterrier racing. This latter event is highlyentertaining, with a wide range of terrierstaking part. There are a number of heats andit is always amusing to see how many of theterriers actually make it from one end of thering to the other. Either they are distracted bytheir owners or the other dogs. Sometimesone of them even manages to catch thedummy hare which is wound across on a ropeand bicycle wheel to encourage them to reach

the other end! Celia Mackintosh presents anannual Robbie Mackintosh Trophy each yearto the overall winner in honour of herprevious Jack Russell, Robbie, who used tothoroughly enjoy the terrier racing. Sadlyneither Star nor Rosie made it through to thefinals but both gave a good run on each of thedays and provided the required amusement!

LOUISA CROSS OPENING HIGHLANDSPORTS FAIR AT MOY

Petty Mausoleum

Sonia Cameron-Jacks reported on thecontinuing deterioration of the Crypt atPetty Church were a number of Clan

Chattan Chiefs are buried. Louisa Cross iscontinuing to attempt to progress repairs andto raise the necessary funds for this activity.


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Mental meanderings from adesignerBy Nigel Mac-Fall

The ‘three-line whip’ came out of theblue from the Chairman just beforeChristmas with the impact of a rutting

musk ox. “Here, you’re a designer, aren’t you?come up with some concepts for the new CCAmagazine cover and make it snappy; I want toput the beggar ‘to bed’ before the New Year!”

In my experience, this sort of request is alwaysa pain in the neck: Great honour, if you get itright; poisoned chalice, if you get it wrong.

Everybody has an opinion about the design ofeverything, including magazine covers andour clansmen are no different (look at thepassions raised over the Scottish ParliamentBuilding or the 2012 Olympic Logo) Deviatefrom a tried and tested format at your periland you risk alienation (nobody likes change).Fail to come up with something original andrisk ridicule (my three year old could dobetter than that!).

Design challenge number one was,undoubtedly, what the late and much missedBert McGillivray referred to as, “our littleMoggie” This is the delightful pen and inkdrawing of a Scottish Wildcat which hasgraced CCA literature and other items foryears. This inoffensive illustration has becomethe CCA unofficial logo and, for me, a massivemillstone.

The point is, Clan Chattan is the ‘super clan’with 400 years of glorious blood curdlinghistory. Our ancestors created the modernworld with their bare hands (not necessarilyby being nice). We have a brilliant Scottishicon for our emblem and a wonderfulmenacing motto (don’t mess with us!). Thetitle for the new clan magazine is anuncompromising ‘Touch Not!’ A sweet workthat could have fallen out of the pages ofBeatrix Potter’s day book, seems a bitincongruous these days.

I wanted a sinister, ghostlike cat with ‘attitude’that looked like it would bite your head cleanoff! Not a cat that looked as if it were beggingto be tickled behind one ear (after all ourmotto is ‘Touch NOT....’)

The image I found was on the DVD cover ofan excellent short film called ‘Last of theScottish Wildcats’ by Steve Piper of CoffeeFilms. I bought the DVD and, blow me down,half way through the film I’m beingentertained by our own Sandy Macphersonexplaining the historical significance of the catand Clan Chattan (Steve has very kindly givenCCA permission to use his image).

As luck would have it, this ferocious ‘Tiger ofthe Highlands’ is actually a 9 months oldkitten.

Other elements that make up the design of the

new cover, besides the photograph of Moy arethe cats claw ‘C’ in the title, TOUCH NOT, thescratches and the Clan Chattan colour stripwhich I pinched from Jamie Scarlett’sdefinitive book. The strip has a powerfulgraphic presence binding us together like asort of bar code.

Seriously, this cover is the work of the CCA‘gang of four’ (Donald, Denise, Stuart, Louisa)and the other office bearers, I was onlyobeying orders and I hope you like it.

Nigel James Mac-Fall MA(RCA) FRSA

Studied Furniture Design at the Royal College of Art

Founding Partner of Red Studio aLondon based design consultancy

specialising in innovative conceptualand applied 3D design

CCA Life Member since 1973

Married with 8 children

NIGEL MAC-FALL ON A CAMEL INEGYPT

Cattle, Deceit, Honour andKarma...

Ayoung man named Seumas ‘Og’ ShawShaw grew up hard by Loch an Eilean.The son of James Mackintosh Shaw of

Tullochgrue and Christina, a daughter ofRobert Farquharson of Invercauld, he was ofthe bloodline of the Shaw chiefs. During theunhappy time when the Grants ofRothiemurchus were slowly backing up theirlawyers, papers and charters to Rothiemurchuswith steel and roof-burning (mostly of Shawhomes), Seumas ‘Og’ left Rothiemuchus andcrossed the Lairig Ghru - going ‘over the hill’ tosettle with his mother’s family in UpperDeeside, in Farquharson of Invercauld countryin 1633.

In 1653, James ‘Og’ had a son was namedDonnachaidh, or Duncan. His name means‘Brown Warrior’. James ‘Og’ gave his son agood education, and as he grew up intomanhood, Duncan also became quite canny inlocal business affairs and became pivotal in thecommunity. By 1690, Duncan wasChamberlain to the young Earl of Mar – theinfamous ‘Bobbing John’ who led the ’15Rising. Duncan was also factor for the estatesof Balmoral, Abergeldie and Invercauld. Inshort, at one point, nothing moved in UpperDeeside that was not party to, or aware of.

It is said that Duncan’s father James ‘Og’ wentout with ‘Bonnie Dundee’. And althoughprivately a Jacobite, Duncan of Crathienairdwas wise enough to know which way thepolitical wind was blowing. A man of hisword, he was trusted by both the Williamitegovernment and his Jacobite friends andrelatives. Duncan received a Captainscommission to raise, arm and command acompany of 20 men for the local ‘Watch’ orIndependent Company. It was his job toprotect the district from cattle raiders and whoplagued Deeside and Glenshee. For all thatand more, he was known as Donnachiadh‘Riem Aon’ Shaw – Duncan the ‘Man ofPower’.

In the Highlands, a man’s position in societywas dependent on two things: How manywarriors he could bring in to the field, andhow many cattle he owned. So naturally,Duncan’s entrepreneurial spirit was such thathe also became a drover and dealer in cattle:‘walking gold’. So successful was he that heacted as agent for his kin, tenants, friends andlocal widows, selling their cattle at localmarkets.

In or around 1708, Duncan had adisagreement with the town fathers atKirkmichael over the price of cattle tolls. Sothe next year, he drove a large herd down southto Falkirk market instead. They were plumpand fat from lush summer grass, so he wouldget a good price per head. As his cattle werepenned or pastured just out of town and as his


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men rested, Duncan came across a verywealthy Englishman who was looking to buya large number of Highland cattle. Welldressed and bewigged he was, all silk and satinand lace. And his servants and retainers wereonly slightly less elegant: even their shoes hadsilver buckles! What a contrast with Duncanof Crathienaird and his shaggy yet manlybreacan-feile clad Highlanders in their flat bluebonnets and blazing tartan. Our Heilant menwere all armed to the teeth and ever shadowedby their loyal black and white dogs. Well, aftera bit of haggling, that afternoon Duncan andthe Englishman agreed to a fair selling price onthe entire herd.

Crathienaird’s word was truly his Bond, sowhen they shook on the deal, that was that.Duncan would meet the Englishman the nextmorning, turn over the cattle, load his shaggypony with the Englishman’s silver and be onhis way. Pleased with the arrangements, theEnglishmen’s hospitality was quite fulsome.He invited Duncan and his men to the publichouse to eat and drink in celebration. And thewhiskey flowed…... Duncan and his menawoke with mouths as dry as dust. But despitethe throbbing in their heads, they were eachworking out how they would each spend theirshared profits when they returned triumphantto Deeside. Gathering themselves and theirdrink-scattered gear, they waited at the agreed-to time and place to complete the transactionwith the Sassenach. As they waited, visions ofstacks of bovine coin began to fade likemorning mist. Duncan tersely ordered one ofhis sons to check the cattle pens. When hereturned, the young man’s frantic look said itall. Where the cattle were lowing the eveningbefore was only full of dust, hoof prints andcow pies, alas no longer fresh.

Black despair became incandescent fury. Theherd was gone! Long gone! With shaggybrows a-thunder, even his sons and loyalfriends could not summon the courage to lookDuncan in the eye. Now bristling withclaymore, gun, dirk, dag-pistol and even thehidden sgian achlais, Shaw and Co. saddled upfor a ‘Hot Trod.’ Seething with righteousness,they urged their sturdy garrons or joggedalongside, weapons jingling, guns angrilycocked as they followed the fading trail south.

Poor Duncan tried to keep the soon to bedisappointed and quietly desperate faces of hisfriends, tenants, partners and neighbours outof his mind’s eye. Heavier and heavier theburden of guilt and self-incriminationweighed on Duncan’s broad shoulders. Untilat last even he - who through fire and war,through despair and disaster lived by theancient Clan Shaw motto: ‘Fide etFortitudine….even Duncan finally stopped.And with an inward sigh, slowly turned hisdripping pony north. It was the quietest,longest homeward trip there ever was. Foronce, even the dogs were silent.

Now Duncan of Crathienaird was not called‘Riem Aon’ for nothing. It was not hisinfluence, or his position in Deeside andGlengairn, or the loyal armed men he couldsummon. It was not the powerful friends hehad, like the Earl of Mar or Ogilvy of Airlie orFarquharson of Invercauld, or even his ClanChattan connections over the Lairig: LachlanMackintosh, MacPherson of Craggie and hisShaw cousins at Tordarroch, Dell and Guislich.

But it was Duncan’s own strength of character.And his deep sense of honour and his

commitment to Justice that truly made him‘The Man of Power’. Despite his loss of thecattle money and his battered credibility andmost important of all, the terrible theft of hisdignity in a muddy field in Falkirk - Duncandid the only thing he could do. The rightthing. He duly paid from his own modesttreasury each and every one of his friends,tenants, crofters and the widows that he actedas agent for. All got their fair share of silverwhat they would have received for their cattle.

With all his canny business dealings and wellplaced connections, I am sure Duncan tried toweather the storm of this terrible financial loss.But it was just too much. So, like his ancestorAlan ‘Ciar’ Shaw of Rothiemurchus before him(but for a different reason!), Duncan had tosell ownership of his portion of his belovedCrathienaird back to Farquharson ofInvercauld.

‘The Memorials of Crathienaird’ tell us howDuncan and his large family soon had an OldTestament-style exodus, moving from hishome on Deeside south to Glenisla. Theelderly rode on horseback and the smallchildren nestled in creels on the back of shaggyponies. With a heavy heart, Duncan leased ahome from his friend the Ogilvy of Airlie,settling in his family in the farm and sturdyfortalice at Crandard - a former MacThomasholding. With his considerable talents,experience and local influence, Duncan wasable to re-gather himself from his misfortuneand put down roots for his ever-growingfamily in Glenisla and Glenshee. A few yearslater, Duncan and his men again assembledand drove a large herd of cattle south to Forfarfor market. Just outside of town, the lowingherd was at last settling in under the verywatchful eye of Duncan’s men and their dogs.

As he walked to the little town to transactbusiness, who did Duncan see but the same‘fause Southron’ and his elegant ‘tail’ ofretainers. Although Duncan was around 57years old at the time, he drew his claymore anddirk with the swiftness of chain lightning thateven legendary Cuchullan of old would notmatch! With his face truly expressing his guilt,the Englishman apologized for what he haddone, and plead to Duncan for forgiveness.That for six long years, he had spent manysleepless nights plagued with a torturedconscience for the terrible injustice he had

done on Duncan when he had stolen his herd.Somehow, miraculously, whatever he saidchanged Duncan’s mind. Lowering his blade –slightly, he gave the Englishman the tongue-lashing of his life!

Finally silent, breathing heavily, both theaggrieved and the guilty party were spent. TheEnglishman swore to Duncan that on hisfather’s grave that he would truly atone for hissins, and more so. Ordering his retainers tobring forth a stoutly bound strongbox, theEnglishmen brought forth a silver key hangingfrom his recently threatened neck andunlocked it.

When Duncan saw the contents, he wasreminded of the river Dee coldly shimmeringon a breezy winters day, such was the amountof bright silver coins inside. ‘It’s Yours’, theEnglishman said. And, if you’ll forgive me, Iwill buy your present herd at apremium....sight unseen! Well, to quoteTordarroch’s fine history book: “…and forlong after there was a saying in the country, onthe occasion of any unusually good marketthat there never had been a market like it sincethat in Forfar when Duncan ‘RiemAons’drovers drank bickersfull of wine.”

One can only imagine Duncan’s conversationwith his wife (a daughter of Farquharson ofColdarach – staunch Jacobite clan) when hereturned home to Crandard and noisilydropped a very heavy sack of silver on thetable. Duncan later approached Farquharsonof Invercauld, offering to repurchase the oldfamily property at Crathienaird but was deeplydisappointed when Invercauld decided to keepit as part of his growing estate. With histreasury doubly restored, he was able to givehis seven sons and six daughters a good start inthe world, helping James settle at Daldowniein Glengairn, John at Riverney and William atBroughdearg in Glenshee, Duncan at theBalloch (at the pass between Glenshee andGlenisla and Alister at Auchavan in Glenisla.Duncan died at Crandard ‘castle’ at the ripe oldage of 73 in 1726.

With ‘Riem Aon’ as a role model, many ofDuncan’s sons and grandsons later served asofficers in the Farquharson contingent thatmustered with Ogilvie of Airlie for BonniePrince Charlie. With Donnachaidh RiemAon’s name on their lips, they stood theirground at Culloden. Duncan’s progeny livedup and down Glenisla and Glenshee for manygenerations to come - at Dalnaglar, Forter,Easter Lair, Cray Mount Blair and Blacklunans.Generations after wandering away from ourHighland glens, the Shaw families fromCrathienaird, Glenshee and Glenisla are nowspread ‘throughout the airts’. But we will neverforget the good Captain Duncan ‘RiemAon’Shaw of Crathienaird, and will alwaysremember how his word of honour meanteven more than the home he so loved.

William G. A. Shaw of Easter Lair


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STANDING COUNCIL OFSCOTTISH CHIEFS

It was an enormous honour to be electedto the Executive Committee of theStanding Council of Scottish Chiefs

(SCSC) in 2010. I joined the ExecutiveCommittee a year after the SCSC had held itsfirst Clan Convention in the ScottishParliament, which had been such a success.This landmark occasion coincided with theInternational Gathering in Edinburgh and theMarch of the Clans up the Royal Mile for thefirst time in three hundred years. These latertwo events were not organised by the SCSC,but proved to be hugely popular withclansfolk and the general public. For years upuntil that time, the SCSC had been little morethan a glorified luncheon club. TheConvention changed everything, because atthe breakout sessions in the afternoon, it wasclear that those attending, who representedthe Clan movement overseas, established anagenda for action which the SC would finddifficult to ignore.

Last year, the Scottish National Party (SNP)gained an outright victory in the election forthe first time and Sir Malcolm MacGregor ofMacGregor became Convenor of the SCSC.The timing of both these events is significant.Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, toboost the Scottish economy, realises that heneeds the help of the Chiefs to continue tobring many of those forty million people, whohave Scottish ancestry around the world, backto Scotland. Sir Malcolm feels that, throughthe SCSC, the time is right for the Chiefs toplay a greater role in today’s Scotland. So, thisis exciting time to be a member of theExecutive Committee of the SCSC!

One of our first priorities is to improvecommunications, with the Chiefs, their heirs,the Scottish Government, the tourist agencies,and the leading Clan organisations overseasas well as ensuring that the SCSC is anassessable point of contact. A quarterlyNewsletter is now sent to Chiefs keeping themup to speed with news, the best way to involveheirs to being investigated; regular meetingnow take place with Government Ministersand Officials; the SCSC is represented on therelevant tourist committees; and is in touchwith the leading clan organisations abroad,such as COSCA in the US, with a view to“working” more closely together. There is stillmuch to do, but the SCSC website is also inthe process of being improved. This includesadding the most authentic up to date list ofthe sept names linked to each clan and anongoing list of clan activities within Scotland.An e-mail address is provided on the websitefor enquiries and the SCSC’s secretarialsupport is to be increased.

The SCSC is looking into the possibility ofholding some form of service in St. Giles

Cathedral in Edinburgh in September 2013to commemorate the 500th anniversary ofthe Battle of Flodden in conjunction with acouple of Scottish charities. Flodden was thelast occasion when a Scottish King was killedin battle. Hundreds of Scots lost their lives,including several Chiefs. The occasion willnot conflict with any events being arrangedin the Borders around the same time.

The Scottish Government is to hold someevents around the 700th anniversary of theBattle of Bannockburn in the summer of2014. Further details are expected to beannounced after the forthcoming localelections in May. The SCSC is looking tohold its 2nd Clan Convention around thesame time. In addition to these events, thenew Convenor would like to see the SCSCgiving funds to particular causes withinScotland. Obviously, this cannot occur untilthe SCSC is able to build up funds. TheExecutive believes that one way of achievingthis could be for the SCSC to re-launch thelicensing of its “Three Feathers” hallmark toa few manufacturers of Scottish goods andis investigating, with some vigour, ways inwhich this may be achieved.

Finally, the SNP Government has indicatedthat it intends to hold a referendum onScottish Independence and the break-up ofthe 300 year Union between Scotland andEngland in the autumn of 2014. TheScottish electorate is divided on the subjectand there are different views emergingamongst the Chiefs, so it looks highlyunlikely that the SCSC will be able to makeany public pronouncements on this historicissue. While I serve on the ExecutiveCommittee, I shall continue to keep you allup to date with SCSC developments throughthis newsletter. Further information can befound on the Standing Council of ScottishChiefs website.

Andrew MacThomas of Finegand,Honorary Vice-President of Clan Chattan

200 YEARS OF McINTOSHPIONEERS FROM THE PARISHOF SOUTH UIST, TO GLENSIDE,SK, CANADA & SAN JOSE,CALIF.By Suzanne Martinsky

Nostalgic “family” stories are atimeless treasure to behold.Fortunately for me my maternal

Aunt Ruth, maiden-Hauberg, McIntosh nowdeceased, of Outlook, SK Ca pursued hergreat desire to provide her large family ofnine children and thirty grandchildren withher written family history. It has beenenjoyed often for over 15 years now. With

the help of her son Harlow Neil MacIntoshof Outlook, SK and her Granddaughter’sCarol Bobby Britnell and Elva Kunz, aninformative book compilation entitled“McIntosh History”*1 (McIntosh Book,1996 ) became a reality in 1996. Manyfamily members contributed to the book bywriting an article about themselves and theirfamilies. Neil made family charts for eachcontributing family group. Recently, Iengaged a Scottish Genealogy ResearchConsultant called Seallam! Co Leis Thu? Itis operated at Northton, Isle of Harris by Dr.Bill Lawson*2 (Lawson, 1994) and his wifeChris Lawson. We collaborated onresearching my McIntosh ancestry and wehave documented the following lineage:

FIRST GENERATION: My Great-GreatGrandfather Donald MacIntosh, b. 1780,was a tenant farmer renting in the LowerBornish Parish, in South Uist, Scotland. Hisfamily is also documented in the RomanCatholic Registers of the Bornish Chapel inSouth Uist and the 1841 Census ofScotland. The name of Donald’s wife isMary McCormick b. 1780. Together theyraised eight children, Ewen 1816, Mary1820, Twins Donald and Malcolm 1821,(this Malcolm is my Great-Grandfather),Marion 1823, John 1824, Neil 1826, andDougal 1829. Between the years of 1836-1839 the Donald Macintosh name no longerappeared in the written records kept by thetaxman who let out the farm land toDonald. Therefore, we can safely concludethat this is the time period that DonaldMacIntosh died. In 1849 Donald son ofDonald and wife Mary (nee McCormick)McIntosh and their eight childrenemigrated from Scotland to West WilliamsTownship, Ontario, Canada. They beganhomesteading in a pre-built log home onConcession 14, Lot 9. On today’s maps thisarea is located in the City of Parkhill,Ontario which is also close to London,Ontario.

The most enjoyable genealogy find for mehas been locating my Maternal Great-Grandfather Malcolm McIntosh . He grewup in Lower Bornish, South Uist, andScotland. In the 1841 Census, Malcolm,then age 20, is recorded as living with hisfamily there. Soon the future for them asfarmers in South Uist looked very bleakbecause the landlords were forcing peopleout of their thatched roof homes so that thefarmland could be converted to raisingsheep. They found themselves involved inthe historical “Highland Clearances”. Someof the resister’s were killed. There were alsomany groups of people who becamepioneers that emigrated simply because theywere looking for a better life. Thiscontinued between the years 1840 – 1900.


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Another great genealogy find held by theNational Archives of Scotland is Malcolm’sRoman Catholic marriage record to his firstwife. The Donald MacIntosh witness referredto on the record would be Malcolm’s twinbrother Donald. On 13, February 1849Malcolm McIntosh married maiden JennetMacEachen of Stonebridge in the presence ofDonald MacIntosh, L. Bornish and RonaldMacEachen - Mariner, of Lockynort and JohnCampbell. I.B.I.D.-meaning “So Be It” -Reverend John Chisholm - St. Mary’s Parishin Lochboisdale, South Uist, Scotland.

THE SECOND GENERATION: MalcolmMcIntosh *3 (Diocese of London, ONCanada, 1974) b. 1821, son of DonaldMcIntosh of 1780 and Malcolm’s wife,Jennet McIntosh of Scotland alsoimmigrated to Canada in 1849 to begin theirnew lives by first settling in the townStratford, Ontario, Canada. At a later timethe family moved to another part ofConcession 14 to be nearby the homesteadof Malcolm’s parents’ Donald and MaryMcIntosh and siblings. The story handeddown to me by my Mother Cecilia McIntoshis that the couple’s first child; a daughterMary Isabelle (b. 1848 – d. 1928) was bornon the ship during their voyage to Canadain 1848, as is hand written in the birthplacecolumn on the U.S. Census in 1900. Alsothis Mary Isabelle appears in the 1848-49Census Record of W. Williams Twp. ONCanada and all of the United StatesCensuses in Port Huron, Mi from 1900through 1930. She and her husband AngusMacDonald raised their five children thereat 2427 Stone Street. The couple and two oftheir children Neil and Mary are buried atMt. Hope Cemetery, St. Clair County, PortHuron, MI in Ward B, Lot 30, starting withGrave #6.

An early project for Malcolm was beinginvolved in the planning and building of theBornish Saint Columba R.C. Church*3(Diocese of London, 1974) in Parkhill, ON.It is one of a few historical buildings stillstanding today, though no longer functionsas a parish church.

Amazingly, I can add to this story that on 26February, 2011 an exciting heraldry eventoccurred when after 40 years I renewedpersonal contact with this Mary Isabelle(nee of Malcolm McIntosh 1821)MacDonald’s great-granddaughter. Hername is Sue Ellen (nee MacDonald) Gay.She is currently lives in Gainesville, GA.Ellen is a retired Registered Nurse. She is themother of six adult children and has elevengrandchildren under the age of ten! Sue’sfather Donald d. 1990 is my dearly lovedGodfather in baptism.

As for all of Malcolm’s *4 (SomeSketches…,1979) and his first wife Jannet

McIntosh’s young they parented only twochildren. The couple’s FIRST born child, adaughter Isabelle “Mary” was born in 1848-49 on the ship during their voyage toCanada. Mary is listed with her family at theW. Williams Township Family Farm in the1851 and 1861 Census of Canada.

Their SECOND child, a son John Lachlanwas born in 1850 in West WilliamsTownship, Ontario. He died on 5, May 1868at the age of 19. He is buried at Bornish St.Columba R.C. Cemetery Row 34, #9.Unfortunately, Jannet MacIntosh did notenjoy many years raising her family inCanada. We know for certain that she spentabout twelve years in West WilliamsTownship because Jannet’s name doesappear in the Canadian Census from 1850thru 1861. Presently, no death record for hercan be verified. However, there is anunmarked grave beside her young sonMalcolm. We do see that the name ofMalcolm’s second wife Mrs. Mary (neeCurrie) McEachen is recorded in the CensusRecords of Canada from 1871 thru 1891.Widower Malcolm’s 2nd marriage asevidenced by a standing figure/authorDonald E. Read, took place at St. ColumbaChurch by a visiting priest on 20, February1855. It brought him an abundance ofchildren since Mary Currie was a widowwith three children; John, Isabella, and Marywho were soon adopted by Malcolm. Inlater years Malcolm and Mary parentedthree children together. Their names are:THIRD child, Donald Joseph “Dan” 1861,who is my Maternal Grandfather. TheirFOURTH child was Jennet “Jessie” 1864.Their FIFTH child was John Donald “Jack”1868.

Malcolm’s third child Donald JosephMcIntosh *1 (McIntosh History, 1996) is myMaternal Grandfather. He was a Wheatfarmer in Glenside, SK. On 2 October, 1894Jennie MacIntosh married Hector MacLeodat St. Columba Catholic Church in Parkhill,Ontario. Later, she and her husbandmoved to Saginaw, Michigan to raise theirfamily there. Lastly, Malcolm’s son, JohnDonald MacIntosh married Mary AnnMacKinnon on 2nd October 1894 at SacredHeart Parish in Parkhill, Ontario. Theycontinued farming and raised their family ofsix children; Effie 1896, Donald 1897,Angus 1899, Mary 1900, Christina 1902, andAlexander 1904. It’s most interesting to notethat this Mary Ann MacKinnon was thesister of my Maternal- grandmotherChristina MacKinnon. In a rare familyrelationship; John and Donald McIntosh,the ladies’ husbands, were also brothers. I.e.two brothers married two sisters.

THE THIRD GENERATION: On 10 Jan.1894 my maternal grand-parents, Donald

MacIntosh and Christina MacKinnon weremarried in St. Columba R. C. Bornishchurch in Parkhill, ON. Fluent Gaelicspeakers, both of them attended Gaelicschool as youngsters in Williams Township.

In 1901 many Scottish people participatedin a Canadian Assisted ImmigrationProgram to build new homesteads inGlenside, Saskatchewan. Among them wasmy Maternal Grandfather, Donald J.McIntosh,*5 (Tomecek, 1960) , his wifeChristina, and four children, Mary 1896,Donald 1897, Isabelle 1899, Patrick 1901,left Ontario and moved into a “sod” housein Glenside, SK. They travelled by train1,600 miles up north to start a new farm inthe prairies. After this big move five morechildren were born making a total of nine.Their names are: Malcolm “Mike” 1903,baby Euphemia d. 1904 at 9 months of age,Joseph 1908, Cecilia 1909, and youngestMarguerite “Rita” in 1913. The 1901 and1911 Censuses of Canada has documentedmy mother’s family in Glenside. When Ifirst located the Census records I wasdelighted to discover that my Mother’sname “Sucidia” was written in the Gaeliclanguage.

My mother Cecilia Florence MacIntosh wasthe seventh child born on 22, October 1909at home on the family wheat farm inGlenside, SK. Within a week of her birth,her parents took her on the CanadianPacific Railroad train to Sacred HeartCatholic Church in Moose Jaw, SK to bebaptized. She possessed great physicalbeauty. Even as a young teenager you couldsee it developing. Celia’s farm duties wereto bring in the cows every night and she alsochurned the butter. Her first job outside ofhome was as the sales clerk/bookkeeper atthe town’s P. A. Stewart General Store. Celiaalso had a talented ear for playing music onthe piano. She enjoyed it and she couldliterally play any song right after listeningto it.

Wheat farming was the family’s primarylivelihood. However, Celia’s father Donaldalso owned and operated the town’sMacIntosh Barn and Livery Stable. He wasalso the town Veterinarian. His wifeChristina was a midwife and so they bothassisted in delivering the newborn babies inand around Glenside. Christina was also avery talented seamstress and did beautifulmillinery work designing hats.Occasionally one would be sold at theGeneral Store. I also remember my mothertelling me that she was the first women inher town to ever wear slacks. Her mothersewed a pair of blue denim slacks. The pantswere hemmed in white material andtrimmed with white pockets. This wasreally something new for the ladies to wearpants in the 1920’s.


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MOTHER AND DAUGHTER CHRISTINAAND CECILIA

In 1927 tragedy struck the family whenloosened wallpaper near the stove caughtfire. Their entire home, including the barnand livery was burned down to the ground.The family then moved into a rented homenearby. At the age of 22 Celia graduatedfrom the Saskatoon Hospital - School ofNursing in Saskatoon, SK. She was sothrilled about having her first child andstarting her family; that she never pursueda career as a Registered Nurse. Celia alsobecame a U. S. Citizen in Detroit, WayneCounty, MI on 31 August 1942.

FOURTH GENERATION: Also relating tomy mother Cecilia F. *1 (nee McIntosh) *6Brown, on 21 June, 1933 Celia married hersweetheart George Robert Brown*6 (Blois,1996) who was born in Shedden, Ontario,Canada. He came from a large family oftwelve children who in 1923 moved toDetroit, MI from Edmonton, AL to make abetter home. George had a Paternal AuntHanna MacDonald who lived in Glenside,SK and he would travel there with his fatherthere to work in the wheat fields. Not farfrom there was the Hauberg Farm whichalso offered seasonal work for my father atharvest time. His job was managing thehorses and driving the wagon team.Proudly, I can boast that George was trainedand graduated from the nearby Royal NorthWest Canadian Police Academy in Regina,SK on 23 July, 1919. According to theOttawa, ON Headquarters, George’sRegimental number was 8434. The horseassigned to him at the barracks was named“Lightening”. George was a champion whenit came to horseback riding. My mother was

totally impressed when she watched himride. My father wrote beautiful love lettersto Cecilia when he was away attending theacademy and working in the wheat fields.

My mother gave them to me in 1973 whenmy-self and my family made the big movefrom Michigan to the West Coast ofCalifornia. Fortunately, George & Celiacaught one another’s eye fourteen years laterbecause on 21 June, 1933 when they werehappily married at St. Paul’s CatholicChurch in Saskatoon, SK.

GEORGE BROWN AND CECILIA

There is a treasured story that needs to be toldat this juncture. It has been handed down formany years by my Paternal Uncle FrederickCharles of the Brown Family. On the 8thand 9th of October, 1919 the Duke of Windsor,the future King of England at that time wastouring in Regina. My father George waschosen to serve in the Royal Honor Guardduring the Duke’s tour. Also, at a dinnerreception on the same evening my Aunt AliceBrown danced with the Duke of Windsor. It isa grand event to talk about even today!

My parents, George Robert & CeciliaFlorence Brown*6 (Blois, 1996) had all fourof their children raised in the northwest sideof Detroit, Michigan. They are: GeorgeGarth 1933, Theo Therese b. 1937 d. 2009,Barton Vincent 1938, and my-self SuzanneCeleste 1940, in Detroit. In 1942 theypurchased a two-story frame home at 14234Cherrylawn Avenue, Detroit, MI. Myfather’s occupation was that of a housepainter. It was the same occupation as hisfather George Brown, Sr. As for us kids, inthe 40’s, and 50’s it felt like great years togrow up. My eldest brother, George Garth

served in Seoul, Korea in the U.S. Marinesduring the war. Our entire family is stillvery proud of that service today. Myparents did the best that they could inraising us with little money. My father’swork was always seasonal. During thewinter there were no more profitableexterior house painting jobs. After a verybrave three year battle with cancer my fatherGeorge Brown died on 18 Aug. 1961 atHarper Hospital in Detroit.

Twenty years later, on 2 July, 1981 mymother Cecilia died swiftly of Hodgkin’sdisease at the home of my sister Theo Borein Detroit, MI. She was a young 72. Also,unfortunately for me, my courageous sisterTheo (nee Brown) Borre died on 20 April,2009 after a year long struggle with coloncancer. Theo leaves four adult children andseven grand-children. My two olderbrothers are happily retired. Geo. GarthBrown is 78. Although he has beendiagnosed with Alzheimer’s he happily livesin Windsor, Ontario with the strong supportof his wife Claudette Brown and a largefamily. In December of 2010, Garth receiveda successful triple-bypass heart surgery. Weall feel very fortunate that he is getting alongvery well! His large family consists of sixadult children, eleven grand-children, andeight great-grand children. My brother Bartis 73. He and his wife Mary Brown live inLivonia, MI. They have two adult childrenand two lovely granddaughters – Ashley andAndrea Brown

FIFTH GENERATION: I am very proud ofthe fact that my heritage is fifty percentScottish. My parent’s provided me with avaluable twelve year Catholic Education inDetroit, MI. Our home parish up until the1970’s was St. Brigid Catholic Church inDetroit. My husband, Rich Martinsky and Iwere married there on 9 September, 1962. Imet Rich at a Ski Club Christmas Dancewhich was held at The United DairyWorkers Hall in Highland Park, MI. It waslove at first sight for both of us! First wesettled in Westland, MI for nine years andthen after a thrilling vacation traveling allthrough California we both decided that wewanted to live there. In 1973 we took theplunge and moved 2,000 miles to the WestCoast. Our three adult children oftenremind us how very happy they are that wemoved to the western states. Our childrenare: a daughter Rene’ Ann 1963, born inDetroit, MI, a son Todd Joseph 1965, bornin Southfield, MI, and a daughter StaceyLynn 1968, born in Livonia, MI. We arevery proud of being Grandparents to ourson Todd and his wife Fatima’s two sons –Mitchell is age 11 and Mason is age 9. Myhusband Rich is a retired MechanicalEngineer. I was employed by San Jose


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Unified School District for 21 years. Iretired in 2001 as a High School CareerGuidance Counselor. Rich holds the U.S.Patent on a Robotic Print Head and PrintingPins which are used in making Microarraysin biotechnology laboratories around theworld. Our three adult children and ourson-in-law own their own biotechnologybusiness called www.arrayit.com . Theircompany motto is: Powerful Science for Life.As parents we are very proud of the work

that they do using science to prevent humandiseases.

I wish to acknowledge my sincereappreciation to my Uncle Malcolm “Mike”McIntosh d. 1975 and my Aunt RuthMcIntosh d. 2003 for spearheading thepublication of our proud heraldry andlineage in the 1996 “McIntosh History”book.

SOURCE CITATIONS: Derived from original and compiled records.

1*Author Compiler’s: Ruth McIntosh, H.NeilMcIntosh, Carol Britnell, Elva Kunz “McIntoshHistory” Book Published 1996 Outlook, SK.Family Chart, Page 231.

2*Author: Bill Lawson “Register of Emigrants forthe Western Isle of Harris, Scotland” Published1991, Vol. 2, Part 2, Page 56.

3 *Diocese of London, ON Canada “Sacred Heart– St. Columba Parish since 1849” Published1974, Pages 24, 26.

4* Canadian Heritage Publication, 1979 -”SomeSketches of the Early Highland Pioneers of theCounty of Middlesex.” Page 48

5* J. M. Tomecek “Pioneering in the GlensideDistrict” 1960 Outlook Printers Ltd. 8 Pages

6*Author: Ralph S. Blois “Blois Family Historyfrom Essex to the Gore and Beyond” 1996 IndexNo. 1240 – George R. & Cecilia Brown Family,No. 2212 - Brown, George Garth, No. 2213 -Brown, Theo Therese, No. 2214 - Barton Leo, No.2215 - Brown, Suzanne Celeste Page 82


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The Gossip ColumnThe Clan Chatting – News andviews from members of the ClanChattan Association around theworld.

Alan and Dorothy Shaw are activemembers of their community inLindisfarne, Tasmania. I asked himto let us know a bit more about theHandweavers guild they belongto……….

Life member Alan Shaw and his wifeDorothy Shaw are retired and live inLindisfarne, Tasmania, the island state

of Australia. They are members of theHandweavers, Spinners and Dyers Guild ofTasmania, Alan is a weaver and Dorothy aspins, knits, crochets and felts. The Guild wasformed by a few local crafts women, who firstmet in 1970, and became an incorporatedorganization in 1973. The Guild now has amembership of over four hundred who meetin twenty-two venues across the Island.Members engage in a wide variety of fibrecrafts and are often called upon to conductdemonstrations and training sessions, bothfor fellow members and external groups. Thetwo greatest events in the Guilds programmeare the Bothwell International Highland Spin-in, see www.bothwellspinin.com/, and theGuilds own exhibition. Go tohttp://www.hwsdguildtasmania.org/ and clickon ‘Gallery’ for pictures of Guild activities.

SHAWL WITH PEACOCK FEATHERDESIGN

I liked this one of a beautiful shawl with apeacock feather design. I am sure that we willbe hearing more from Alan in the future.Members of The Clan Chattan Associationboast talents of all descriptions. Artists,musicians, poets, historians all manner offascinating skills. We would love to hear fromyou.

Staying in the same area of the world weheard from members Robert and BrendaMackintosh who were caught up in theterrible earthquakes in Christchurch NewZealand. Robert recently told us this……..

Even up to yesterday (January 16th 2012) wehad some minor shaking 17 months outfrom the initial Quake. We had a 6.0strength one two days before Christmas afteran apparent quiet spell of two & half monthsand among other lesser ones, a 5.0 early onthe 6th January this year with two very closein that afternoon that twice emptied out ourpantry and damaged glasses . Though luckilywith no apparent damage to the house, butaffected other buildings in the city on theborderline of saving or demolishing. Theystill make one uneasy as you do not knowhow big it will get or how long it will last.

Many are getting very fragile. According tothe paper today, after 500 days since the firstquake on 4th September 2010, we have had9,500 shakes. Most of level 3 and below wedo not really feel thank goodness. Here aresome photos that might give you an idea ofthe effect on the city buildings and somehomes.

CHRISTCHURCH

Robert also mentioned that the beautifulChristchurch Cathedral lost its tall spire andthat the bells landed in the rubble below

We wish them a safe 2012

At the Clan Tent in 2011 we have areturn visit from Margaret Faed whowas doing a huge tour and joined us

for ‘The Gathering’. Margaret started off fromher home in New Zealand and drove 5,700miles during her tour and met relatives shedid not find out about until her tour. Welldone Margaret!

MARGARET AND DEN AT THE TENT –THE GATHERING 2011 AT MOY

Burns night has been celebrated all overthe world and butchers of alldistinctions have been vying for

custom. Nigel Mac-Fall from London sent thispicture of his local butcher using Nigel’s Kiltto advertise his shop.

BUTCHER’S SHOP WITH KILT DISPLAY

CHINESE/SCOTTISH MAN AT BURNS’NIGHT IN VANCOUVER

And this is how you celebrate Burns and theChinese New Year in Vancouver, Canada viaRex Davidson.

On 25 January 2012, Simon Fraser Universityexceeded -- by two hours -- the previous

world record reading of Burns' poetry. Thisconcluded a week of quite amazingcelebrations: eighty-three separate publicSuppers or Luncheons, including the 125thfor the St Andrews Society of Vancouver (theoldest benevolent society in BC, of whichGrandpa Will was the fourth secretary), the104th for the Gaelic Society of BC, the 100thfor the Burns Club of Vancouver, the 90th forthe Moray, Nairn & Banff Society, the 22ndfor the Saltire Society, and the 8th GungHaggis Fat Choy celebration - Joe Macdonaldpictured above in Scottish-Chinese garb!

Congratulations go to Cheryl and JohnMackfall from Yorkshire, whose beautiful dogTor (a ridgeback) has won several accoladesrecently.

Congratulations also go to all of you who arecelebrating any landmark birthday oranniversary. The very best of wishes go to youfrom all your friends in the Clan ChattanAssociation.

Congratulations to Liam Shaw….Mr. andMrs. Lawrence McGowan of StevensvilleMontana, announce the engagement of theirdaughter, Miss Natalie Suzanne McGowan, toLiam David Shaw of Easter Lair, Younger, sonof William and Mary Beth Shaw of Easter Lairof Issaquah Washington. A mid-Septemberwedding is planned at the Bettes Ranch in CleElum Washington

I simply love to hear from you all please e-mail me at [email protected] or write to Clan ChattanAssociation, PO Box 13817, Penicuik, EH269YR Scotland.

Denise McIntosh


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The Chiefs of Clan PhailBy John E Mackfall

JOHN MACKFALL MIDDLE OF PICTUREAT MACPHERSON RALLY

The name of MacPhail had its firstknown recording in 1414 in Inverness.It was Gillemore M’Phale who was

recorded at an inquest. From this date on,

many MacPhails have regularly been recordedbut remembering the name means “son ofPaul” makes it difficult to say if any of theseMacPhails are related in any way.

It is believed that the Clan MacPhail ofInverairnie are of the old Clan Chattan anddescended from a Paul Cattanach of

Lochaber, in the western Highlands near thepresent Fort William. It is also believed thatthe name “Cattanach” is an old term ornickname used to describe members of theold Clan Chattan. If this is correct then theMacPhails gave up their original name andtook a patronymic name to became “sons ofPaul”, Mac-Phail. The MacPhails held landsand had a stronghold until 1291 at Fassifern,which is about ten miles west of Fort William,when Eva the heiress to Dougal Dall the thenChief of the Clan Chattan married Angus, 6thChief of Clan Mackintosh. Dougal gaveAngus the Chiefship of Clan Chattan alongwith his Daughter. At this point the ClanChattan moved to Badenoch in the East,where The Mackintosh had estates. Howeversome MacPhails stayed behind in the west andeventually integrated with the Cameron’s andlater lower down in Argyle some MacPhailsintegrated with the Campbell’s. These

MacPhails have always been considered to befrom “old Clan Chattan stock”, and not of theblood of the Mackintosh, but closer to theother old tribes, of Macpherson, MacBeansand Cattanachs.

The MacPhails of Inverarnie (Senior Chieflyfamily) would have had numerous Chiefsfrom the earliest times, however the firstrecorded chief would have to be DuncanMakDonequhy Dow MacPhail 1st Chiefwho owned half lands and held deeds forTullich and Elrig in 1546

Duncan’s Grandson Duncan 2nd Chief thentook over as head of the family and was activearound 1590 but could not keep financiallyviable so in 1593 sold some of his lands toLachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh.

Then on the 19th of May 1631 when DuncanMacPhail 3rd Chief and son of the previousChief acquired the Inverairnie estate fromHugh Rose of Kilravock for one thousandpounds. The estate, which includesInverairnie, facing the river Nairn, lies withinthe Barony of Strathnairn and in the Parish ofDalarossie. The area is watered by the RiverAirnie, which falls into the Nairn adjoininglower Inverairnie. The land extends from Farrto Wester Lairgs and the Muir called“Shalvanach” also into Strathdearn andincluding Duglass and Duletter unto the RiverFindhorn. The Estate was very large andcovered almost all the land between the twoRivers. From this point on the Clan Phailbecame Estate Owners and a small force to bereckoned with in the area, and an effectivepart of Clan Chattan. However the MacPhailfamily is recorded as living and owning landsin and around Strathnairn and Strathdearnfrom about 1480, and in the general areaincluding Inverness since 1414.

Duncan died circa 1680 and his son Roberttook over as the 4th Chief until he died in1689.

The next Chief is Paul, 5th of Inverairnie, whoon the 13th March 1689 acquired the estateand also began the downward path for thefamily for years to come. This was due to himfirst marrying Elspeth Shaw of Tordarrochdaughter of the Chief of Clan Shaw. They hadtwo sons, Duncan and Robert. After Elspethdied he married again this time to JeanForbes, Niece to the Laird or Culloden. Theyalso had a son, John, who later became“Surveyor of customs at Fort William”. Theproblems arose when Paul the 5th Chief ofInverairnie wanted John, son to his secondmarriage to inherit the estates and becomehead of the family, above his first two sons. Tosolve the problem and to stop infighting heasked a William MacPhail a merchant ofInverness and his wife Margaret Mackintoshto hold the estate and decide who should haveit. By this time Duncan the first born fromthe first marriage had died, but William finallydecided that it was right for the second son

Robert to inherit the estates. On the 15th ofDecember 1716, he gave over the rights toRobert the 6th of Inverairnie. Robert, whomust have spent most of his life defending hisright to the estate from John and who was thepreferred option by his father.

On the 15th of September 1724 at Moy ameeting took place between all of the ClanChattan, including The Mackintosh andMacPhersons. At this meeting an oath wastaken by the MacPhersons and amongwitnesses, and described as friends to theMackintosh was Robert MacPhail ofInverairnie, as Head of his Tribe. Robert diedin 1743, leaving as his heir his son Alexanderthe 7th of Inverairnie.

Alexander signed a Bond in favor toMackintosh redeeming the lands of Laggan in1756 and again is described as “Head of theMacPhails”. However Alexander has problemsright from the start. He decided to settle withJohn MacPhail (pretender to the estate).Alexander settled with John at great cost, andput an end to his claim, once and for all.

Alexander in 1760 was now undisputed ownerof Inverairnie and head to the family andChief of the clan. The consideration paid tohis relative and the litigation proved fatal andcaused the sale of the estate, but due to debts,Kilravock and some others tried to takecontrol of the estates, and to removeAlexander, but he tried hard for some years tomaintain his position. Eventually he lost thefight and sold the estates to be split, half toFarr and the other to MacGillivray ofDunmaglass.

At this point Alexander decided to transfer hisremaining lands and the Chiefship to PaulMacPhail, 8th of Inverairnie. This deed waswritten by Alexander himself at Inverairnie onthe 14th of April 1763 and was witnessed byJohn MacPhail, youngest lawful son to RobertMacPhail 6th of Inverairnie, Donald MacPhailtenant in Inverairnie and Donald MacPhail inLynrich of Farr also witnessed thistransaction.

Alexander later found himself in prison,writing a petition to the Sheriff asking forrelease from prison. Alexander said,

That notwithstanding his having settled withDunmaglass, Farquhar MacGillivray ofDalcrombie, without having any specialmandate from the said Captain WilliamMacGillivray, who is out of the Kingdom, inGeorgia, upon Monday last, the 6th current(December 1773), came with a party of 12 men,armed with guns and staves, and upon the highroad attacked the petitioner and by the stronghand held him about two hours in the snow, byforce and violence, without having a caption orany warrant, or messenger or officer of the lawwith him and had him conveyed to prison.”

Sheriff Macqueen on the 9th of Decemberimmediately ordered answers within 48

hours. By evidence of a marking on papersdated the 13th of December no answer hadbeen given.

This was a deplorable act by MacGillivray andwas part of a campaign to remove theMacPhails from Inverairnie by theMacGillivray’s.

The power and most of the lands of theMacPhails of Inverairnie had now gone whenDonald MacPhail became 9th Chief. Heinherited the headship of his family from hisfather Paul, who died in 1800, making Donaldhead of the family and Chief of the clan,giving him the name of “Inverairnie” as thehead had been known since at least 1631.

Donald was a farmer having land at Gask inStrathnairn, near Inverness. He married AnneBain of Clan MacBean, a local girl whosefamily also lived around this area forhundreds of years. Donald died in 1830leaving three children, Paul, Lachlan and adaughter Ann. Donald’s wife Anne died in1875 aged 75 years. She was much youngerthan her husband, and out-lived him by forty-five years. After Donald’s death his eldest sonPaul became the 10th Chief of Inverairnie,but being only five years old, was too youngto take control of the family, so Anne, Paul’smother looked after the family until Paul wasof age. Donald and Anne are both buried inthe enclosure adjoining Dunlichity churchwhich is recorded by Alexander MackintoshShaw (A M Mackintosh) the famous historian,as being the joint burial enclosure for theChiefs of Shaw and MacPhail, next to theChiefly burial enclosure of the MacGillivrays.

GRAVESTONE OF DONALD MACPHAIL

PLAQUE TO MACPHAILS


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It is recorded that Angus M’Phail, a closerelative to Donald, rented half the lands ofInverairnie in 1803 from John LachlanMcgillivray at the cost of £5-7 shilling a year.John M’Phail rented lands at Wester Gask as acost of £5 per year a sad ending to land theyonce owned outright.

In 1852 the eldest son Paul decided to leaveScotland and emigrate to Australia. This lefthis younger brother Lachlan to become thenext “Head” but not chief, as that is a purelyhereditary role and Paul was still alive.

Lachlan was born in 1827 and at the late ageof forty-nine married Margaret Macdonald.Lachlan at this point lived in Inverness andwas employed as a Sheriff ’s Officer. He neverhad children so on his death in 1882 there wasno heir in the direct line except Paul inAustralia. So it was decided that the “Head”present in Strathnairn would be Lachlan’scousin Hector MacPhail in the absence ofPaul.

Paul died in 1904 in Melbourne Australia, thelast known Chief of Clan Phail.

CLAN PHAIL BOOK

The Clan Phail, The History of a People isavailable through the CCA website. JohnMackfall is a Member of CCA Council.

The Clan MacThomasGlenshee Gathering 2011Friday 27 May

We booked into our highlandcottages, which were withinwalking distance of the Dalmunzie

Hotel. We unpacked and changed into ourkilts for the Chief ’s Reception and ClanBarbecue – the start of the 2011 Gathering!At 7.00pm the Clan pipers – Ronald Thomand Ian Coombs – who had both travelled allthe way from Australia - heralded the entranceof MacThomaidh Mhor and his Lady as theyentered the grand hall for the Chief ’sReception. Finegand welcomed us all to theGathering especially mentioning those who

had journeyed from England, Norway,Germany, Spain, Nigeria, USA and Australia.After he had given a brief outline of theweekend’s activities we took the opportunityto renew old acquaintances and to make newfriends; there can be few organisations in theworld that are capable of bringing togethersuch an international, yet inter-related group,as the MacThomases of Glenshee! TheReception was followed by the Clan BBQ.After the BBQ most members listened to ashort talk by Scott Poole on Glenshee. Scott,who originates from Australia, is the owner ofthe Dalmunzie Hotel. Having spent aconsiderable time researching Glenshee andthe lifestyles of the early inhabitants, Scott wasable to give us a fascinating insight into livingconditions of our early forbears.

The Quiz Night that followed proved to be anawakening into how much we knew, or didnot know, about Scotland and the Clan.Organised into some twenty small teams, theChief excelled himself as the quizmaster andchallenged us with his tough questions. Wehad great fun trying to guess the answers, butultimately the team consisting of LadyFinegand and Brian & Rowan Turnbullclaimed the prize with a score of 37 out of 50;the good Lady claimed no prior knowledge ofthe questions, but Brian could not deny thathe played a part in the proof-reading theChief ’s book from which most of thequestions were drawn!

Saturday 28th May When I woke the early morning sunshine onthe hills was showing the Glen at its best.After breakfast, and dressed in our Highlandattire, we drove down the Glen to theGathering at the Cockstane. The site hadmatured from the barren state of thegathering in 2008 and we were pleased to see

that the young trees had taken root and thatthe mighty Clach once again stood proud inthe centre of the ancient MacThomasTerritory. The Clach na Choileach symbolisesthe strength of our Clan and is an eternalmemorial to our ancestors, who for centuriesstruggled to survive through the harsh wintersdefending themselves against the barbariccaterans and ruthless tax collectors.

There must have been more than 100 peoplegathered round the Clach as the skirl of thepipes heralded the entrance of the Chief andhis entourage – the two pipers in frontfollowed by Fergus Thoms, Sword-bearer tothe Chief, with his ancient claymore, thenFinegand himself, young Andrew Thomsonmaking his debut as stand-in banner-man, thetwo Vice Presidents –Thomas MacThomasand myself – Ken McColm, Australian BranchSecretary and Cathy McComb Ludemann,US/Canadian Branch Convenor, and ourHon. Vice President, Ian Thomson, Srbringing up the rear. The procession marchedinto the Cockstane site and up to the Clach.The Chief mounted the rock as many Chiefsbefore him had done, and addressed thegathering. I must have witnessed around 30gatherings, but each one had its own uniquecharacter. At my first gathering NorwegianSpruce had just been planted; each year theygrew taller and soon settled into a magnificentwooded amphitheatre. As the trees maturedIan Thomson, Sr, cut and shaped them intothe unique gathering place we grew to love;but the trees began to age; the winds broughta few crashing down to signal their harvesttime had come. The remaining trees were cutand the site was re-landscaped. Today thenewly planted young trees– all mixed varietiesindigenous to the area - have taken root andwe had no difficulty in imagining themgrowing into a magnificent copse andeventually maturing to be the proudguardians of our precious heritage for manygenerations to come. The clansmen maycome and go, the trees may grow and fall, butthe Clach will be our heritage forever.

In the afternoon there was an opportunity tolearn and practice Scottish Country Dancingin the Blackwater Hall at the south end of theGlen. For many this proved to be one of thehighlights of the weekend! The instructorstaught the basic steps and refreshed thememories of those who had danced before.

Back at our cottage we dressed for the eveningevents. Scottish evening dress is smart,distinctive and formal; it is the one occasionwhere the man can actually equal his femalepartner. When else does a man have theopportunity to show off his knees in a formaloccasion (ladies take note!)? Ladies shouldwear an evening or cocktail dress withMacThomas tartan sash gathered in a Celticbrooch over the right shoulder. This was thefirst occasion that my youngest daughter,


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Katalina, had worn an evening dress – shelooked great! For many members the dinneris a rare opportunity to dress-up andexperience the historic connection to the Clanand Glenshee, but dinner jackets or loungesuits are just as acceptable as evening kilt wearand no one should miss the dinner onaccount of not having the formal dress.Dinner consisted of a superb 4 course dinnerthat included Scottish salmon and localvenison. Ron Thom played a repertoire ofScottish tunes on his pipes and Finegand gavea speech about the clan today and its future,finishing with a toast to the Society.

This had indeed been a long day, but morewas yet to come! For those wanting to learnabout our national drink, a presentation onwhisky explained how the malts were groupedaccording to the area where they were distilledand described the subtle differences in flavour.Samples were offered, the tastes werecompared and the participants claimed theright to be “experts” in Scotch whisky.Meanwhile in the lounge, the area was beingprepared for the musical evening. KenMcColm is an exceptional saxophone playerand entertained us with some superb tunes,albeit not enough; my own daughter, Katalina,is learning to play the same instrument andalso played a small selection of her music withKen. Maggie Shaw played her guitar and sungsome excellent Scottish ballads and folk songs.

Sunday 29th May

When we arrived for the AGM at 11.00am inthe Dalmunzie Hotel, Ian Coombs wasplaying his pipes on the front lawn. Bagpipemusic, when played outside in such a glorioussetting, blends perfectly with the rollingScottish hills and is a pleasure to hear. Theafternoon offered a number of differentactivities for all ages. I chose the clay pigeonshooting under the excellent instruction ofSimon Winter – the owner of the Estate.

The evening festivities started with anabsolutely delicious traditional Scottish mealof haggis neeps and tatties. For some timenow I have had the honour to address thehaggis with the words written by our Scottishpoet, Robert Burns. The haggis was piped inand placed on the table in front of me and Iduly addressed it, carved it and prepared it forserving to the assembled diners. The poemwas written in Lowland Scots – a dialect ofEnglish – and I am sure most of the audience

did not have a clue what I was talking about,but none the less it was fun! After the mealthe ceilidh began with the Scottish dance bandstriking up the eightsome reel. All too soonthe midnight hour struck and we assembledin the dance room for “Auld Lang Syne” andthe end of another amazing day with theMacThomases in Glenshee.

Monday 30 MayAt 9.00 am we were all back at the DalmunzieHotel for the Clan Breakfast. This was aninformal buffet breakfast where we all sat atone long table. It gave us the opportunity toreminisce over the weekend, to exchangecontact details and to say our farewells. Afterbreakfast the clansfolk began departing andsoon there were only a few who had arrangedto extend their holiday along with thecompetitors who were to battle it out on the9-hole golf course. Julian Turnbull, one of ournewest members, had the honour to win thetournament – well done Julian, not many cansay they beat the great MacThomaidh Mhor!

Robin S. Thoms – Vice President.Clan MacThomas Association

SWANS ON FROZEN LOCH MOY BYKATRINA BEATON

Blast from the past

Aquick look at what was happeningwithin the Clan Chattan Association 50and 25 years ago.

Let’s start with 50 years ago. The Journalpublished in 1962 showed a lot of poetry andwords to songs which reflected the members’love of a good party. In the sixties theassociation was a collection of branches andthe Edinburgh branch would often get togetherfor a ceilidh or garden party. There had alsobeen a successful Gathering in Inverness.


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The ‘Great News’ in 1962 was of the weddingof Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh (thethen President of the Clan ChattanAssociation) to Celia, daughter of CaptainThe Hon. John B. Bruce RN

LACHLAN AND CELIA MACKINTOSHOF MACKINTOSH – WEDDING PHOTOUNDER GUARD OF HONOUR - 10THFEBRUARY 1962

25 years later and the Association is stillenjoying Gathering together in Inverness. Thejournal of 1987 showed an article aboutLachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara who was theauthor of the document widely known as theKinrara Manuscript. In recent years this hasbeen edited by Dr Jean Munro and theAssociation launched a new publication in2010. (copies still available to purchase).

The ‘Great News’ in 1987 was the wedding ofLouisa Mackintosh of Mackintosh to StuartR. Cross at the Cathedral Church of StAndrew in Inverness. Louisa’s sister, Bridget,was Chief bridesmaid and celebrated her 21stand graduated from Durham University withBA(Hons) in General Arts. Bridget and herhusband Paul, now have a daughter Heatherwho is 18 this year and a son Calum who is 16this year - so a big year for them in 2012!

John Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Chief Usher,celebrated his 18th and left school that year.As well, of course, as Lachlan and Celiacelebrating their own Silver Wedding – a bigyear of celebration for all the family!

So, the ‘Great news’ this year is the SilverWedding anniversary of Louisa and StuartCross. Congratulations and every best wish tothem both from all their friends in theAssociation. I am sure that we may have ourown wee party for them at the Gathering inInverness in August and we will raise a glassin memory of the Golden WeddingAnniversary of Lachlan and Celia Mackintoshof Mackintosh.

LOUISA AND STUART AT THEIRWEDDING ON 11TH APRIL 1987

The Battle of Harlaw; 24thJuly 1411 and 24th July 2011.By Allan Maclean of Dochgarroch

The Battle of Harlaw is one of the bestknown events in Highland history,when the Lord of the Isles and the Earl

of Mar, and their troops, fought against eachother near Aberdeen in a particularly bloodyencounter which has gained it the name of‘Red Harlaw’ ever since.

RONALD MACLEAN PIPING

In a show of strength, Donald, Lord of theIsles, with a vast troop of Highlanders, havingmarched through Ross, Inverness-shire andMoray, sweeping all before him, met the

smaller, but perhaps better trained, royalistforce under his cousin, the Earl of Mar,incorporating many barons and knights fromAberdeenshire and the Mearns, along withProvost Davidson, the burgesses and manytownspeople of Aberdeen. After a day longbattle and great slaughter, both sides appearto have been too exhausted to pursue theother; and the following day, when theroyalists returned, the Highlanders hadalready left the battle site.

There are no contemporary accounts of thebattle, and later descriptions and balladsseem to draw on each other, with addeddetails which may be there to enhance thestory, or may be exact memories of whathappened.

BRIGADIER MACFARLANE READINGTHE BROSNACHADH

It is generally agreed, however, that there weremany more Highlanders than Lowlanders,perhaps by a ratio of as much as 5 to 1; thaton the Highland side, Hector Maclean ofDuart, Donald’s nephew, took the right wing;Malcolm Mackintosh, Captain of ClanChattan, took the left wing; and Donaldhimself the centre ground. The Highlandarmy was encamped on the northern end ofa plateau of high ground north of Inverurie,while Mar’s army mustered at Inverurie. Onthe day, the Lowland army moved up ontothe plateau [near the present-day village ofBalhalgardy], and, in something like a head-on collision, attacked the Highlanders, whoin turn, particularly Maclean’s right wing,pushed them far back onto those behindthem, but this led to a counter-charge.Thereafter it was a long and bloody action,which seems to have lasted the whole day.

There was a great slaughter of the nobles,barons and knights, among the Lowlanders,many of whose names have been identified,but among the Highlanders, the greatest losswas Hector Maclean of Duart. Tradition tellsus that Hector spotted the armorial coat ofIrvine of Drum, and they engaged in mortalcombat, in which both were killed. The chiefs


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of Duart and Drum thereafter are said to haveswapped swords when they met on theanniversary.

THE EXCHANGE OF SWORDS

The outcome of the battle was militarilyinconclusive; both sides have claimed thevictory; Aberdeen was not pillaged, Donalddid not succeed in his aim to be earl of Ross,but the Regent, Albany’s, claims in Scotlandwere reduced; perhaps a treaty was reachedby both sides the following year. However,the impact of the battle was far worse for Marand the Lowlanders, whose casualty rateappears to have been up to 40%, with thesignificant loss of many of their leadingnobles and officers, including RobertDavidson, Provost of Aberdeen, while theHighlanders rate was 15%, and the onlyknown loss among the leaders was HectorMaclean of Duart.

ALLAN MACLEAN OF DOCHGARROCH,PRESIDENT OF THE CLAN MACLEANASSOCIATION, VICE-PRESIDENT OFTHE CLAN CHATTAN ASSOCIATION ATHARLAW -ALISTAIR MCINTOSH,TREASURER ON LEFT OF PICTURE

Many theories have been advanced aboutboth the long-term and the immediate causesof the encounter. These range from thosewho state that it was the first struggle in thefight between the Gaelic-speaking Highlandsand the English-speaking Lowlands for thesoul of Scotland, a movement that finallysuccumbed on Culloden field, 350 years later,

to others who say that it was a fight to saveAberdeen from being sacked. The ‘culturalclash’ versus ‘saving Aberdeen fromHooligans’ both still have their proponents.

It has also been suggested that the Lord of theIsles was acting on behalf of James I, the King,who was an imprisoned hostage in London,and wanted to trim the aspirations of hisGovernor in Scotland, the Duke of Albany.But on the other hand, it has also beenclaimed that it was a dynastic struggle, andthat Donald Lord of the Isles had a claim tothe throne itself. Others say that it was apurely feudal struggle over the inheritanceand succession to the Earldom of Ross,between Donald [in right of his wife] andAlbany [in right of his grand-daughter], butif so, it is strange that having secured Ross forhimself, Donald pressed on into theAberdeenshire.

Whatever, tradition states that the earldom ofRoss was the prize that Donald sought, andwhich eventually came by inheritance to hisson Alexander, Lord of the Isles, after 1424.

PROVOST DAVIDSON’S ARMS, HARLAWMONUMENT

In 1911, at the 500th anniversarycommemoration, there was a severedifference of opinion between the historians.The Provost of Aberdeen, claimed it was avictory of the civilised Lowlanders over theunruly Gaelic-speaking Highlanders, but theHighland historian, Dr William Mackay,claimed that it was Celt versus Celt, Gaelversus Gael, with as many Gaelic-speakingtroops on the royalist side as the Highlanders;and that the Lord of the Isles was far morecivilised than the Earl of Mar. One result ofthese conflicting views was that themagnificent granite monument erected bythe City of Aberdeen at the battle-site was notbuilt until 1914, and it hardly recognises theHighlanders at all. None of the heraldicpanels was carved as it could not be agreed asto whose arms should be included.

This bias has, in part, been rectified by theinclusion of the coats of arms of the Lords ofthe Isles and the Macleans of Duart on themonument. However, at the 600thanniversary commemoration last summer,

arranged by Aberdeen City Council, when thesix new coats of arms [which include those ofProvost Davidson] were inaugurated, theHighland clans and their representatives werealmost completely ignored, and uninvited!

In the light of this, I arranged a totallyseparate ceremony on the battlefield, after thecivic event, for all who wished to attend,especially Highlanders. Despite the appallinggale, that swirled round the battle site, andthe difficulties for people getting there, theoccasion was both well attended andmemorable.

The ceremony centred on commemorating ofthe deaths of Maclean of Duart and Irvine ofDrum, with the lowering of the two chiefs’banners, and then, after a re-enactment of thetraditional exchange of swords by theircurrent representatives, the raising of themagain. CCA member and local historian,Albert Thomson, explained the main pointsof the battle; Brigadier John Macfarlane, whowas so prominent as the Gaelic-speakingseanachie at our Clan Chattan anniversary atEden Court in Inverness three years ago, gavea rendition of the famous Gaelic‘brosnachadh’ or incitement to battle, thatwas composed for the Highland army beforeHarlaw. Ronald Maclean, Inverness, whopiped so memorably at the last Cullodenanniversary, played the lament ‘Red Hector ofthe Battles’, supposedly the oldest of allpiobaireachd, again dating from 1411.

Finally there was the laying of the wreaths inhonour of the Clan Chattan and the ClanCameron, who along with the Macleans, werethe Macdonald’s principal warriors in 1411.Our own CCA chairman, Donald McIntosh,laid the Clan Chattan wreath, and there wereseveral members of the CCA present towitness the ceremony.

DONALD MCINTOSH WITH THEWREATH AT HARLAW FROM CLANCHATTAN ASSOCIATION


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The Clan Chattan story:

Donald, Lord of the Isles, had a policyof extending his influence from thewest coast and Argyll, not least up the

Great Glen, into the Earldom of Ross, forwhich he had a claim in right of his wife. InLochaber he encountered the Clan Chattan,both Mackintoshes and Camerons, in whichhe clearly took the side of the Mackintoshes.Pushing north, tradition states that hecaptured Castle Urquhart and appointedTarlach Maclean as his constable.

Malcolm [or Callum Beg] Mackintosh is thefirst Captain of Clan Chattan, of whom wehave contemporary evidence [rather thanpurely traditional] and he took over thechiefship from his nephew Farquhar, who issupposed to have been incompetent. It hasbeen suggested that it was the Harlawcampaign in which the very young Malcolm,as it might be said, ‘won his spurs’ andreceived the loyalty of the Clan Chattan. TheMacdonald history states that Malcolm noblyrelinquished the Clan Chattan’s traditionalright to lead the right wing of the Lord of theIsle’s army, in favour of Hector Maclean ofDuart, the Lord’s nephew. Instead Malcolmwas given command of the left wing.

An old ballad states:

“Malcolmtosh, o’ the clan head chief,

Maclean, wi’ his great haughty head,

Wi’ a’ their succour and relief

Were dulefully dung to the dead.”

But Malcolm was not killed at Harlaw, and hedid not die for at least a further 52 years. Atsome point he transferred the Clan Chattan’sallegiance, from their support of the Lord ofthe Isles, and joined the royal side. Indeed,when King James later visited the battle site,it was Malcolm who pointed out to the Kingwhat had happened, and where, on the field.However Malcolm was wise enough to worryabout his safety in Aberdeen that evening, andmade his escape.

The oft asked question that this raises iswhether Provost Robert Davidson, who ledthe burgesses to Harlaw to fight theHighlanders, was himself of Clan Chattan.Certainly, as William Mackay has pointed outthere were Gaels on both sides, so it isperfectly possible, that Robert Davidson’sfamily may have themselves been of ClanChattan, and who had settled in Aberdeen.His coat of arms is one of the six new shieldsthat adorn the monument on the field of RedHarlaw.

New Members

It is with great pleasure that we welcomethe new members that have joined sinceJanuary 2011 and we wish them a long

and happy time with the Clan ChattanAssociation.

No: 3805 Shelagh Ryan, Australia.

No: 3806 Duncan Mackintosh, UK

No: 3807 Michael Joy, USA

No: 3808 Alexander McIntosh, UK

No: 3809 Jere Baldwin, USA

No: 3810 Catherine Joan Francis MBE, UK

No: 3811 Allan MacGillivray, Canada

No: 3812 Peter MacGillivray, UK

No: 3813 George McIntosh, New Zealand

No: 3814 Scot McIntosh, USA

No: 3815 Allan Mackintosh, South Africa

No: 3816 Albert Thomson, UK

No: 3817 Anne Cattanach, UK

No: 3818 Mark Williams, UK

No: 3819 Dean Mackintosh, USA

No: 3820 Julie Burman, UK

No: 3821 JFC Dillon, Australia

The sad part of my position of MembershipSecretary is to report on those members whohave passed away.

Mr A B MacIntosh and Mr J D Gillespie bothlong standing members from Australia.

Mr John Sanderson from Ayrshire, a frequentvisitor to the Gathering and The Clan Tent atMoy.

Mr David McIntosh, a former treasurer,chairman and an elected Vice President of theAssociation.

Denise McIntosh

Reminders

Annual and 5 year subscription renewalsare now due, and a reminder slip willbe sent with this magazine if your

subscription is due. If it is time for you torenew your subscription please forward yourpayment to the membership secretary. It ispossible to renew through the Clan ChattanAssociation web site shop.www.clanchattan.org.uk If you have anyqueries please contact us by e-mail [email protected] orwrite to Clan Chattan Association, PO Box13817, Penicuik, EH26 9YR, Scotland.

Please remember to let us know if any of yourdetails change, such as your address, or yourmagazine may go astray or be delayed ingetting to you.

PresidentJohn L Mackintosh of Mackintosh,

Moy Hall, Moy, Tomatin, Inverness-shire, IV13 7YQ

Vice PresidentsCaptain A.A.C. Farquharson

of Invercauld, M.C.; The Hon. Sir William Macpherson

of Cluny T.D.; John Shaw of Tordarroch ;

Very Reverend Allan Maclean of Dochgarroch;

James H. McBain of McBain; Alister G. Davidson of Davidston;

Andrew P.C. MacThomas of Finegand.

Elected Vice-PresidentsPauline McGillivray; Peter McGillivray.

ChairmanDonald McIntosh

Vice ChairmanStuart Cross

Hon. Administration SecretaryLouisa Cross

Hon. Membership/CorrespondenceSecretary

Denise McIntosh

Hon. TreasurerAlistair McIntosh

Members of CouncilJohn E. Mackfall; James Sanderson;

Nick Hide; W Rex Davidson (Canada);William Shaw of Easter Lair (USA);

Capt. Glen A. Cook of Kingerly (USA); Rob McIntosh (Aus)

Contact detailsClan Chattan Association, PO Box 13817,

Penicuik, EH26 9YR Scotland

e-mail:[email protected]

www.clanchattan.org.uk

2013 Magazine items to be sent toclanchattanassociation

@btinternet.com by 10 January 2013


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