Chapter VII (2)

“This movement to the westward, on the part of the insurgents, brought on the battle of Sheriffmuir; indecisive, indeed, in its immediate results, but of which the Duke of Argyll reaped the whole advantage.” We have already given an account of Rob Roy’s vacillating behaviour at this battle. “One of the Macphersons, named Alexander, one of Rob’s original profession, _videlicet_ a drover, but a man of great strength and spirit, was so incensed at the inactivity of his temporary leader, that he threw off his plaid, drew his sword, and called out to his clansmen, ‘Let us endure this no longer! if he will not lead you, I will.’ Rob Roy replied, with great coolness, ‘Were the question about driving Highland stots or kyloes, Sandie, I would yield to your superior skill; but as it respects the leading of men, I must be allowed to be the better judge.’ ‘Did the matter respect driving Glen-Eigas stots,’ answered Macpherson, ‘the question with Rob would not be, which was to be last, but which was to be foremost.’ Incensed at this sarcasm, Macgregor drew his sword, and they would have fought upon the spot if their friends on both sides had not interfered.

“Notwithstanding the sort of neutrality which Rob Roy had continued to observe during the progress of the rebellion, he did not escape some of its penalties. He was included in the act of attainder, and the house in Breadalbane, which was his place of retreat, was burned by General Lord Cadogan, when, after the conclusion of the insurrection, he marched through the Highlands to disarm and punish the offending clans. But upon going to Inverary with about forty or fifty of his followers, Rob obtained favour, by an apparent surrender of their arms to Colonel Patrick Campbell of Finnah, who furnished them and their leader with protections under his hand. Being thus in a great measure secured from the resentment of government, Rob Roy established his residence at Craig Royston, near Loch Lomond, in the midst of his own kinsmen, and lost no time in resuming his private quarrel with the Duke of Montrose. For this purpose, he soon got on foot as many men, and well armed too, as he had yet commanded. He never stirred without a body guard of ten or twelve picked followers, and without much effort could increase them to fifty or sixty.”[219]

For some years he continued to levy blackmail from those whose cattle and estates he protected, and although an English garrison was stationed at Inversnaid, near Aberfoyle, his activity, address, and courage continually saved him from falling into their hands. The year of his death is uncertain, but it is supposed to have been after 1738. He died at an advanced age in his bed, in his own house at Balquhidder. When he found death approaching, “he expressed,” says Sir Walter Scott, “some contrition for particular parts of his life. His wife laughed at these scruples of conscience, and exhorted him to die like a man, as he had lived. In reply, he rebuked her for her violent passions, and the counsels she had given him. ‘You have put strife,’ he said, ‘between me and the best men of the country, and now you would place enmity between me and my God.’ There is a tradition noway inconsistent with the former, if the character of Rob Roy be justly considered, that, while on his deathbed, he learned that a person with whom he was at enmity, proposed to visit him. ‘Raise me from my bed,’ said the invalid, ‘throw my plaid around me, and bring me my claymore, dirk, and pistols; it shall never be said that a foeman saw Rob Roy Macgregor defenceless and unarmed.’ His foeman, conjectured to be one of the Maclarens, entered and paid his compliments, inquiring after the health of his formidable neighbour. Rob Roy maintained a cold haughty civility during their short conference, and as soon as he had left the house, ‘Now,’ he said, ‘all is over; let the piper play _Ha til mi tulidh_’ (we return no more), and he is said to have expired before the dirge was finished.” The grave of Macgregor, in the churchyard of Balquhidder, is distinguished by a rude tombstone, over which a sword is carved.

Rob Roy had five sons--Coll, Ranald, James (called James Roy, after his father, and James Mohr, or big James, from his height), Duncan, and Robert, called Robin Oig, or Young Robin.

On the breaking out of the rebellion of 1745, the clan Gregor adhered to the cause of the Pretender. A Macgregor regiment, 300 strong, was raised by Robert Macgregor of Glencairnock, who was generally considered chief of the clan, which joined the prince’s army. The branch of _Ciar Mohr_, however, regarded William Macgregor Drummond of Bohaldie, then in France, as their head, and a separate corps formed by them, commanded by Glengyle, and James Roy Macgregor, united themselves to the levies of the titular Duke of Perth, James assuming the name of Drummond, the duke’s family name, instead of that of Campbell. This corps was the relics of Rob Roy’s band, and with only twelve men of it, James Roy, who seems to have held the rank of captain or major, succeeded in surprising and burning, for the second time, the fort at Inversnaid, constructed for the express purpose of keeping the country of the Macgregors in order.

At the battle of Prestonpans, the Duke of Perth’s men and the Macgregors composed the centre. Armed only with scythes, this party cut off the legs of the horses, and severed, it is said, the bodies of their riders in twain. Captain James Roy, at the commencement of the battle, received five wounds, but recovered from them, and rejoined the prince’s army with six companies. He was present at the battle of Culloden, and after that defeat the clan Gregor returned in a body to their own country, when they dispersed. James Roy was attainted for high treason, but from some letters of his, published in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ for December 1817, it appears that he had entered into some communication with the government, as he mentions having obtained a pass from the Lord Justice-clerk in 1747, which was a sufficient protection to him from the military.

On James Roy’s arrival in France, he seems to have been in very poor circumstances, as he addressed a letter to Mr Edgar, secretary to the Chevalier de St George, dated Boulogne-sur-Mer, May 22, 1753, craving assistance “for the support of a man who has always shown the strongest attachment to his majesty’s person and cause.” To relieve his necessities, James ordered his banker at Paris to pay Macgregor 300 livres. James Roy, availing himself of a permission he had received to return to Britain, made a journey to London, and had an interview, according to his own statement, with Lord Holderness, secretary of state. The latter and the under secretary offered him, he says, a situation in the government service, which he rejected, as he avers his acceptance of it would have been a disgrace to his birth, and would have rendered him a scourge to his country. On this he was ordered instantly to quit England. On his return to France, an information was lodged against him by Macdonnell of Lochgarry, before the high bailie of Dunkirk, accusing him of being a spy. In consequence, he was obliged to quit that town and proceed to Paris, with only thirteen livres in his pocket. In his last letter to his acknowledged chief, Macgregor of Bobaldie, dated Paris, 25th September 1754, he describes himself as being in a state of extreme destitution, and expresses his anxiety to obtain some employment as a breaker and breeder of horses, or as a hunter or fowler, “till better cast up.” In a postscript he asks his chief to lend him his bagpipes, “to play some melancholy tunes.” He died about a week after writing this letter, it is supposed of absolute starvation.

It was not till 1784 that the oppressive acts against the Macgregors, which, however, for several years had fallen into desuetude, were rescinded by the British parliament, when they were allowed to resume their own name, and were restored to all the rights and privileges of British citizens. A deed was immediately entered into, subscribed by 826 persons of the name of Macgregor, recognising John Murray of Lanrick, representative of the family of Glencarnock, as their chief, Murray being the name assumed, under the Proscriptive act, by John Macgregor, who was chief in 1715. Although he secretly favoured the rebellion of that year, the latter took no active part in it; but Robert, the next chief, mortgaged his estate, to support the cause of the Stuarts, and he commanded that portion of the clan who acknowledged him as their head in the rebellion of 1745. Altogether, with the Ciar Mohr branch, the Macgregors could then muster 700 fighting men. To induce Glencarnock’s followers to lay down their arms, the Duke of Cumberland authorised Mr Gordon, at that time minister of Alva, in Strathspey, to treat with them, offering them the restoration of their name, and other favours, but the chief replied that they could not desert the cause. They chose rather to risk all, and die with the characters of honest men, than live in infamy, and disgrace their posterity.

After the battle of Culloden, the chief was long confined in Edinburgh castle, and on his death in 1758, he was succeeded by his brother Evan, who held a commission in the 41st regiment, and served with distinction in Germany. His son, John Murray of Lanrick, was the chief acknowledged by the clan, on the restoration of their rights in 1784. He was a general in the East India Company’s service, and auditor-general in Bengal. Created a baronet of Great Britain 23d July 1795, he resumed in 1822 the original surname of the family, Macgregor, by royal license. He died the same year. The chiefship, however, was disputed by the Glengyle family, to which Rob Roy belonged.

Sir John Murray Macgregor’s only son, Sir Evan John Macgregor, second baronet, was born in January 1785. He was a major-general in the army, K.C.B., and G.C.H., and governor-general of the Windward Isles. He died at his seat of government, 14th June 1841. By his wife, Lady Elizabeth Murray, daughter of John, fourth Duke of Athole, he had five sons and four daughters.

His eldest son, Sir John Athole Bannatyne Macgregor, third baronet, born 20th January 1810, was lieutenant-governor of the Virgin Islands, and died at Tortola, his seat of government, 11th May 1851. He had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Sir Malcolm Murray Macgregor, fourth baronet, was born 29th August 1834, and styled of Macgregor, county Perth.

GRANT.

With regard to the clan GRANT, Mr Skene says,--“Nothing certain is known regarding the origin of the Grants. They have been said to be of Danish, English, French, Norman, and of Gaelic extraction; but each of these suppositions depends for support upon conjecture alone, and amidst so many conflicting opinions it is difficult to fix upon the most probable. It is maintained by the supporters of their Gaelic origin, that they are a branch of the Macgregors, and in this opinion they are certainly borne out by the ancient and unvarying tradition of the country; for their Norman origin, I have upon examination entirely failed in discovering any further reason than that their name may be derived from the French, grand or great, and that they occasionally use the Norman form of de Grant. The latter reason, however, is not of any force, for it is impossible to trace an instance of their using the form de Grant until the 15th century; on the contrary, the form is invariably Grant or le Grant, and on the very first appearance of the family it is ‘dictus Grant.’ It is certainly not a territorial name, for there was no ancient property of that name, and the peculiar form under which it invariably appears in the earlier generations, proves that the name is derived from a personal epithet. It so happens, however, that there was no epithet so common among the Gael as that of Grant, as a perusal of the Irish annals will evince; and at the same time Ragman’s Roll shows that the Highland epithets always appear among the Norman signatures with the Norman ‘le’ prefixed to them. The clan themselves unanimously assert their descent from Gregor Mor Macgregor, who lived in the 12th century; and this is supported by their using to this day the same badge of distinction. So strong is this belief in both the clans of Grant and Macgregor, that in the early part of the last century a meeting of the two was held in the Blair of Athole, to consider the policy of re-uniting them. Upon this point all agreed, and also that the common surname should be Macgregor, if the reversal of the attainder of that name could be got from government. If that could not be obtained it was agreed that either MacAlpine or Grant should be substituted. This assembly of the clan Alpine lasted for fourteen days, and was only rendered abortive by disputes as to the chieftainship of the combined clan. Here then is as strong an attestation of a tradition as it is possible to conceive, and when to this is added the utter absence of the name in the old Norman rolls, the only trustworthy mark of a Norman descent, we are warranted in placing the Grants among the Siol Alpine.”

With Mr Smibert we are inclined to think that, come the clan designation whence it may, the great body of the Grants were Gael of the stock of Alpine, which, as he truly says, is after all the main point to be considered.[220]

The first of the name on record in Scotland is Gregory de Grant, who, in the reign of Alexander II. (1214 to 1249), was sheriff of the shire of Inverness, which then, and till 1583, comprehended Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, besides what is now Inverness-shire. By his marriage with Mary, daughter of Sir John Bisset of Lovat, he became possessed of the lands of Stratherrick, at that period a part of the province of Moray, and had two sons, namely, Sir Lawrence, his heir, and Robert, who appears to have succeeded his father as sheriff of Inverness.

The elder son, Sir Lawrence de Grant, with his brother Robert, witnessed an agreement, dated 9th Sept. 1258, between Archibald, bishop of Moray, and John Bisset of Lovat; Sir Lawrence is particularly mentioned as the friend and kinsman of the latter. Chalmers[221] states that he married Bigla, the heiress of Comyn of Glenchernach, and obtained his father-in-law’s estates in Strathspey, and a connection with the most potent family in Scotland. Douglas, however, in his _Baronage_,[222] says that she was the wife of his elder son, John. He had two sons, Sir John and Rudolph. They supported the interest of Bruce against Baliol, and were taken prisoners in 1296, at the battle of Dunbar. After Baliol’s surrender of his crown and kingdom to Edward, the English monarch, with his victorious army, marched north as far as Elgin. On his return to Berwick he received the submission of many of the Scottish barons, whose names were written upon four large rolls of parchment, so frequently referred to as the Ragman Roll. Most of them were dismissed on their swearing allegiance to him, among whom was Rudolph de Grant, but his brother, John de Grant, was carried to London. He was released the following year, on condition of serving King Edward in France, John Comyn of Badenoch being his surety on the occasion. Robert de Grant, who also swore fealty to Edward I. in 1296, is supposed to have been his uncle.

At the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306, the Grants do not seem to have been very numerous in Scotland; but as the people of Strathspey, which from that period was known as “the country of the Grants,” came to form a clan, with their name, they soon acquired the position and power of Highland chiefs.

Sir John had three sons--Sir John, who succeeded him; Sir Allan, progenitor of the clan Allan, a tribe of the Grants, of whom the Grants of Auchernick are the head; and Thomas, ancestor of some families of the name. Sir John’s grandson, John de Grant, had a son; and a daughter, Agnes, married to Sir Richard Comyn, ancestor of the Cummings of Altyre. The son, Sir Robert de Grant, in 1385, when the king of France, then at war with Richard II., remitted to Scotland a subsidy of 40,000 French crowns, to induce the Scots to invade England, was one of the principal barons, about twenty in all, among whom the money was divided. He died in the succeeding reign.

At this point there is some confusion in the pedigree of the Grants. The family papers state that the male line was continued by the son of Sir Robert, named Malcolm, who soon after his father’s death began to make a figure as chief of the clan. On the other hand, some writers maintain that Sir Robert had no son, but a daughter, Maud or Matilda, heiress of the estate, and lineal representative of the family of Grant, who about the year 1400 married Andrew Stewart, son of Sir John Stewart, commonly called the Black Stewart, sheriff of Bute, and son of King Robert II., and that this Andrew sunk the royal name, and assumed instead the name and arms of Grant. This marriage, however, though supported by the tradition of the country, is not acknowledged by the family or the clan, and the very existence of such an heiress is denied.

Malcolm de Grant, above mentioned, had a son, Duncan de Grant, the first designed of Freuchie, the family title for several generations. By his wife, Muriel, a daughter of Mackintosh of Mackintosh, captain of the clan Chattan, he had, with a daughter, two sons, John and Patrick. The latter, by his elder son, John, was ancestor of the Grants of Ballindalloch, county of Elgin, of whom afterwards, and of those of Tomnavoulen, Tulloch, &c.; and by his younger son, Patrick, of the Grants of Dunlugas in Banffshire.

Duncan’s elder son, John Grant of Freuchie, by his wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir James Ogilvie of Deskford, ancestor of the Earls of Findlater, had, with a daughter, married to her cousin, Hector, son of the chief of Mackintosh, three sons--John, his heir; Peter or Patrick, said to be the ancestor of the tribe of Phadrig, or house of Tullochgorum; and Duncan, progenitor of the tribe called clan Donachie, or house of Gartenbeg. By the daughter of Baron Stewart of Kincardine, he had another son, also named John, ancestor of the Grants of Glenmoriston.

His eldest son, John, the tenth laird, called, from his poetical talents, the Bard, succeeded in 1508. He obtained four charters under the great seal, all dated 3d December 1509, of various lands, among which were Urquhart and Glenmoriston in Inverness-shire. He had three sons; John, the second son, was ancestor of the Grants of Shogglie, and of those of Corrimony in Urquhart.

The younger son, Patrick, was the progenitor of the Grants of Bonhard in Perthshire. John the Bard died in 1525.

His eldest son, James Grant of Freuchie, called, from his daring character, _Shemas nan Creach_, or James the Bold, was much employed, during the reign of King James V., in quelling insurrections in the northern counties. His lands in Urquhart were, in November 1513, plundered and laid waste by the adherents of the Lord of the Isles, and again in 1544 by the Clanranald, when his castle of Urquhart was taken possession of. This chief of the Grants was in such high favour with King James V. that he obtained from that monarch a charter, dated 1535, exempting him from the jurisdiction of all the courts of judicature, except the court of session, then newly instituted. He died in 1553. He had, with two daughters, two sons, John and Archibald; the latter the ancestor of the Grants of Cullen, Monymusk, &c.

His eldest son, John, usually called _Evan Baold_, or the Gentle, was a strenuous promoter of the Reformation, and was a member of that parliament which, in 1560, abolished Popery as the established religion in Scotland. He died in 1585, having been twice married--first, to Margaret Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Athole, by whom he had, with two daughters, two sons, Duncan and Patrick, the latter ancestor of the Grants of Rothiemurchus; and, secondly, to a daughter of Barclay of Towie, by whom he had an only son, Archibald, ancestor of the Grants of Bellintomb, represented by the Grants of Monymusk.

Duncan, the elder son, predeceased his father in 1581, leaving four sons--John; Patrick, ancestor of the Grants of Easter Elchies, of which family was Patrick Grant, Lord Elchies, a lord of session; Robert, progenitor of the Grants of Lurg; and James, of Ardnellie, ancestor of those of Moyness.

John, the eldest son, succeeded his grandfather in 1585, and was much employed in public affairs. A large body of his clan, at the battle of Glenlivet, was commanded by John Grant of Gartenbeg, to whose treachery, in having, in terms of a concerted plan, retreated with his men as soon as the action began, as well as to that of Campbell of Lochnell, Argyll owed his defeat in that engagement. This laird of Grant greatly extended and improved his paternal estates, and is said to have been offered by James VI., in 1610, a patent of honour, which he declined. From the Shaws he purchased the lands of Rothiemurchus, which he exchanged with his uncle Patrick for the lands of Muchrach. On his marriage with Lilias Murray, daughter of John, Earl of Athole, the nuptials were honoured with the presence of King James VI. and his queen. Besides a son and daughter by his wife, he had a natural son, Duncan, progenitor of the Grants of Cluny. He died in 1622.

His son, Sir John, by his extravagance and attendance at court, greatly reduced his estates, and when he was knighted he got the name of “Sir John Sell-the-land.” He had eight sons and three daughters, and dying at Edinburgh in April 1637, was buried at the abbey church of Holyrood-house.

His elder son, James, joined the Covenanters on the north of the Spey in 1638, and on 19th July 1644, was, by the Estates, appointed one of the committee for trying the malignants in the north. After the battle of Inverlochy, however, in the following year, he joined the standard of the Marquis of Montrose, then in arms for the king, and ever after remained faithful to the royal cause. In 1663, he went to Edinburgh, to see justice done to his kinsman, Allan Grant of Tulloch, in a criminal prosecution for manslaughter, in which he was successful; but he died in that city soon after his arrival there. A patent had been made out creating him Earl of Strathspey, and Lord Grant of Freuchie and Urquhart, but in consequence of his death it did not pass the seals. The patent itself is said to be preserved in the family archives. He had two sons, Ludovick and Patrick, the latter ancestor of the family of Wester Elchies in Speyside.

Ludovick, the eldest son, being a minor, was placed under the guardianship of his uncle, Colonel Patrick Grant, who faithfully discharged his trust, and so was enabled to remove some of the burdens on the encumbered family estates. Ludovick Grant of Grant and Freuchie took for his wife Janet, only child of Alexander Brodie of Lethen. By the favour of his father-in-law, the laird of Grant was enabled in 1685, to purchase the barony of Pluscardine, which was always to descend to the second son. By King William he was appointed colonel of a regiment of foot, and sheriff of Inverness. In 1700 he raised a regiment of his own clan, being the only commoner that did so, and kept his regiment in pay a whole year at his own expense. In compensation, three of his sons got commissions in the army, and his lands were erected into a barony. He died at Edinburgh in 1718, in his 66th year, and, like his father and grandfather, was buried in Holyrood abbey.

Alexander, his eldest son, after studying the civil law on the continent, entered the army, and soon obtained the command of a regiment of foot, with the rank of brigadier. When the rebellion broke out, being with his regiment in the south, he wrote to his brother, Captain George Grant, to raise the clan for the service of government, which he did, and a portion of them assisted at the reduction of Inverness. As justiciary of the counties of Inverness, Moray, and Banff, he was successful in suppressing the bands of outlaws and robbers which infested these counties in that unsettled time. He succeeded his father in 1718, but died at Leith the following year, aged 40. Though twice married, he had no children.

His brother, Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, was the next laird. In 1702, in his father’s lifetime, he married Anne, only daughter of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet. By the marriage contract it was specially provided that he should assume the surname and arms of Colquhoun, and if he should at any time succeed to the estate of Grant, his second son should, with the name of Colquhoun, become proprietor of Luss. In 1704, Sir Humphrey obtained a new patent in favour of his son-in-law, James Grant, who on his death, in 1715, became in consequence Sir James Grant Colquhoun of Luss, Baronet. On succeeding, however, to the estate of Grant four years after, he dropped the name of Colquhoun, retaining the baronetcy, and the estate of Luss went to his second surviving son. He had five daughters, and as many sons, viz. Humphrey, who predeceased him in 1732; Ludovick; James, a major in the army, who succeeded to the estate and baronetcy of Luss, and took the name of Colquhoun; Francis, who died a general in the army; and Charles, a captain in the Royal Navy.

The second son, Ludovick, was admitted advocate in 1728; but on the death of his brother he relinquished his practice at the bar, and his father devolving on him the management of the estate, he represented him thereafter as chief of the clan. He was twice married--first, to a daughter of Sir Robert Dalrymple of North Berwick, by whom he had a daughter, who died young; secondly, to Lady Margaret Ogilvie, eldest daughter of James Earl of Findlater and Seafield, in virtue of which marriage his grandson succeeded to the earldom of Seafield. By his second wife Sir Ludovick had one son, James, and eleven daughters, six of whom survived him. Penuel, the third of these, was the wife of Henry Mackenzie, Esq., author of the _Man of Feeling_. Sir Ludovick died at Castle Grant, 18th March 1773.

His only son, Sir James Grant of Grant, Baronet, born in 1738, was distinguished for his patriotism and public spirit. On the declaration of war by France in 1793, he was among the first to raise a regiment of fencibles, called the Grant or Strathspey fencibles, of which he was appointed colonel. After a lingering illness, he died at Castle Grant on 18th February 1811. He had married, in 1763, Jean, only child of Alexander Duff, Esq. of Hatton, Aberdeenshire, and had by her three sons and three daughters. Sir Lewis Alexander Grant, the eldest son, in 1811 succeeded to the estates and earldom of Seafield, on the death of his cousin, James Earl of Findlater and Seafield, and his brother, Francis William, became, in 1840, sixth earl. The younger children obtained in 1822 the rank and precedency of an earl’s junior issue.

The Grants of BALLINDALLOCH, in the parish of Inveravon, Banffshire--commonly called the Craig-Achrochean Grants--as already stated, descend from Patrick, twin brother of John, ninth laird of Freuchie. Patrick’s grandson, John Grant, was killed by his kinsman, John Roy Grant of Carron, as afterwards mentioned, and his son, also John Grant, was father of another Patrick, whose son, John Roy Grant, by his extravagant living and unhappy differences with his lady, a daughter of Leslie of Balquhain, entirely ruined his estate, and was obliged to consent to placing it under the management and trust of three of his kinsmen, Brigadier Grant, Captain Grant of Elchies, and Walter Grant of Arndilly, which gave occasion to W. Elchies’ verses of “What meant the man?”

General James Grant of Ballindalloch succeeded to the estate on the death of his nephew, Major William Grant, in 1770. He died at Ballindalloch, on 13th April 1806, at the age of 86. Having no children, he was succeeded by his maternal grand-nephew, George Macpherson, Esq. of Invereshie, who assumed in consequence the additional name of Grant, and was created a baronet in 1838.

The Grants of GLENMORISTON, in Inverness-shire, are sprung from John More Grant, natural son of John Grant, ninth laird of Freuchie. His son, John Roy Grant, acquired the lands of Carron from the Marquis of Huntly. In a dispute about the marches of their respective properties, he killed his kinsman, John Grant of Ballindalloch, in 1588, an event which led to a lasting feud between the families, of which, in the first part of the work we have given a detailed account. John Roy Grant had four sons--Patrick, who succeeded him in Carron; Robert of Nether Glen of Rothes; James _an Tuim_, or James of the hill; and Thomas.

The Glenmoriston branch of the Grants adhered faithfully to the Stuarts. Patrick Grant of Glenmoriston appeared in arms in Viscount Dundee’s army at Killiecrankie. He was also at the skirmish at Cromdale against the government soon after, and at the battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. His estate was, in consequence, forfeited, but through the interposition of the chief of the Grants, was bought back from the barons of the Exchequer. The laird of Glenmoriston in 1745 also took arms for the Pretender; but means were found to preserve the estate to the family. The families proceeding from this branch, besides that of Carron, which estate is near Elchies, on the river Spey, are those of LYNACHOARN, AVIEMORE, CROSKIE, &c.

The favourite song of “Roy’s Wife of Aldivalloch” (the only one she was ever known to compose), was written by a Mrs Grant of Carron, whose maiden name was Grant, born, near Aberlour, about 1745. Mr Grant of Carron, whose wife she became about 1763, was her cousin. After his death she married, a second time, an Irish physician practising at Bath, of the name of Murray, and died in that city in 1814.

The Grants of DALVEY, who possess a baronetcy, are descended from Duncan, second son of John the Bard, tenth laird of Grant.

The Grants of MONYMUSK, who also possess a baronetcy (date of creation, December 7, 1705), are descended from Archibald Grant of Ballintomb, an estate conferred on him by charter, dated 8th March 1580. He was the younger son of John Grant of Freuchie, called _Evan Baold_, or the Gentle, by his second wife, Isobel Barclay. With three daughters, Archibald Grant had two sons. The younger son, James, was designed of Tombreak. Duncan of Ballintomb, the elder, had three sons--Archibald, his heir; Alexander, of Allachie; and William, of Arndillie. The eldest son, Archibald, had, with two daughters, two sons, the elder of whom, Archibald Grant, Esq. of Bellinton, had a son, Sir Francis, a lord of session, under the title of Lord Cullen, the first baronet of this family.

The Grants of KILGRASTON, in Perthshire, are lineally descended, through the line of the Grants of Glenlochy, from the ninth laird of Grant. Peter Grant, the last of the lairds of Glenlochy, which estate he sold, had two sons, John and Francis. The elder son, John, chief justice of Jamaica from 1783 to 1790, purchased the estates of Kilgraston and Pitcaithley, lying contiguous to each other in Strathearn; and, dying in 1793, without issue, he was succeeded by his brother, Francis. This gentleman married Anne, eldest daughter of Robert Oliphant, Esq. of Rossie, postmaster-general of Scotland, and had five sons and two daughters. He died in 1819, and was succeeded by his son, John Grant, the present representative of the Kilgraston family. He married--first, 1820, Margaret, second daughter of the late Lord Gray; second, 1828, Lucy, third daughter of Thomas, late Earl of Elgin. Heir, his son, Charles Thomas Constantine, born, 1831, and married, 1856, Matilda, fifth daughter of William Hay, Esq. of Dunse Castle.

The badge of the clan Grant was the pine or cranberry heath, and their slogan or gathering cry, “Stand fast, Craigellachie!” the bold projecting rock of that name (“the rock of alarm”) in the united parishes of Duthil and Rothiemurchus, being their hill of rendezvous. The Grants had a long-standing feud with the Gordons, and even among the different branches of themselves there were faction fights, as between the Ballindalloch and Carron Grants. The clan, with few exceptions, was noted for its loyalty, being generally, and the family of the chief invariably, found on the side of government. In Strathspey the name prevailed almost to the exclusion of every other, and to this day Grant is the predominant surname in the district, as alluded to by Sir Alexander Boswell, Baronet, in his lively verses--

“Come the Grants of Tullochgorum,
Wi’ their pipers gaun before ’em,
Proud the mothers are that bore ’em.

Next the Grants of Rothiemurchus,
Every man his sword and durk has,
Every man as proud ’s a Turk is.”

In 1715, the force of the clan was 800, and in 1745, 850.

MACKINNON.

The clan FINGON or the MACKINNONS, another clan belonging to the Siol Alpine, are said to have sprung from Fingon, brother of Anrias or Andrew, an ancestor of the Macgregors. This Fingon or Finguin is mentioned in the MS. of 1450 as the founder of the clan Finguin, that is, the Mackinnons. Of the history of this clan, Mr Skene says, little is known. At an early period they became followers of the Lords of the Isles, and they appear to have been engaged in few transactions “by which their name is separately brought forward.”

MACKINNON.

Their seat was in the islands of Skye and Mull, and the first authentic notice of them is to be found in an indenture (printed in the Appendix to the second edition of Hailes’ _Annals of Scotland_) between the Lords of the Isles and the Lord of Lorn. The latter stipulates, in surrendering to the Lord of the Isles the island of Mull and other lands, that the keeping of the castle of Kerneburg in the Treshinish Isles, is not to be given to any of the race of clan Finnon. “This,” says Mr Gregory, “proves that the Mackinnons were then connected with Mull. They originally possessed the district of Griban in that island, but exchanged it for the district of Mishnish, being that part of Mull immediately to the north and west of Tobermory. They, likewise, possessed the lands of Strathairdle in Skye, from which the chiefs usually took their style. Lauchlan Macfingon, or Mackinnon, chief of his clan, witnessed a charter by Donald, Lord of the Isles, in 1409. The name of the chief in 1493 is uncertain; but Neil Mackinnon of Mishnish was at the head of the tribe in 1515.”[223] Two years afterwards this Neil and several others, described as “kin, men, servants, and part-takers” of Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart, were included in a remission which that chief obtained for their share in the rebellion of Sir Donald Macdonald of Lochalsh. In 1545 the chief’s name was Ewen. He was one of the barons and council of the Isles who, in that year, swore allegiance to the king of England at Knockfergus in Ireland.

“In consequence,” says Mr Skene, “of their connection with the Macdonalds, the Mackinnons have no history independent of that clan; and the internal state of these tribes during the government of the Lords of the Isles is so obscure that little can be learned regarding them, until the forfeiture of the last of these lords. During their dependence upon the Macdonalds there is but one event of any importance in which we find the Mackinnons taking a share, for it would appear that on the death of John of the Isles, in the fourteenth century, Mackinnon, with what object it is impossible now to ascertain, stirred up his second son, John Mor, to rebel against his eldest brother, apparently with a view to the chiefship, and his faction was joined by the Macleans and the Macleods. But Donald, his elder brother, was supported by so great a proportion of the tribe, that he drove John Mor and his party out of the Isles, and pursued him to Galloway, and from thence to Ireland. The rebellion being thus put down, John Mor threw himself upon his brother’s mercy, and received his pardon, but Mackinnon was taken and hanged, as having been the instigator of the disturbance.”[224] This appears to have taken place after 1380, as John, Lord of the Isles, died that year. In the disturbances in the Isles, during the 16th century, Sir Lauchlan Mackinnon bore an active part.

As a proof of the common descent of the Mackinnons, the Macgregors and the Macnabs, although their territories were far distant from each other, two bonds of friendship exist, which are curious specimens of the manners of the times. The one dated 12th July 1606, was entered into between Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle and Finlay Macnab of Bowaine, who, as its tenor runs, happened “to forgether togedder, with certain of the said Finlay’s friends, in their rooms, in the laird of Glenurchy’s country, and the said Lauchlan and Finlay, being come of ane house, and being of one surname and lineage, notwithstanding the said Lauchlan and Finlay this long time bygane oversaw their awn dueties, till udderis, in respect of the long distance betwixt their dwelling places,” agreed, with the consent of their kin and friends, to give all assistance and service to each other. And are “content to subscribe to the same, _with their hands led to the pen_.” Mackinnon’s signature is characteristic. It is “Lauchland, mise (i.e. myself) Mac Fingon.” The other bond of manrent, dated at Kilmorie in 1671, was between Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle and James Macgregor of Macgregor, and it is therein stated that “for the special love and amitie between these persons, and condescending that they are descended lawfully _fra twa breethren of auld descent_, wherefore and for certain onerous causes moving, we witt ye we to be bound and obleisit, likeas by the tenor hereof we faithfully bind and obleise us and our successors, our kin, friends, and followers, faithfully to serve ane anither in all causes with our men and servants, against all who live or die.”

During the civil wars the Mackinnons joined the standard of the Marquis of Montrose, and formed part of his force at the battle of Inverlochy, Feb. 2, 1645. In 1650, Lauchlan Mackinnon, the chief, raised a regiment of his clan for the service of Charles II., and, at the battle of Worcester, in 1646, he was made a knight banneret. His son, Daniel Mohr, had two sons, John, whose great-grandson died in India, unmarried, in 1808, and Daniel, who emigrated to Antigua, and died in 1720. The latter’s eldest son and heir, William Mackinnon of Antigua, an eminent member of the legislature of that island, died at Bath, in 1767. The son of the latter, William Mackinnon of Antigua and Binfield, Berkshire, died in 1809. The youngest of his four sons, Henry, major-general Mackinnon, a distinguished officer, was killed by the explosion of a magazine, while leading on the main storming party, at Ciudad Rodrigo, Feb. 29, 1812. The eldest son, William Mackinnon, died young, leaving, with two daughters, two sons, William Alexander Mackinnon, who succeeded his grandfather, and Daniel, colonel of the Coldstream Guards.

William Alexander Mackinnon of Mackinnon, M.P., the chief magistrate and deputy lieutenant for the counties of Middlesex, Hampshire, and Essex, born in 1789, succeeded in 1809. He married Emma, daughter of Joseph Palmer, Esq. of Rush House, county Dublin, with issue, three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, William Alexander, also M.P., born in 1813, married daughter of F. Willes, Esq.

Lauchlan Mackinnon of Letterfearn also claims to be the heir-male of the family. Although there are many gentlemen of the name still resident in Skye, there is no Mackinnon proprietor of lands now either in that island or in Mull.

The Mackinnons engaged in both rebellions in favour of the Stuarts. In 1715, 150 of them fought with the Macdonalds of Sleat at the battle of Sheriffmuir, for which the chief was forfeited, but received a pardon, 4th January 1727. In 1745, Mackinnon, though then old and infirm, joined Prince Charles with a battalion of his clan. President Forbes estimated their effective force at that period at 200 men. After the battle of Culloden, the prince, in his wanderings, took refuge in the country of the Mackinnons, when travelling in disguise through Skye, and was concealed by the chief in a cave, to which Lady Mackinnon brought him a refreshment of cold meat and wine.

MACNAB.

The clan ANABA or MACNAB has been said by some to have been a branch of the Macdonalds, but we have given above a bond of manrent which shows that they were allied to the Mackinnons and the Macgregors. “From their comparatively central position in the Highlands,” says Smibert, “as well as other circumstances, it seems much more likely that they were of the primitive Albionic race, a shoot of the Siol Alpine.” The chief has his residence at Kinnell, on the banks of the Dochart, and the family possessions, which originally were considerable, lay mainly on the western shores of Loch Tay. The founder of the Macnabs, like the founder of the Macphersons, is said to have belonged to the clerical profession, the name Mac-anab being said to mean in Gaelic, the son of the abbot. He is said to have been abbot of Glendochart.

MACNAB.

The Macnabs were a considerable clan before the reign of Alexander III. When Robert the Bruce commenced his struggle for the crown, the baron of Macnab, with his clan, joined the Macdougalls of Lorn, and fought against Bruce at the battle of Dalree. Afterwards, when the cause of Bruce prevailed, the lands of the Macnabs were ravaged by his victorious troops, their houses burnt, and all their family writs destroyed. Of all their possessions only the barony of Bowain or Bovain, in Glendochart, remained to them, and of it, Gilbert Macnab of that ilk, from whom the line is usually deduced, as the first undoubted laird of Macnab, received from David II., on being reconciled to that monarch, a charter, under the great seal, to him and his heirs whomsoever, dated in 1336. He died in the reign of Robert II.

His son, Finlay Macnab, styled of Bovain, as well as “of that ilk,” died in the reign of James I. He is said to have been a famous bard. According to tradition he composed one of the Gaelic poems which Macpherson attributed to Ossian. He was the father of Patrick Macnab of Bovain and of that ilk, whose son was named Finlay Macnab, after his grandfather. Indeed, Finlay appears to have been, at this time, a favourite name of the chief, as the next three lairds were so designated. Upon his father’s resignation, he got a charter, under the great seal, in the reign of James III., of the lands of Ardchyle, and Wester Duinish, in the barony of Glendochart and county of Perth, dated January 1, 1486. He had also a charter from James IV., of the lands of Ewir and Leiragan, in the same barony, dated January 9, 1502, He died soon thereafter, leaving a son, Finlay Macnab, fifth laird of Macnab, who is witness in a charter, under the great seal, to Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, wherein he is designed “_Finlaus Macnab, dominus de eodem_,” &c., Sept. 18, 1511. He died about the close of the reign of James V.

His son, Finlay Macnab of Bovain and of that ilk, sixth chief from Gilbert, alienated or mortgaged a great portion of his lands to Campbell of Glenorchy, ancestor of the Marquis of Breadalbane, as appears by a charter to “Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, his heirs and assignees whatever, according to the deed granted to him by Finlay Macnab of Bovain, 24th November 1552, of all and sundry the lands of Bovain and Ardchyle, &c., confirmed by a charter under the great seal from Mary, dated 27th June 1553.” Glenorchy’s right of superiority the Macnabs always refused to acknowledge.

His son, Finlay Macnab, the seventh laird, who lived in the reign of James VI., was the chief who entered into the bond of friendship and manrent with his cousin, Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle, 12th July 1606. This chief carried on a deadly feud with the Neishes or M’Ilduys, a tribe which possessed the upper parts of Strathearn, and inhabited an island in the lower part of Loch Earn, called from them Neish Island. Many battles were fought between them, with various success. The last was at Glenboultachan, about two miles north of Loch Earn foot, in which the Macnabs were victorious, and the Neishes cut off almost to a man. A small remnant of them, however, still lived in the island referred to, the head of which was an old man, who subsisted by plundering the people in the neighbourhood. One Christmas, the chief of the Macnabs had sent his servant to Crieff for provisions, but, on his return, he was waylaid, and robbed of all his purchases. He went home, therefore, empty-handed, and told his tale to the laird. Macnab had twelve sons, all men of great strength, but one in particular exceedingly athletic, who was called for a bye-name, _Iain mion Mac an Appa_, or “Smooth John Macnab.” In the evening, these men were gloomily meditating some signal revenge on their old enemies, when their father entered, and said in Gaelic, “The night is the night, if the lads were but lads!” Each man instantly started to his feet, and belted on his dirk, his claymore, and his pistols. Led by their brother John, they set out, taking a fishing-boat on their shoulders from Loch Tay, carrying it over the mountains and glens till they reached Loch Earn, where they launched it, and passed over to the island. All was silent in the habitation of Neish. Having all the boats at the island secured, they had gone to sleep without fear of surprise. Smooth John, with his foot dashed open the door of Neish’s house; and the party, rushing in, attacked the unfortunate family, every one of whom was put to the sword, with the exception of one man and a boy, who concealed themselves under a bed. Carrying off the heads of the Neishes, and any plunder they could secure, the youths presented themselves to their father, while the piper struck up the pibroch of victory.

The next laird, “Smooth John,” the son of this Finlay, made a distinguished figure in the reign of Charles I., and suffered many hardships on account of his attachment to the royal cause. He was killed at the battle of Worcester in 1651. During the commonwealth, his castle of Eilan Rowan was burned, his estates ravaged and sequestrated, and the family papers again lost. Taking advantage of the troubles of the times, his powerful neighbour, Campbell of Glenorchy, in the heart of whose possessions Macnab’s lands were situated, on the pretence that he had sustained considerable losses from the clan Macnab, got possession of the estates in recompense thereof.

The chief of the Macnabs married a daughter of Campbell of Glenlyon, and with one daughter, had a son, Alexander Macnab, ninth laird, who was only four years old when his father was killed on Worcester battle-field. His mother and friends applied to General Monk for some relief from the family estates for herself and children. That general made a favourable report on the application, but it had no effect.

After the Restoration, application was made to the Scottish estates, by Lady Macnab and her son, for redress, and in 1661 they received a considerable portion of their lands, which the family enjoyed till the beginning of the present century, when they were sold.

By his wife, Elizabeth, a sister of Sir Alexander Menzies of Weem, Baronet, Alexander Macnab of that ilk had a son and heir, Robert Macnab, tenth laird, who married Anne Campbell, sister of the Earl of Breadalbane. Of several children only two survived, John, who succeeded his father, and Archibald. The elder son, John, held a commission in the Black Watch, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Prestonpans, and, with several others, confined in Doune Castle, under the charge of Macgregor of Glengyle, where he remained till after the battle of Culloden. The majority of the clan took the side of the house of Stuart, and were led by Allister Macnab of Inshewan and Archibald Macnab of Acharne.

John Macnab, the eleventh laird, married the only sister of Francis Buchanan, Esq. of Arnprior, and had a son, Francis, twelfth laird.

Francis, twelfth laird, died, unmarried, at Callander, Perthshire, May 25, 1816, in his 82d year. One of the most eccentric men of his time, many anecdotes are related of his curious sayings and doings.

We give the following as a specimen, for which we are indebted to Mr Smibert’s excellent work on the clans:--

“Macnab had an intense antipathy to excisemen, whom he looked on as a race of intruders, commissioned to suck the blood of his country: he never gave them any better name than _vermin_. One day, early in the last war, he was marching to Stirling at the head of a corps of fencibles, of which he was commander. In those days the Highlanders were notorious for incurable smuggling propensities; and an excursion to the Lowlands, whatever might be its cause or import, was an opportunity by no means to be neglected. The Breadalbane men had accordingly contrived to stow a considerable quantity of the genuine ‘peat reek’ (whisky) into the baggage carts. All went well with the party for some time. On passing Alloa, however, the excisemen there having got a hint as to what the carts contained, hurried out by a shorter path to intercept them. In the meantime, Macnab, accompanied by a gillie, in the true feudal style, was proceeding slowly at the head of his men, not far in the rear of the baggage. Soon after leaving Alloa, one of the party in charge of the carts came running back and informed their chief that they had all been seized by a posse of excisemen. This intelligence at once roused the blood of Macnab. ‘Did the lousy villains _dare_ to obstruct the march of the Breadalbane Highlanders!’ he exclaimed, inspired with the wrath of a thousand heroes; and away he rushed to the scene of contention. There, sure enough, he found a party of excisemen in possession of the carts. ‘Who the devil are you?’ demanded the angry chieftain. ‘Gentlemen of the excise,’ was the answer. ‘Robbers! thieves! you mean; how dare you lay hands on His Majesty’s stores? If you be gaugers, show me your commissions.’ Unfortunately for the excisemen, they had not deemed it necessary in their haste to bring such documents with them. In vain they asserted their authority, and declared they were well known in the neighbourhood. ‘Ay, just what I took ye for; a parcel of highway robbers and scoundrels. Come, my good fellows,’ (addressing the soldiers in charge of the baggage, and extending his voice with the lungs of a stentor,) ‘prime!--load!--’ The excisemen did not wait the completion of the sentence; away they fled at top speed towards Alloa, no doubt glad they had not caused the waste of His Majesty’s ammunition. ‘Now, my lads,’ said Macnab, ‘proceed--your whisky’s safe.’”

He was a man of gigantic height and strong originality of character, and cherished many of the manners and ideas of a Highland gentleman, having in particular a high notion of the dignity of the chieftainship. He left numerous illegitimate children.

The only portion of the property of the Macnabs remaining is the small islet of Innis-Buie, formed by the parting of the water of the Dochart just before it issues into Loch Tay, in which is the most ancient burial place of the family; and outside there are numerous gravestones of other members of the clan. The lands of the town of Callander chiefly belong to a descendant of this laird, not in marriage.

Archibald Macnab of Macnab, nephew of Francis, succeeded as thirteenth chief. The estates being considerably encumbered, he was obliged to sell his property for behoof of his creditors.