The Murchison family of Loch Alsh, Ross-shire, Scotland were a minor Scottish clan, [1] and a sept of the larger Clan Mackenzie. [1] In modern times the Murchison surname is still considered a sept of the Clan Mackenzie by the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland & the UK. [2]
The Murchison sept are descended from Murdoch or Murcha (Gaelic: Murchadh) who in 1362 received a charter for lands in Kintail from David II of Scotland. [1] It is supposed that the Murchisons were long governors of Eilean Donan Castle. [1] In 1563 a dispute arose between the Macraes and the MacLennans over who should hold the honorable post of constable of the castle, and the Mackenzie laird ultimately gave it to the priest John MacMhurchaidh Duhibh (Murchison). [3] This did not suit the MacLennans who later shot Murchison in the buttocks with an arrow. [3] Padraic MacGiolla-Domhnaigh says that the name was also anglicised as Morrow, MacMorrow and Morrowson [4]
Following the Jacobite rising of 1715, William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth was exiled in France. [5] However his factor, Colonel Donald Murchison, continued to collect the rents from his tenants and send them to his master in France. [5] This led to action by the Mackenzie's rivals, the Clan Ross, who supported the British Government, resulting in the Battle of Glen Affric in 1721, where Donald Murchison led the Clan Mackenzie in defeating the forces loyal to the government. [5] This was followed by the Battle of Coille Bhan in 1721 where Donald Murchison, along with his relative Kenneth Murchison, again led the Clan Mackenzie in successfully holding their lands from the government. [6]
During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Mackenzie chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supported the British-Hanoverian Government, raising three Independent Highland Companies in support of the government, and Simon Morchison (Murchison) was an Ensign of one of those companies. [7]
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.
Clan Mackenzie is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However, the earliest Mackenzie chief recorded by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail who died some time after 1471. Traditionally, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Mackenzies supported Robert the Bruce, but feuded with the Earls of Ross in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 15th and 16th-centuries the Mackenzies feuded with the neighboring clans of Munro and MacDonald. In the 17th century the Mackenzie chief was made Earl of Seaforth in the peerage of Scotland. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies largely supported the Royalists. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the chief and clan of Mackenzie supported the Jacobite cause. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supporting the British-Hanoverian Government and his relative, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, supporting the Jacobites.
The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an armigerous clan.
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry is a 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".
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel".
Clan Chisholm is a Highland Scottish clan.
Castle Chanonry of Ross, also known as Seaforth Castle, was located in the town of Fortrose, to the north-east of Inverness, on the peninsula known as the Black Isle, Highland, Scotland. Nothing now remains of the castle. The castle was also known as Canonry or Chanonrie of Ross, the former county.
Strome Castle is a ruined castle on the shore of Loch Carron in Stromemore, 3.5 miles south-west of the village of Lochcarron, on the headland between Loch Carron and Loch Kishorn, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands.
Clan MacLennan, also known as Siol Ghillinnein, is a Highland Scottish clan which historically populated lands in the north-west of Scotland. The surname MacLennan in Scottish Gaelic is Mac Gille Fhinnein, meaning the son of the follower of St Finnan.
The Battle of Bealach nam Broig was fought between Scottish clans from the lands of north-west Ross, against north-eastern clans of Ross who supported the Earl of Ross. The actual date of the battle is debated, it probably occurred in 1452 but the Conflicts of the Clans suggests a date as early as 1299.
Clan MacIver or Clan MacIvor, also known as Clan Iver, is a Scottish clan recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The clan, however, does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this the clan can be considered an armigerous clan. The clan name of MacIver is of Gaelic origin, derived from an Old Norse personal name. Various forms of the surname MacIver, like MacGiver, are considered sept names of several historically large Scottish clans, such as clans Campbell and Mackenzie. There exists a Clan Iver society in Fife, Scotland.
The Battle of Blar na Pairce was a Scottish clan battle that took place just outside Strathpeffer some time between 1485 and 1491. It was fought between men of the Clan Donald or MacDonald and the Clan Mackenzie.
The Battle of Morar was a Scottish clan battle fought in 1602, near Loch Morar, in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry against the Clan Mackenzie who were supported by men of the Clan Ross and Andrew Munro of Novar.
Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd is purported to have been a 15th-century Scotsman, who lived in the north-west of Scotland. The Gaelic Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd translates into English as "Fionnla the black, son of Gillechriosd". Fionnla Dubh is known from a late 17th-century traditional account of Clan Macrae; within that account he presented as a prominent ancestor of the clan. The tradition relates that for a time the chief of Clan Mackenzie was absent, and during that time his bastard uncles were causing trouble in the Mackenzies' territories of Kintail and Kinlochewe. Fionnla Dubh was then ordered to retrieve the chief and was successful in his task. From that time onward, says the tradition, the Macraes from the Kintail area rose in prominence amongst their Mackenzie lords. Tradition also states that Fionnla Dubh is an ancestor of the leading lines of the Macraes from Kintail.
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 Battle of Glen Affric took place in 1721 in Glen Affric, in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between Government backed forces of the Clan Ross against rebel the forces of the Clan Mackenzie and their allies the Clan Macrae.
The Battle of Coille Bhan was fought in 1721 near Attadale, in the county of Ross in the Scottish Highlands in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1719. It was fought between a British government force against Highlanders of the Clan Mackenzie.
Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Loch Hourn, ie. from Stromeferry in the north on Loch Carron down to Corran on Loch Hourn and as (south-)west as Kintail. It was sometimes more narrowly defined as just being the hilly peninsula that lies between Loch Carron and Loch Alsh. The main settlement is Kyle of Lochalsh, located at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the adjacent island of Skye. A ferry used to connect the two settlements but was replaced by the Skye Bridge in 1995.
The Battle of Lagabraad, also known as the Battle of Logiebride, or Lagebread, was a Scottish clan battle that took place in 1480, or 1483, and was fought between the Clan Donald and the Clan Mackenzie of the Scottish Highlands.