The ‘Clan of the Cats,’ was not always a single family but a confederation or community of families, some of whom had been related and some who were not. The wildcat in heraldry can often help as a means of distinguishing the families associated. A portrait of then chief Cluny MacPherson from around 1873 Most […]
Clan Pringle People Sir John Pringle Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet, FRS, (1707 – 1782) Scottish physician who has been called the “father of military medicine”. John Pringle was educated at St Andrews, at Edinburgh, and at Leiden. In 1730 he graduated with a degree of Doctor of Physics. He settled in Edinburgh at first […]
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Spottiswood Places Spottiswoode House – Large Mansion house dated from 1830s. Demolished in 1928. Dairsie Castle, nr Cupar, Fife. Passed to the Spottiswoodes in 1616. Restored in 1990s.
The name Fergusson sprang to life in many, widely spread parts of Scotland. Ideally the name could be traced back so as to bring the families together to a single ancestral family, but when we consider that the name Fergus in Gaelic means ‘the angry’ and ‘the bold and proud’, we can appreciate that such […]
Crawford was a barony in the Upper Ward of Clydesdale. The name of Galfridus of Crawford is recorded around 1179, and he seems to have been a man of success. In the time of William the Lion, Sir Reginald of Crawford was made Sheriff of Ayr. Accompanied by three sons he was witness to a […]
According to legend the first ancestor of the Cambells appears in the eleventh or twelfth Century, Smevie or Mervvn, son of Arthur, who became known as ‘the Wildman of the Woods’. A name given probably to acknowledge him as a great hunter. Some say he was the son of the Legendary Arthur. There is no […]
Clan MacAulay People Lord Thomas Babington MacAulayLord Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59) Born in Leicestershire, his essays for the “Edinburgh Review” on Milton and James Mill brought him acceptance into the wealthy circles of London. He became an Edinburgh MP in 1829. In the House of Commons his eloquence was admired and persuasive, such as when […]
Clan Calder Places Cawdor Castle, near Nairn, was first built sometime in the 15th century, with the earliest record of the castle being in 1454, when William Calder, 6th Thane of Cawdor, was granted a ‘licence to fortify’. However, there is evidence that some parts of the fortress may date to the late 1300s. The […]
MacKinnon Clan Crest MacKinnon Coats of Arms A note on Coats of Arms: Under Scottish heraldic law a coat of arms is awarded to an individual (with the exception of civic or corporate arms) . There is no such thing as a ‘family coat of arms’ The arms represented below are personal arms (with the […]
