Hugh Fraser, 9th Lord Lovat (1666-1696), was hereditary Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, but the period of his lordship is generally considered a troubled time for the Clan.
He was the son of Hugh Fraser, 8th Lord Lovat (2 May 1643/1649-27 April 1672) and Anne MacKenzie. Both his parents died when he was young, and he was brought up from the age of six at Castle Leod by his uncle and guardian, Sir George Mackenzie of Tarbat. One historian has described this as ‘a sort of genetic kidnap’ [1] of the chiefly authority, in order to expand the power of the Clan Mackenzie into the adjacent Fraser lands. Management of the Lovat estates were placed under the control of the Earl of Seaforth, chief of the Clan Mackenzie.
In 1687 Tarbat further bolstered his control over the Clan Fraser by arranging for Hugh to marry Lady Amelia Murray. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Atholl, an important member of the powerful Clan Murray. The marriage contract contained an unusual proviso. Instead of the usual situation of a cadet branch taking over the lordship in the absence of a male heir, the estates and title of Lovat would instead go to the eldest daughter. Should she marry anyone with the name of Fraser, her husband would then assume control. It was a possible means for a man from any clan to assume control of the Lovat estates simply by legally adopting the Fraser name. [2]
Hugh and Amelia had several daughters: Amelia (b.1686) Anne (b 1689), Catherine (b.c. 1692) and Margaret (b.1695). He had two sons, Hugh (b.1690) and John (b.1695) but both boys predeceased him, which gave enhanced importance to the proviso of his marriage contract.
Hugh, notable only for his ‘poor physical and mental calibre’ [3] was an ineffectual leader of his Clan. In the Jacobite rising of 1689 following the ‘Glorious Revolution’, Hugh instructed his clansmen to stay out of the fight. In this he was undoubtedly influenced by his Mackenzie and Murray relatives, who had sided with the government. However, the clansmen flocked to the Jacobite side instead, under the leadership of other Fraser gentlemen. [4]
In 1696, the year his last son John died, he repudiated the unusual proviso of his marriage contract with Amelia Murray as having been made under duress, and he assigned the succession to his cousin, Thomas Fraser. A few months later, perhaps as a result of excessive drink, [5] Hugh himself died, aged 30. This ended the direct male line of the Lovat Frasers extending back to 1458.
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, nicknamed the Fox, was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, known for his feuding and changes of allegiance.
Lord Lovat is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lord Lovat. It was a separate title from the Scottish feudal lordship of Lovat, already held by the highland Frasers. In 1837 they were created a third title, Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holder is separately and independently the Chief of the highland Clan Fraser of Lovat.
The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creations were not recognised in English, Scots or Irish law, but the titles were used in Jacobite circles in Continental Europe and recognised by France, Spain and the Papacy.
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland. The progenitor of the MacDonells of Glengarry is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Alexander's son".
The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 in the Scottish Highlands, during the Jacobite rising of 1719. A Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish marines was defeated by British government troops.
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, KT was a leading Scottish royalist and defender of the Stuarts during the English Civil War of the 1640s, until after the rise to power of William and Mary in 1689. He succeeded as 2nd Earl of Atholl on his father's demise in June 1642 and as 3rd Earl of Tullibardine after the death of his first cousin the 2nd Earl in 1670.
Clan Fraser of Lovat is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century.
Clan Chisholm is a Highland Scottish clan.
Archibald Campbell Fraserof Lovat, was British consul at Tripoli and Algiers, and later colonel of the 1st Inverness local militia. Upon the death of his brother, Simon Fraser (1726–1782), Archibald became the 20th MacShimidh (chief) of Clan Fraser of Lovat, and sat in the House of Commons from 1782 to 1784.
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan MacDonellof Keppoch or Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The progenitor of the clan is Alistair Carrach MacDonald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled. The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Ranald's son".
Simon Fraser of Lovat was a son of a notorious Jacobite clan chief, but he went on to serve with distinction in the British army. He also raised forces which served in the Seven Years' War against the French in Quebec, as well as the American Revolutionary War. Simon was the 19th Chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat.
Donald Cameron of Lochiel, popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel, was a Scottish Jacobite, soldier and hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. His support for Charles Edward Stuart proved pivotal in the early stages of the 1745 Rising. Lochiel was among the Highlanders defeated at the Battle of Culloden, and thereafter went into hiding before eventually fleeing to France.
Thomas Fraser, 10th Lord Lovat (1631–1699), was a younger son of Hugh, 7th Lord Lovat (1591–1646), hereditary chief of the Clan Fraser. He was known as Thomas of Beaufort, which marked him as the belonging to the second line of the family tree after the chiefly family, the Lovats.
Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, known as "Cluny Macpherson", was the Chief of Clan MacPherson during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He took part as a leading supporter of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. After the rebellion was crushed, he went into hiding and eventually escaped to France. He was the uncle of poet James Macpherson, who collected, translated, and adapted the epic poem Ossian, based upon the Fenian Cycle of Celtic mythology.
Clan Munro is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and settled in Scotland in the eleventh century, though its true founder may have lived much later. It is also a strong tradition that the Munro chiefs supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The first proven clan chief on record however is Robert de Munro who died in 1369; his father is mentioned but not named in a number of charters. The clan chiefs originally held land principally at Findon on the Black Isle but exchanged it in 1350 for Estirfowlys. Robert's son Hugh who died in 1425 was the first of the family to be styled "of Foulis", despite which clan genealogies describe him as 9th baron.
The siege of Inverness that took place in November 1715 was part of the Jacobite rising of 1715. The town of Inverness and Inverness Castle were being held by the Clan Mackenzie, led by Sir John Mackenzie of Coul who supported the rebel Jacobite cause. Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat besieged them, supported by men of the Clan Rose and Clan Forbes.
The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the Scottish government between 1603 and 1760 in order to help keep the peace and enforce the law in the Highlands and were recognized as such by the government. The officers of the Independent Highland Companies were commissioned as officers of the British Army but the Independent Companies were not recognized as official regiments of the line of the army. The Independent Highland Companies were the progenitors of the Highland Regiments of the British Army that began when ten Independent Highland Companies were embodied to form the Earl of Crawford's Highland Regiment that was numbered the 43rd Regiment of Foot in 1739.
Major James Fraser of Castle Leathers was a Scottish soldier who supported the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite risings of the 18th-century and was an important member of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, a clan of the Scottish Highlands. He is also known for his quarrels with his clan chief, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat who switched sides several times during the Jacobite risings.
George Mackay, 3rd Lord Reay (1678–1748), was a Scottish noble and chief of the Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. During his life the Glorious Revolution took place which directly affected his family and estate, and during his chiefdom he served the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745.
The siege of Culloden House took place on the night of 15/16 October 1745 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. 200 men of the Jacobite Clan Fraser of Lovat attempted to capture Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden who was the Lord President of the Court of Session, the most senior legal officer in Scotland.