Children of Phillip Marion Owens and Mary Ann "Mittie" McLean Owens
Phillip and Mittie were married 15 February 1849 in Pineapple Alabama. Phillip was born in 1829 to Phillip Owens Sr. and Martha A. Byrd. Mittie was the daughter of Jefferson Daniel McLean and Elizabeth Stenner, born August of 1829 in Wilcox County Alabama.
Phillip and Mittie had 9 children, 6 male and three female:
Elizabeth "Betty" (b. 27 Jun 1852 - d. 12 Mar 1923
John Edward ( b. Jan 1853)
William Riley "Bill" ( b. 29 May 1856 - d. 17 Sep 1931)
Eliza ( b. 1859)
Margaret (b. 1859 or 1860)
Asberry Brutus ( b. 8 Jan 1861 - d. 22 Dec 1942)
Wherry or Wharey (b. 20 Aug 1868 - d. 18 Jan 1929)
Philip Marion "Fee" ( b. 21 Oct 1871 - d. 18 Mar 1903)
Martha F. "Mattie" ( b. 12 March - 26 Nov 1939)
We have all heard the story of the Owens surname being Wales. I do believe it to be true, but I have yet to see proper documented evidence to this fact. However on 15 of February 1849, Phillip Owens Jr. (b. 1829 in Monroe County AL) married Mary Ann "Mittie" Mclean (b.1829 in Wilcox County AL). I have seen the evidance and traced her ancestores. It is conclusive the Mattie was of Scottish descent.
Her Great Grandfather, John McLean (b. 1749) was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He came to this country before 1773. John McLean died in Roberson County NC in October of 1815. His son Daniel, Mittie Grandfather was born in Roberson County NC about 1774 and died after 1820 in Sumter County AL. Mittie father Jefferson Daniel McLean was born in Wilcox County Alabama about 1809.
It is a demonstrated fact that most descendnts of Phillip Owens Jr. and Mary Ann McLean possess high levels of music aptitude, much of which is recognize and developed. I submit that this inharitted proclivity is derived from Mary Ann. Another interesting fact is that many Owens descendants have red hair. Of all the countries in the world, the highest precent of redheads in their population is Scotland. Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1.5% of the human population. Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads; 13 per cent of the population has red hair and approximately 40 per cent carries the recessive redhead gene. A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales. There is little wonder than 35 to 40% of Phillip and Mittie descendants were redheads. Both his Wales and her Scottish contributions to our DNA destined us to large percentages of red haired offsprings.
We know a great deal of the family from which Mary Ann McLean came. Actualy it would be more proper to say the famileys. You see the origin of the surname McLean is not derives from a single clan, but rather is composed to two very old Scottish families to form the one clan. Below are notes on the origin of the clan by Alasdair White, President of MacleanNet.
This story goes back to the romantic period of Scottish history when Robert The Bruce was King of Scots and was twisting the tail of the English King, Edward I. At the time (the late 1200s and early 1300s) the Maclean clan did not exist as a separate kindred nor was the name being used. However, in 1296 a certain Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa whose lineage is given as "son of Moal iose, son of Gille eoin (Gillean)" is identified as a vassal of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick, and the father of Robert The Bruce who became Robert I, King of Scots, in 1306.
Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa - or Malcolm son of Maoiliose - married Rignach, a relation of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick. This set up a dynastic link to the powerful Bruce family and from this marriage there appears to have been three sons Donald, Neil and John (Iain Dubh in Gaelic), all of whom were active in 1326 when they appear in the Exchequer Rolls of that year. The family link to the Bruce family must have benefited the emergent kindred or clan now calling itself MacGille eoin (Maclean) as Neil was appointed Constable of the royal castle of Scraburgh (possibly Tarbet) in 1329, while his elder brother, Donald, appears to have been a commander of the Kings galleys and John (Iain Dubh) can be found at Sael (Seil) Castle in Lorn - another royal stronghold.
According to early genealogical manuscripts dating from the 1400s, Donald appears to have had four sons and Neil three but no record of succeeding generations is mentioned in the Maclean genealogies and Gilli Colium was succeeded as chief of the kindred (clan) by his youngest son Iain Dubh. Now, if Donald and Neil and their sons were still alive, this succession of John as head of the kindred is an example of an important Celtic principle - that the head of the kindred (clan) fell to the one considered most capable of ensuring its success and survival. The law of primogenitor did not apply in the gaeldom until much later.
Iain Dubh had three sons - Hector, Lachlan and John about whom many romantic and probably unprovable stories are told. Research done for Nicholas Maclean-Bristol when writing his excellent "Warriors and Priests" shows that Hector was the oldest, Lachlan the middle son and John the youngest. The latter was also a "natural" or illegitimate son and is considered the progenitor of the mainland Macleans of Lorn, Ardgour and Morvern.
Lachlan Lubanach and his brother Hector Reaganach were, respectively, the progenitors of the Duart and Lochbuie families but how these two acquired land in Mull is not known for certain, but they are certainly the first Macleans on the island. The most popular clan legend claims that the two brothers murdered Mackinnon a vassal of MacDougall of Lorn, took MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, prisoner, and finally demanded lands in Mull from MacDonald. Given the critical strategic position of the lands granted to Lachlan and Hector, this legend seems unlikely and requires some more analysis.
MacDougall held many of the western isles but the family sided against King Robert The Bruce in the Wars of Independence whereas the MacDonalds sided with him and when King Robert won, MacDougall saw his lands forfeited and granted to MacDonald. However, when the King died and was succeeded by his son King David II in 1329 there was a rapid realignment of loyalties and MacDonald supported the Balliol faction against King David - fortunately for his survival, this support was not very prominent and in 1343 John MacDonald received a Royal Charter (which included the island of Mull) and started to call himself John de Yle or John Lord of the Isles.
This is where dynastic marriage came into the equation - bubonic plague (the Black Death) was sweeping Scotland and MacDonald was finding it hard to man all his strongholds and needed reliable men, bound to him by marriage, to install as constables. On 13 May 1367, Lachlan MacGilli eoin received a mandate from the pope to marry Mary, the daughter of John de Yle, and, given the supreme importance of the matrilineal inheritance (inheritance through the female line), this gave Lachlan a particularly powerful link to his immediate overlord.
MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, then made his son-in-law, Lachlan MacGilli eoin, chamberlain of the household (the most powerful position in the feudal hierarchy) and in July 1390 granted him the castle of Duart and various other lands. At the same time, Hector was granted four merks of land, which apparently must have included Lochbuie where he promptly built a fortified keep.
This, then, is how the kindred (clan) of MacGillieoin - now referred to as MacGillean - came to be settled on Mull and holding large tracts of land. As a result of this dynastic marrying one thing becomes clear - Lachlan had established himself as the most powerful of the MacGillean kindred: he held Duart which was the most powerful castle on Mull, he was the son-in-law of his feudal overlord, and he had earned his nick name of Lachlan Lubanach or Lachlan the crafty. The supremacy of Lachlan resulted in him being appointed as chief of the MacGillean kindred. At all times since then the clan has recognised the Duart family as the Chiefly family and at no time did the descendants of Hector of Lochbuie do other than recognise, accept and support this situation.
Legally and structurally (in clan terms) there is only one clan Maclean and all are descendants of Gillean of the Battle Axe. It is irrelevant how the name is spelt and indeed there was no regularisation of the spelling of the name until the late 1700's and it was some time later that each family "fixed" the spelling of their particular line, thus Maclean and Maclaine are the same clan. Indeed, the Lochbuie family did not start spelling their name "Maclaine" until 1745 following the failed Jacobite rebellion. There is a strong likelihood that this was to differentiate the Lochbuie family (who did not come "out" for the Jacobites) from the Duart line (who were "out") in this way Lochbuie may have been able to defend the clan lands from the Campbells and thus ensure the survival of the clan.
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honor, strength and courage in battle. They were fierce Jacobites fighting in all of the Jacobite risings. This next section is cut and pasted directly from the online available source "Wikipedia"
There are several different origins for the surname Maclean, however, the clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGilleEathain. This was the patronymic form of the personal name meaning "servant of (Saint) John".[1] They are descendents of Loarn mac Eirc, a 5th century king of Dál Riata. The family grew very powerful throughout the Hebrides and Highlands through allegiances with the Catholic Church in the 9th century, the MacDonalds in the 13th century, the MacKays and MacLeods in the 16th century. The early kings of Scotland also befriended the clan for their knowledge of the sea and their large numbers of sea-going vessels, which were useful against the Viking raids in the 9th century.
The founder of the clan was a Scots warlord descended from the royal Cenél Loairn named Gillean of the Battle Axe [2]. The stories of Gillean being descended from the FitzGerald dynasty is fictitious, as the FitzGeralds are of Cambro-Norman descent and the Macleans are of Gaelic descent, having been in Scotland since the Dalriadic migration from northeastern Ulster in the earlier centuries AD. Gillean's great-grandfather was Old Dugald of Scone, born ca. 1050 during the reign of King Macbeth of the House of Moray, the principal royal line of the Cenél Loairn. He was a Judex (judge) and Councillor to King David of Scots.[3] Gillean's son Malise mac Gilleain (from the Gaelic Maoliosa "Servant of Jesus") was thought by some to have taken the name Gillemor in 1263 and wrote his name as "Gillemor Mcilyn ("son of Gillean"), County of Perth" on the third Ragman Rolls of 1296. This has been disproved in "Warriors and Priests" by Nicholas Maclean-Bristol. Malise is said to have led his followers against the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs in 1263 during the Scottish-Norwegian War where the Scottish were victorious.[3]
Gillean's great-great-grandson settled in Mull and by 1390, Donald, Lord of the Isles gave land to his two brothers-in-law, thus starting the two main branches of the clan: Maclean of Duart and Maclaine of Lochbuie (both on the island of Mull where the name is still frequently found).
During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacLeans fought at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1296 where they were allied with Andrew de Moray. They later fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 for Robert the Bruce defeating Edward II of England.
During the 14th and 15th century many battles were fought between the Clan Maclean and Clan Mackinnon.[4] In 1411 the Clan MacLean fought as Highlanders at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July 1411 against an Army of Scottish Lowlanders. Their enemy was the forces of the Duke of Albany and Earl of Mar. The MacLeans were led by "Red Hector of the Battles", the 6th Chief, who engaged in single combat with the chief of Clan Irvine, known as "Sir Alexander de Irwine." After a legendary struggle both died of the wounds inflicted upon each other.[3]The Battle of Corpach took place in 1439. It was fought between the Clan Maclean and the Clan Cameron.[5] In 1484 the Clan MacLean fought at the Battle of Bloody Bay on the side of the Lord of the Isles, chief of Clan Donald.[3]
In 1513 During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Clan MacLean fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. Hector MacLean 9th chief was killed. The clan extended its influence to other Hebridean islands such as Tiree and Islay and onto the mainland.[3] In 1560 the Clan MacLean, joined by their allies the Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod became part of the Gallowglass, who were ferocious mercenaries of Norse-Gaelic descent who served in Ireland for King Shane O'Neill.
The Battle of the Western Isles was fought in 1586, on the Isle of Jura, between the Clan MacDonald of Sleat and the Clan MacLean.[3][6][7] In 1588 the Clan MacLean captured Mingarry Castle seat of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan, from where they fought off a Spanish galleon called the Florida.[3]
The Battle of Glenlivet took place in 1594, Clan MacLean under Sir Lachlan Maclean fought in support of the Earl of Argyll and Clan Campbell against the Earl of Huntly and Clan Gordon.[3]
The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart took place on the 5 August 1598. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean on the Isle of Islay. Chief Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean was killed.[3][6] After Sir Lachlan MacLean's death in 1598, his sons took revenge on his suspected murderers, the MacDonalds, by carrying out a massacre of the people of Islay which lasted for three days. After obtaining "Letters of Fire and Sword" he was assisted in this by the MacLeods, MacNeils,and Camerons. The quarrel between the MacLeans and the Macdonalds of Islay and Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occupancy of the crown lands called the Rinns of Islay, but it soon involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led to the near destruction of them both. The Macleans, who were in possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Islay was really the crown tenant.[3]
During the Civil War Sir Lachlan Maclean, 17th chief led the Clan MacLean as royalists at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, alongside men from Clan MacDonald, and other allies from Ireland raised by Alasdair MacColla. Their enemy was the Scottish Argyll government forces of Clan Campbell, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll. Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of 1500 MacDonalds and MacLeans defeated the Argyll Campbell force of 3000.[3]
In 1647 the MacLean's Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean. The Battle of Inverkeithing took place in 1651. Clan MacLean fought at the battle as royalists. Sir Hector Maclean, 18th chief was killed.[3]
Archibald Campbell the 9th Earl, son of the Marquess of Argyll, invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and garrisons Duart Castle in 1678. The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689, Clan Maclean led by Sir John Maclean, 20th chief fought in support of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee.[3]
During the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746 the Clan MacLean supported the House of Stuart and the Jacobite cause. Sir Hector Maclean, living in exile in Paris, went to Edinburgh to gain support for the Prince Charles Edward Stuart, but was betrayed by his bootmaker and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Caste and then the Tower of London. Because he was considered a French citizen, he escaped a capital sentence and was released after the rising was over. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Charles MacLean of Drimin was killed leading the MacLeans at Culloden.[3]
Many of the clansmen were killed at Battle of Culloden. The massacre of the MacDonald clansmen in the late 17th century marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 the Campbells had gained possession of Duart Castle and most of the MacLean estates. However, Duart Castle was reclaimed by the family in 1911 and has been restored as the family seat. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull is the traditional home of the MacLeans. There has probably been a fortress on the site (the "Dubh-Aird" – Black Height) since early mediaeval times. The current castle originally consisted of a square curtain wall surrounding lean-to buildings, and was most likely built for MacDougall of Dunollie around 1250. Some 100 years later it was part of the dowery of Lady Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, upon her marriage to Lachlan Lubanach Maclean. Lachlan built the Great Keep of Duart ca. 1370, and additions were made to the castle in the middle and late 16th century, and late 17th century. Duart was abandoned by the Macleans in 1691, and the castle was inhabited by the redcoats until 1751. Duart fell into ruins but was restored early in the 20th century by Sir Fitzroy Donald MacLean and has been the seat of the clan chief since its reopening in 1912. The exterior of Duart was used in the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery (whose mother was a Maclean) and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Notes and references
^ "McLean Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com (ancestry.com). Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^ Gillean na Tuaighe in Scottish Gaelic and it is pronounced Gillane not Gill-ee-un.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Clan Gillean (The Macleans), Edited by James Noel Mackenzie Maclean. F.S.A (Scot), F.R.Econ.S. Foreword by Fitzroy Maclean C.B.E, M.P. Published by the Clan Maclean Association, London and District Branch.
^ "Clan [email protected]".
^ "The Battle of Corpach@Clan Cameron.org".
^ a b 'Conflicts of the Clans' published in 1764 by the Foulis press, written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland.
^ "Conflicts of the Clans: Troubles in the Western Isles in the Year 1586". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
^ Way of Plean; Squire (2000), p. 212.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 541–543.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 545–546.
^ "Another for Hector"
In the battle of Inverkeithing, between the Royalists and Oliver Cromwell's troops, five hundred of the followers of the Laird of M'Lean were left dead on the field. In the heat of the conflict, seven brothers of the clan sacrificed their lives in defence of their leader, Sir Hector Maclean. Being hard pressed by the enemy, he was supported and covered from their attacks by these intrepid men; and as one brother fell, another came up in succession to cover him, crying "Another for Hector." This phrase has continued ever since as a proverb or watch-word when a man encounters any sudden danger that requires instant succour.
—David Stewart (3rd edition 1825), Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments, Chapter 3
Way of Plean, George; Squire, Romilly (2000). Clans & Tartans. Glasgow: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472501-8.
Innes of Learney, Thomas (1971). The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland (8th Edition (1975 reprint) ed.). Edinburgh: Johnston and Bacon Publishers. ISBN 7179 4501 4.
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was the seat of Clan MacLean.[1]
In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary, daughter of the John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and she was given Duart as her dowry.[2]
In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean.
In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan.
In 1678, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, son of the Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle, and afterward to Kintail under the protection of the Earl of Seaforth.[3]
In 1691 Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll.[1] The Campbell clan demolished the castle, and the stones from the walls were scattered. Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle.[4]
By 1751 the remains of the castle were abandoned. Descendants of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who then sold it to Carter-Campbell of Possil who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle. He later sold his Torosay Estate which now included the ruins of Castle Duart to A. C. Guthrie in 1865. On September 11, 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean and restored.[1][5][6]
The castle was used as a location in the 1999 film Entrapment, starring Sean Connery (who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The castle also features prominently in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll, starring Anthony Hopkins.
It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.
The current chief of the Highland, Scottish clan, Clan Maclean is Sir Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean of Duart and Morvern Bt, CVO, Deputy Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, 28th Clan Chief and 12th Baronet of Morvern. The seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLean is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull.
Phillip and Mittie were married 15 February 1849 in Pineapple Alabama. Phillip was born in 1829 to Phillip Owens Sr. and Martha A. Byrd. Mittie was the daughter of Jefferson Daniel McLean and Elizabeth Stenner, born August of 1829 in Wilcox County Alabama.
Phillip and Mittie had 9 children, 6 male and three female:
Elizabeth "Betty" (b. 27 Jun 1852 - d. 12 Mar 1923
John Edward ( b. Jan 1853)
William Riley "Bill" ( b. 29 May 1856 - d. 17 Sep 1931)
Eliza ( b. 1859)
Margaret (b. 1859 or 1860)
Asberry Brutus ( b. 8 Jan 1861 - d. 22 Dec 1942)
Wherry or Wharey (b. 20 Aug 1868 - d. 18 Jan 1929)
Philip Marion "Fee" ( b. 21 Oct 1871 - d. 18 Mar 1903)
Martha F. "Mattie" ( b. 12 March - 26 Nov 1939)
We have all heard the story of the Owens surname being Wales. I do believe it to be true, but I have yet to see proper documented evidence to this fact. However on 15 of February 1849, Phillip Owens Jr. (b. 1829 in Monroe County AL) married Mary Ann "Mittie" Mclean (b.1829 in Wilcox County AL). I have seen the evidance and traced her ancestores. It is conclusive the Mattie was of Scottish descent.
Her Great Grandfather, John McLean (b. 1749) was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He came to this country before 1773. John McLean died in Roberson County NC in October of 1815. His son Daniel, Mittie Grandfather was born in Roberson County NC about 1774 and died after 1820 in Sumter County AL. Mittie father Jefferson Daniel McLean was born in Wilcox County Alabama about 1809.
It is a demonstrated fact that most descendnts of Phillip Owens Jr. and Mary Ann McLean possess high levels of music aptitude, much of which is recognize and developed. I submit that this inharitted proclivity is derived from Mary Ann. Another interesting fact is that many Owens descendants have red hair. Of all the countries in the world, the highest precent of redheads in their population is Scotland. Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1.5% of the human population. Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads; 13 per cent of the population has red hair and approximately 40 per cent carries the recessive redhead gene. A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales. There is little wonder than 35 to 40% of Phillip and Mittie descendants were redheads. Both his Wales and her Scottish contributions to our DNA destined us to large percentages of red haired offsprings.
We know a great deal of the family from which Mary Ann McLean came. Actualy it would be more proper to say the famileys. You see the origin of the surname McLean is not derives from a single clan, but rather is composed to two very old Scottish families to form the one clan. Below are notes on the origin of the clan by Alasdair White, President of MacleanNet.
This story goes back to the romantic period of Scottish history when Robert The Bruce was King of Scots and was twisting the tail of the English King, Edward I. At the time (the late 1200s and early 1300s) the Maclean clan did not exist as a separate kindred nor was the name being used. However, in 1296 a certain Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa whose lineage is given as "son of Moal iose, son of Gille eoin (Gillean)" is identified as a vassal of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick, and the father of Robert The Bruce who became Robert I, King of Scots, in 1306.
Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa - or Malcolm son of Maoiliose - married Rignach, a relation of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick. This set up a dynastic link to the powerful Bruce family and from this marriage there appears to have been three sons Donald, Neil and John (Iain Dubh in Gaelic), all of whom were active in 1326 when they appear in the Exchequer Rolls of that year. The family link to the Bruce family must have benefited the emergent kindred or clan now calling itself MacGille eoin (Maclean) as Neil was appointed Constable of the royal castle of Scraburgh (possibly Tarbet) in 1329, while his elder brother, Donald, appears to have been a commander of the Kings galleys and John (Iain Dubh) can be found at Sael (Seil) Castle in Lorn - another royal stronghold.
According to early genealogical manuscripts dating from the 1400s, Donald appears to have had four sons and Neil three but no record of succeeding generations is mentioned in the Maclean genealogies and Gilli Colium was succeeded as chief of the kindred (clan) by his youngest son Iain Dubh. Now, if Donald and Neil and their sons were still alive, this succession of John as head of the kindred is an example of an important Celtic principle - that the head of the kindred (clan) fell to the one considered most capable of ensuring its success and survival. The law of primogenitor did not apply in the gaeldom until much later.
Iain Dubh had three sons - Hector, Lachlan and John about whom many romantic and probably unprovable stories are told. Research done for Nicholas Maclean-Bristol when writing his excellent "Warriors and Priests" shows that Hector was the oldest, Lachlan the middle son and John the youngest. The latter was also a "natural" or illegitimate son and is considered the progenitor of the mainland Macleans of Lorn, Ardgour and Morvern.
Lachlan Lubanach and his brother Hector Reaganach were, respectively, the progenitors of the Duart and Lochbuie families but how these two acquired land in Mull is not known for certain, but they are certainly the first Macleans on the island. The most popular clan legend claims that the two brothers murdered Mackinnon a vassal of MacDougall of Lorn, took MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, prisoner, and finally demanded lands in Mull from MacDonald. Given the critical strategic position of the lands granted to Lachlan and Hector, this legend seems unlikely and requires some more analysis.
MacDougall held many of the western isles but the family sided against King Robert The Bruce in the Wars of Independence whereas the MacDonalds sided with him and when King Robert won, MacDougall saw his lands forfeited and granted to MacDonald. However, when the King died and was succeeded by his son King David II in 1329 there was a rapid realignment of loyalties and MacDonald supported the Balliol faction against King David - fortunately for his survival, this support was not very prominent and in 1343 John MacDonald received a Royal Charter (which included the island of Mull) and started to call himself John de Yle or John Lord of the Isles.
This is where dynastic marriage came into the equation - bubonic plague (the Black Death) was sweeping Scotland and MacDonald was finding it hard to man all his strongholds and needed reliable men, bound to him by marriage, to install as constables. On 13 May 1367, Lachlan MacGilli eoin received a mandate from the pope to marry Mary, the daughter of John de Yle, and, given the supreme importance of the matrilineal inheritance (inheritance through the female line), this gave Lachlan a particularly powerful link to his immediate overlord.
MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, then made his son-in-law, Lachlan MacGilli eoin, chamberlain of the household (the most powerful position in the feudal hierarchy) and in July 1390 granted him the castle of Duart and various other lands. At the same time, Hector was granted four merks of land, which apparently must have included Lochbuie where he promptly built a fortified keep.
This, then, is how the kindred (clan) of MacGillieoin - now referred to as MacGillean - came to be settled on Mull and holding large tracts of land. As a result of this dynastic marrying one thing becomes clear - Lachlan had established himself as the most powerful of the MacGillean kindred: he held Duart which was the most powerful castle on Mull, he was the son-in-law of his feudal overlord, and he had earned his nick name of Lachlan Lubanach or Lachlan the crafty. The supremacy of Lachlan resulted in him being appointed as chief of the MacGillean kindred. At all times since then the clan has recognised the Duart family as the Chiefly family and at no time did the descendants of Hector of Lochbuie do other than recognise, accept and support this situation.
Legally and structurally (in clan terms) there is only one clan Maclean and all are descendants of Gillean of the Battle Axe. It is irrelevant how the name is spelt and indeed there was no regularisation of the spelling of the name until the late 1700's and it was some time later that each family "fixed" the spelling of their particular line, thus Maclean and Maclaine are the same clan. Indeed, the Lochbuie family did not start spelling their name "Maclaine" until 1745 following the failed Jacobite rebellion. There is a strong likelihood that this was to differentiate the Lochbuie family (who did not come "out" for the Jacobites) from the Duart line (who were "out") in this way Lochbuie may have been able to defend the clan lands from the Campbells and thus ensure the survival of the clan.
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honor, strength and courage in battle. They were fierce Jacobites fighting in all of the Jacobite risings. This next section is cut and pasted directly from the online available source "Wikipedia"
There are several different origins for the surname Maclean, however, the clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGilleEathain. This was the patronymic form of the personal name meaning "servant of (Saint) John".[1] They are descendents of Loarn mac Eirc, a 5th century king of Dál Riata. The family grew very powerful throughout the Hebrides and Highlands through allegiances with the Catholic Church in the 9th century, the MacDonalds in the 13th century, the MacKays and MacLeods in the 16th century. The early kings of Scotland also befriended the clan for their knowledge of the sea and their large numbers of sea-going vessels, which were useful against the Viking raids in the 9th century.
The founder of the clan was a Scots warlord descended from the royal Cenél Loairn named Gillean of the Battle Axe [2]. The stories of Gillean being descended from the FitzGerald dynasty is fictitious, as the FitzGeralds are of Cambro-Norman descent and the Macleans are of Gaelic descent, having been in Scotland since the Dalriadic migration from northeastern Ulster in the earlier centuries AD. Gillean's great-grandfather was Old Dugald of Scone, born ca. 1050 during the reign of King Macbeth of the House of Moray, the principal royal line of the Cenél Loairn. He was a Judex (judge) and Councillor to King David of Scots.[3] Gillean's son Malise mac Gilleain (from the Gaelic Maoliosa "Servant of Jesus") was thought by some to have taken the name Gillemor in 1263 and wrote his name as "Gillemor Mcilyn ("son of Gillean"), County of Perth" on the third Ragman Rolls of 1296. This has been disproved in "Warriors and Priests" by Nicholas Maclean-Bristol. Malise is said to have led his followers against the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs in 1263 during the Scottish-Norwegian War where the Scottish were victorious.[3]
Gillean's great-great-grandson settled in Mull and by 1390, Donald, Lord of the Isles gave land to his two brothers-in-law, thus starting the two main branches of the clan: Maclean of Duart and Maclaine of Lochbuie (both on the island of Mull where the name is still frequently found).
During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacLeans fought at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1296 where they were allied with Andrew de Moray. They later fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 for Robert the Bruce defeating Edward II of England.
During the 14th and 15th century many battles were fought between the Clan Maclean and Clan Mackinnon.[4] In 1411 the Clan MacLean fought as Highlanders at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July 1411 against an Army of Scottish Lowlanders. Their enemy was the forces of the Duke of Albany and Earl of Mar. The MacLeans were led by "Red Hector of the Battles", the 6th Chief, who engaged in single combat with the chief of Clan Irvine, known as "Sir Alexander de Irwine." After a legendary struggle both died of the wounds inflicted upon each other.[3]The Battle of Corpach took place in 1439. It was fought between the Clan Maclean and the Clan Cameron.[5] In 1484 the Clan MacLean fought at the Battle of Bloody Bay on the side of the Lord of the Isles, chief of Clan Donald.[3]
In 1513 During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Clan MacLean fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. Hector MacLean 9th chief was killed. The clan extended its influence to other Hebridean islands such as Tiree and Islay and onto the mainland.[3] In 1560 the Clan MacLean, joined by their allies the Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod became part of the Gallowglass, who were ferocious mercenaries of Norse-Gaelic descent who served in Ireland for King Shane O'Neill.
The Battle of the Western Isles was fought in 1586, on the Isle of Jura, between the Clan MacDonald of Sleat and the Clan MacLean.[3][6][7] In 1588 the Clan MacLean captured Mingarry Castle seat of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan, from where they fought off a Spanish galleon called the Florida.[3]
The Battle of Glenlivet took place in 1594, Clan MacLean under Sir Lachlan Maclean fought in support of the Earl of Argyll and Clan Campbell against the Earl of Huntly and Clan Gordon.[3]
The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart took place on the 5 August 1598. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean on the Isle of Islay. Chief Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean was killed.[3][6] After Sir Lachlan MacLean's death in 1598, his sons took revenge on his suspected murderers, the MacDonalds, by carrying out a massacre of the people of Islay which lasted for three days. After obtaining "Letters of Fire and Sword" he was assisted in this by the MacLeods, MacNeils,and Camerons. The quarrel between the MacLeans and the Macdonalds of Islay and Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occupancy of the crown lands called the Rinns of Islay, but it soon involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led to the near destruction of them both. The Macleans, who were in possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Islay was really the crown tenant.[3]
During the Civil War Sir Lachlan Maclean, 17th chief led the Clan MacLean as royalists at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, alongside men from Clan MacDonald, and other allies from Ireland raised by Alasdair MacColla. Their enemy was the Scottish Argyll government forces of Clan Campbell, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll. Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of 1500 MacDonalds and MacLeans defeated the Argyll Campbell force of 3000.[3]
In 1647 the MacLean's Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean. The Battle of Inverkeithing took place in 1651. Clan MacLean fought at the battle as royalists. Sir Hector Maclean, 18th chief was killed.[3]
Archibald Campbell the 9th Earl, son of the Marquess of Argyll, invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and garrisons Duart Castle in 1678. The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689, Clan Maclean led by Sir John Maclean, 20th chief fought in support of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee.[3]
During the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746 the Clan MacLean supported the House of Stuart and the Jacobite cause. Sir Hector Maclean, living in exile in Paris, went to Edinburgh to gain support for the Prince Charles Edward Stuart, but was betrayed by his bootmaker and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Caste and then the Tower of London. Because he was considered a French citizen, he escaped a capital sentence and was released after the rising was over. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Charles MacLean of Drimin was killed leading the MacLeans at Culloden.[3]
Many of the clansmen were killed at Battle of Culloden. The massacre of the MacDonald clansmen in the late 17th century marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 the Campbells had gained possession of Duart Castle and most of the MacLean estates. However, Duart Castle was reclaimed by the family in 1911 and has been restored as the family seat. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull is the traditional home of the MacLeans. There has probably been a fortress on the site (the "Dubh-Aird" – Black Height) since early mediaeval times. The current castle originally consisted of a square curtain wall surrounding lean-to buildings, and was most likely built for MacDougall of Dunollie around 1250. Some 100 years later it was part of the dowery of Lady Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, upon her marriage to Lachlan Lubanach Maclean. Lachlan built the Great Keep of Duart ca. 1370, and additions were made to the castle in the middle and late 16th century, and late 17th century. Duart was abandoned by the Macleans in 1691, and the castle was inhabited by the redcoats until 1751. Duart fell into ruins but was restored early in the 20th century by Sir Fitzroy Donald MacLean and has been the seat of the clan chief since its reopening in 1912. The exterior of Duart was used in the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery (whose mother was a Maclean) and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Notes and references
^ "McLean Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com (ancestry.com). Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^ Gillean na Tuaighe in Scottish Gaelic and it is pronounced Gillane not Gill-ee-un.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Clan Gillean (The Macleans), Edited by James Noel Mackenzie Maclean. F.S.A (Scot), F.R.Econ.S. Foreword by Fitzroy Maclean C.B.E, M.P. Published by the Clan Maclean Association, London and District Branch.
^ "Clan [email protected]".
^ "The Battle of Corpach@Clan Cameron.org".
^ a b 'Conflicts of the Clans' published in 1764 by the Foulis press, written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland.
^ "Conflicts of the Clans: Troubles in the Western Isles in the Year 1586". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
^ Way of Plean; Squire (2000), p. 212.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 541–543.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 545–546.
^ "Another for Hector"
In the battle of Inverkeithing, between the Royalists and Oliver Cromwell's troops, five hundred of the followers of the Laird of M'Lean were left dead on the field. In the heat of the conflict, seven brothers of the clan sacrificed their lives in defence of their leader, Sir Hector Maclean. Being hard pressed by the enemy, he was supported and covered from their attacks by these intrepid men; and as one brother fell, another came up in succession to cover him, crying "Another for Hector." This phrase has continued ever since as a proverb or watch-word when a man encounters any sudden danger that requires instant succour.
—David Stewart (3rd edition 1825), Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments, Chapter 3
Way of Plean, George; Squire, Romilly (2000). Clans & Tartans. Glasgow: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472501-8.
Innes of Learney, Thomas (1971). The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland (8th Edition (1975 reprint) ed.). Edinburgh: Johnston and Bacon Publishers. ISBN 7179 4501 4.
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was the seat of Clan MacLean.[1]
In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary, daughter of the John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and she was given Duart as her dowry.[2]
In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean.
In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan.
In 1678, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, son of the Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle, and afterward to Kintail under the protection of the Earl of Seaforth.[3]
In 1691 Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll.[1] The Campbell clan demolished the castle, and the stones from the walls were scattered. Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle.[4]
By 1751 the remains of the castle were abandoned. Descendants of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who then sold it to Carter-Campbell of Possil who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle. He later sold his Torosay Estate which now included the ruins of Castle Duart to A. C. Guthrie in 1865. On September 11, 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean and restored.[1][5][6]
The castle was used as a location in the 1999 film Entrapment, starring Sean Connery (who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The castle also features prominently in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll, starring Anthony Hopkins.
It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.
The current chief of the Highland, Scottish clan, Clan Maclean is Sir Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean of Duart and Morvern Bt, CVO, Deputy Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, 28th Clan Chief and 12th Baronet of Morvern. The seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLean is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull.
Children of Phillip Marion Owens and Mary Ann "Mittie" McLean Owens
Phillip and Mittie were married 15 February 1849 in Pineapple Alabama. Phillip was born in 1829 to Phillip Owens Sr. and Martha A. Byrd. Mittie was the daughter of Jefferson Daniel McLean and Elizabeth Stenner, born August of 1829 in Wilcox County Alabama.
Phillip and Mittie had 9 children, 6 male and three female:
Elizabeth "Betty" (b. 27 Jun 1852 - d. 12 Mar 1923
John Edward ( b. Jan 1853)
William Riley "Bill" ( b. 29 May 1856 - d. 17 Sep 1931)
Eliza ( b. 1859)
Margaret (b. 1859 or 1860)
Asberry Brutus ( b. 8 Jan 1861 - d. 22 Dec 1942)
Wherry or Wharey (b. 20 Aug 1868 - d. 18 Jan 1929)
Philip Marion "Fee" ( b. 21 Oct 1871 - d. 18 Mar 1903)
Martha F. "Mattie" ( b. 12 March - 26 Nov 1939)
We have all heard the story of the Owens surname being Wales. I do believe it to be true, but I have yet to see proper documented evidence to this fact. However on 15 of February 1849, Phillip Owens Jr. (b. 1829 in Monroe County AL) married Mary Ann "Mittie" Mclean (b.1829 in Wilcox County AL). I have seen the evidance and traced her ancestores. It is conclusive the Mattie was of Scottish descent.
Her Great Grandfather, John McLean (b. 1749) was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He came to this country before 1773. John McLean died in Roberson County NC in October of 1815. His son Daniel, Mittie Grandfather was born in Roberson County NC about 1774 and died after 1820 in Sumter County AL. Mittie father Jefferson Daniel McLean was born in Wilcox County Alabama about 1809.
It is a demonstrated fact that most descendnts of Phillip Owens Jr. and Mary Ann McLean possess high levels of music aptitude, much of which is recognize and developed. I submit that this inharitted proclivity is derived from Mary Ann. Another interesting fact is that many Owens descendants have red hair. Of all the countries in the world, the highest precent of redheads in their population is Scotland. Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1.5% of the human population. Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads; 13 per cent of the population has red hair and approximately 40 per cent carries the recessive redhead gene. A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales. There is little wonder than 35 to 40% of Phillip and Mittie descendants were redheads. Both his Wales and her Scottish contributions to our DNA destined us to large percentages of red haired offsprings.
We know a great deal of the family from which Mary Ann McLean came. Actualy it would be more proper to say the famileys. You see the origin of the surname McLean is not derives from a single clan, but rather is composed to two very old Scottish families to form the one clan. Below are notes on the origin of the clan by Alasdair White, President of MacleanNet.
This story goes back to the romantic period of Scottish history when Robert The Bruce was King of Scots and was twisting the tail of the English King, Edward I. At the time (the late 1200s and early 1300s) the Maclean clan did not exist as a separate kindred nor was the name being used. However, in 1296 a certain Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa whose lineage is given as "son of Moal iose, son of Gille eoin (Gillean)" is identified as a vassal of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick, and the father of Robert The Bruce who became Robert I, King of Scots, in 1306.
Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa - or Malcolm son of Maoiliose - married Rignach, a relation of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick. This set up a dynastic link to the powerful Bruce family and from this marriage there appears to have been three sons Donald, Neil and John (Iain Dubh in Gaelic), all of whom were active in 1326 when they appear in the Exchequer Rolls of that year. The family link to the Bruce family must have benefited the emergent kindred or clan now calling itself MacGille eoin (Maclean) as Neil was appointed Constable of the royal castle of Scraburgh (possibly Tarbet) in 1329, while his elder brother, Donald, appears to have been a commander of the Kings galleys and John (Iain Dubh) can be found at Sael (Seil) Castle in Lorn - another royal stronghold.
According to early genealogical manuscripts dating from the 1400s, Donald appears to have had four sons and Neil three but no record of succeeding generations is mentioned in the Maclean genealogies and Gilli Colium was succeeded as chief of the kindred (clan) by his youngest son Iain Dubh. Now, if Donald and Neil and their sons were still alive, this succession of John as head of the kindred is an example of an important Celtic principle - that the head of the kindred (clan) fell to the one considered most capable of ensuring its success and survival. The law of primogenitor did not apply in the gaeldom until much later.
Iain Dubh had three sons - Hector, Lachlan and John about whom many romantic and probably unprovable stories are told. Research done for Nicholas Maclean-Bristol when writing his excellent "Warriors and Priests" shows that Hector was the oldest, Lachlan the middle son and John the youngest. The latter was also a "natural" or illegitimate son and is considered the progenitor of the mainland Macleans of Lorn, Ardgour and Morvern.
Lachlan Lubanach and his brother Hector Reaganach were, respectively, the progenitors of the Duart and Lochbuie families but how these two acquired land in Mull is not known for certain, but they are certainly the first Macleans on the island. The most popular clan legend claims that the two brothers murdered Mackinnon a vassal of MacDougall of Lorn, took MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, prisoner, and finally demanded lands in Mull from MacDonald. Given the critical strategic position of the lands granted to Lachlan and Hector, this legend seems unlikely and requires some more analysis.
MacDougall held many of the western isles but the family sided against King Robert The Bruce in the Wars of Independence whereas the MacDonalds sided with him and when King Robert won, MacDougall saw his lands forfeited and granted to MacDonald. However, when the King died and was succeeded by his son King David II in 1329 there was a rapid realignment of loyalties and MacDonald supported the Balliol faction against King David - fortunately for his survival, this support was not very prominent and in 1343 John MacDonald received a Royal Charter (which included the island of Mull) and started to call himself John de Yle or John Lord of the Isles.
This is where dynastic marriage came into the equation - bubonic plague (the Black Death) was sweeping Scotland and MacDonald was finding it hard to man all his strongholds and needed reliable men, bound to him by marriage, to install as constables. On 13 May 1367, Lachlan MacGilli eoin received a mandate from the pope to marry Mary, the daughter of John de Yle, and, given the supreme importance of the matrilineal inheritance (inheritance through the female line), this gave Lachlan a particularly powerful link to his immediate overlord.
MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, then made his son-in-law, Lachlan MacGilli eoin, chamberlain of the household (the most powerful position in the feudal hierarchy) and in July 1390 granted him the castle of Duart and various other lands. At the same time, Hector was granted four merks of land, which apparently must have included Lochbuie where he promptly built a fortified keep.
This, then, is how the kindred (clan) of MacGillieoin - now referred to as MacGillean - came to be settled on Mull and holding large tracts of land. As a result of this dynastic marrying one thing becomes clear - Lachlan had established himself as the most powerful of the MacGillean kindred: he held Duart which was the most powerful castle on Mull, he was the son-in-law of his feudal overlord, and he had earned his nick name of Lachlan Lubanach or Lachlan the crafty. The supremacy of Lachlan resulted in him being appointed as chief of the MacGillean kindred. At all times since then the clan has recognised the Duart family as the Chiefly family and at no time did the descendants of Hector of Lochbuie do other than recognise, accept and support this situation.
Legally and structurally (in clan terms) there is only one clan Maclean and all are descendants of Gillean of the Battle Axe. It is irrelevant how the name is spelt and indeed there was no regularisation of the spelling of the name until the late 1700's and it was some time later that each family "fixed" the spelling of their particular line, thus Maclean and Maclaine are the same clan. Indeed, the Lochbuie family did not start spelling their name "Maclaine" until 1745 following the failed Jacobite rebellion. There is a strong likelihood that this was to differentiate the Lochbuie family (who did not come "out" for the Jacobites) from the Duart line (who were "out") in this way Lochbuie may have been able to defend the clan lands from the Campbells and thus ensure the survival of the clan.
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honor, strength and courage in battle. They were fierce Jacobites fighting in all of the Jacobite risings. This next section is cut and pasted directly from the online available source "Wikipedia"
There are several different origins for the surname Maclean, however, the clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGilleEathain. This was the patronymic form of the personal name meaning "servant of (Saint) John".[1] They are descendents of Loarn mac Eirc, a 5th century king of Dál Riata. The family grew very powerful throughout the Hebrides and Highlands through allegiances with the Catholic Church in the 9th century, the MacDonalds in the 13th century, the MacKays and MacLeods in the 16th century. The early kings of Scotland also befriended the clan for their knowledge of the sea and their large numbers of sea-going vessels, which were useful against the Viking raids in the 9th century.
The founder of the clan was a Scots warlord descended from the royal Cenél Loairn named Gillean of the Battle Axe [2]. The stories of Gillean being descended from the FitzGerald dynasty is fictitious, as the FitzGeralds are of Cambro-Norman descent and the Macleans are of Gaelic descent, having been in Scotland since the Dalriadic migration from northeastern Ulster in the earlier centuries AD. Gillean's great-grandfather was Old Dugald of Scone, born ca. 1050 during the reign of King Macbeth of the House of Moray, the principal royal line of the Cenél Loairn. He was a Judex (judge) and Councillor to King David of Scots.[3] Gillean's son Malise mac Gilleain (from the Gaelic Maoliosa "Servant of Jesus") was thought by some to have taken the name Gillemor in 1263 and wrote his name as "Gillemor Mcilyn ("son of Gillean"), County of Perth" on the third Ragman Rolls of 1296. This has been disproved in "Warriors and Priests" by Nicholas Maclean-Bristol. Malise is said to have led his followers against the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs in 1263 during the Scottish-Norwegian War where the Scottish were victorious.[3]
Gillean's great-great-grandson settled in Mull and by 1390, Donald, Lord of the Isles gave land to his two brothers-in-law, thus starting the two main branches of the clan: Maclean of Duart and Maclaine of Lochbuie (both on the island of Mull where the name is still frequently found).
During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacLeans fought at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1296 where they were allied with Andrew de Moray. They later fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 for Robert the Bruce defeating Edward II of England.
During the 14th and 15th century many battles were fought between the Clan Maclean and Clan Mackinnon.[4] In 1411 the Clan MacLean fought as Highlanders at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July 1411 against an Army of Scottish Lowlanders. Their enemy was the forces of the Duke of Albany and Earl of Mar. The MacLeans were led by "Red Hector of the Battles", the 6th Chief, who engaged in single combat with the chief of Clan Irvine, known as "Sir Alexander de Irwine." After a legendary struggle both died of the wounds inflicted upon each other.[3]The Battle of Corpach took place in 1439. It was fought between the Clan Maclean and the Clan Cameron.[5] In 1484 the Clan MacLean fought at the Battle of Bloody Bay on the side of the Lord of the Isles, chief of Clan Donald.[3]
In 1513 During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Clan MacLean fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. Hector MacLean 9th chief was killed. The clan extended its influence to other Hebridean islands such as Tiree and Islay and onto the mainland.[3] In 1560 the Clan MacLean, joined by their allies the Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod became part of the Gallowglass, who were ferocious mercenaries of Norse-Gaelic descent who served in Ireland for King Shane O'Neill.
The Battle of the Western Isles was fought in 1586, on the Isle of Jura, between the Clan MacDonald of Sleat and the Clan MacLean.[3][6][7] In 1588 the Clan MacLean captured Mingarry Castle seat of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan, from where they fought off a Spanish galleon called the Florida.[3]
The Battle of Glenlivet took place in 1594, Clan MacLean under Sir Lachlan Maclean fought in support of the Earl of Argyll and Clan Campbell against the Earl of Huntly and Clan Gordon.[3]
The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart took place on the 5 August 1598. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean on the Isle of Islay. Chief Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean was killed.[3][6] After Sir Lachlan MacLean's death in 1598, his sons took revenge on his suspected murderers, the MacDonalds, by carrying out a massacre of the people of Islay which lasted for three days. After obtaining "Letters of Fire and Sword" he was assisted in this by the MacLeods, MacNeils,and Camerons. The quarrel between the MacLeans and the Macdonalds of Islay and Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occupancy of the crown lands called the Rinns of Islay, but it soon involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led to the near destruction of them both. The Macleans, who were in possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Islay was really the crown tenant.[3]
During the Civil War Sir Lachlan Maclean, 17th chief led the Clan MacLean as royalists at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, alongside men from Clan MacDonald, and other allies from Ireland raised by Alasdair MacColla. Their enemy was the Scottish Argyll government forces of Clan Campbell, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll. Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of 1500 MacDonalds and MacLeans defeated the Argyll Campbell force of 3000.[3]
In 1647 the MacLean's Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean. The Battle of Inverkeithing took place in 1651. Clan MacLean fought at the battle as royalists. Sir Hector Maclean, 18th chief was killed.[3]
Archibald Campbell the 9th Earl, son of the Marquess of Argyll, invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and garrisons Duart Castle in 1678. The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689, Clan Maclean led by Sir John Maclean, 20th chief fought in support of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee.[3]
During the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746 the Clan MacLean supported the House of Stuart and the Jacobite cause. Sir Hector Maclean, living in exile in Paris, went to Edinburgh to gain support for the Prince Charles Edward Stuart, but was betrayed by his bootmaker and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Caste and then the Tower of London. Because he was considered a French citizen, he escaped a capital sentence and was released after the rising was over. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Charles MacLean of Drimin was killed leading the MacLeans at Culloden.[3]
Many of the clansmen were killed at Battle of Culloden. The massacre of the MacDonald clansmen in the late 17th century marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 the Campbells had gained possession of Duart Castle and most of the MacLean estates. However, Duart Castle was reclaimed by the family in 1911 and has been restored as the family seat. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull is the traditional home of the MacLeans. There has probably been a fortress on the site (the "Dubh-Aird" – Black Height) since early mediaeval times. The current castle originally consisted of a square curtain wall surrounding lean-to buildings, and was most likely built for MacDougall of Dunollie around 1250. Some 100 years later it was part of the dowery of Lady Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, upon her marriage to Lachlan Lubanach Maclean. Lachlan built the Great Keep of Duart ca. 1370, and additions were made to the castle in the middle and late 16th century, and late 17th century. Duart was abandoned by the Macleans in 1691, and the castle was inhabited by the redcoats until 1751. Duart fell into ruins but was restored early in the 20th century by Sir Fitzroy Donald MacLean and has been the seat of the clan chief since its reopening in 1912. The exterior of Duart was used in the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery (whose mother was a Maclean) and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Notes and references
^ "McLean Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com (ancestry.com). Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^ Gillean na Tuaighe in Scottish Gaelic and it is pronounced Gillane not Gill-ee-un.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Clan Gillean (The Macleans), Edited by James Noel Mackenzie Maclean. F.S.A (Scot), F.R.Econ.S. Foreword by Fitzroy Maclean C.B.E, M.P. Published by the Clan Maclean Association, London and District Branch.
^ "Clan [email protected]".
^ "The Battle of Corpach@Clan Cameron.org".
^ a b 'Conflicts of the Clans' published in 1764 by the Foulis press, written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland.
^ "Conflicts of the Clans: Troubles in the Western Isles in the Year 1586". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
^ Way of Plean; Squire (2000), p. 212.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 541–543.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 545–546.
^ "Another for Hector"
In the battle of Inverkeithing, between the Royalists and Oliver Cromwell's troops, five hundred of the followers of the Laird of M'Lean were left dead on the field. In the heat of the conflict, seven brothers of the clan sacrificed their lives in defence of their leader, Sir Hector Maclean. Being hard pressed by the enemy, he was supported and covered from their attacks by these intrepid men; and as one brother fell, another came up in succession to cover him, crying "Another for Hector." This phrase has continued ever since as a proverb or watch-word when a man encounters any sudden danger that requires instant succour.
—David Stewart (3rd edition 1825), Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments, Chapter 3
Way of Plean, George; Squire, Romilly (2000). Clans & Tartans. Glasgow: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472501-8.
Innes of Learney, Thomas (1971). The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland (8th Edition (1975 reprint) ed.). Edinburgh: Johnston and Bacon Publishers. ISBN 7179 4501 4.
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was the seat of Clan MacLean.[1]
In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary, daughter of the John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and she was given Duart as her dowry.[2]
In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean.
In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan.
In 1678, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, son of the Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle, and afterward to Kintail under the protection of the Earl of Seaforth.[3]
In 1691 Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll.[1] The Campbell clan demolished the castle, and the stones from the walls were scattered. Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle.[4]
By 1751 the remains of the castle were abandoned. Descendants of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who then sold it to Carter-Campbell of Possil who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle. He later sold his Torosay Estate which now included the ruins of Castle Duart to A. C. Guthrie in 1865. On September 11, 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean and restored.[1][5][6]
The castle was used as a location in the 1999 film Entrapment, starring Sean Connery (who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The castle also features prominently in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll, starring Anthony Hopkins.
It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.
The current chief of the Highland, Scottish clan, Clan Maclean is Sir Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean of Duart and Morvern Bt, CVO, Deputy Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, 28th Clan Chief and 12th Baronet of Morvern. The seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLean is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull.
Phillip and Mittie were married 15 February 1849 in Pineapple Alabama. Phillip was born in 1829 to Phillip Owens Sr. and Martha A. Byrd. Mittie was the daughter of Jefferson Daniel McLean and Elizabeth Stenner, born August of 1829 in Wilcox County Alabama.
Phillip and Mittie had 9 children, 6 male and three female:
Elizabeth "Betty" (b. 27 Jun 1852 - d. 12 Mar 1923
John Edward ( b. Jan 1853)
William Riley "Bill" ( b. 29 May 1856 - d. 17 Sep 1931)
Eliza ( b. 1859)
Margaret (b. 1859 or 1860)
Asberry Brutus ( b. 8 Jan 1861 - d. 22 Dec 1942)
Wherry or Wharey (b. 20 Aug 1868 - d. 18 Jan 1929)
Philip Marion "Fee" ( b. 21 Oct 1871 - d. 18 Mar 1903)
Martha F. "Mattie" ( b. 12 March - 26 Nov 1939)
We have all heard the story of the Owens surname being Wales. I do believe it to be true, but I have yet to see proper documented evidence to this fact. However on 15 of February 1849, Phillip Owens Jr. (b. 1829 in Monroe County AL) married Mary Ann "Mittie" Mclean (b.1829 in Wilcox County AL). I have seen the evidance and traced her ancestores. It is conclusive the Mattie was of Scottish descent.
Her Great Grandfather, John McLean (b. 1749) was born on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He came to this country before 1773. John McLean died in Roberson County NC in October of 1815. His son Daniel, Mittie Grandfather was born in Roberson County NC about 1774 and died after 1820 in Sumter County AL. Mittie father Jefferson Daniel McLean was born in Wilcox County Alabama about 1809.
It is a demonstrated fact that most descendnts of Phillip Owens Jr. and Mary Ann McLean possess high levels of music aptitude, much of which is recognize and developed. I submit that this inharitted proclivity is derived from Mary Ann. Another interesting fact is that many Owens descendants have red hair. Of all the countries in the world, the highest precent of redheads in their population is Scotland. Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1.5% of the human population. Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads; 13 per cent of the population has red hair and approximately 40 per cent carries the recessive redhead gene. A 1956 study of hair color amongst British army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales. There is little wonder than 35 to 40% of Phillip and Mittie descendants were redheads. Both his Wales and her Scottish contributions to our DNA destined us to large percentages of red haired offsprings.
We know a great deal of the family from which Mary Ann McLean came. Actualy it would be more proper to say the famileys. You see the origin of the surname McLean is not derives from a single clan, but rather is composed to two very old Scottish families to form the one clan. Below are notes on the origin of the clan by Alasdair White, President of MacleanNet.
This story goes back to the romantic period of Scottish history when Robert The Bruce was King of Scots and was twisting the tail of the English King, Edward I. At the time (the late 1200s and early 1300s) the Maclean clan did not exist as a separate kindred nor was the name being used. However, in 1296 a certain Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa whose lineage is given as "son of Moal iose, son of Gille eoin (Gillean)" is identified as a vassal of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick, and the father of Robert The Bruce who became Robert I, King of Scots, in 1306.
Gilli Colium mac maoiliosa - or Malcolm son of Maoiliose - married Rignach, a relation of Robert Bruce, Lord of Carrick. This set up a dynastic link to the powerful Bruce family and from this marriage there appears to have been three sons Donald, Neil and John (Iain Dubh in Gaelic), all of whom were active in 1326 when they appear in the Exchequer Rolls of that year. The family link to the Bruce family must have benefited the emergent kindred or clan now calling itself MacGille eoin (Maclean) as Neil was appointed Constable of the royal castle of Scraburgh (possibly Tarbet) in 1329, while his elder brother, Donald, appears to have been a commander of the Kings galleys and John (Iain Dubh) can be found at Sael (Seil) Castle in Lorn - another royal stronghold.
According to early genealogical manuscripts dating from the 1400s, Donald appears to have had four sons and Neil three but no record of succeeding generations is mentioned in the Maclean genealogies and Gilli Colium was succeeded as chief of the kindred (clan) by his youngest son Iain Dubh. Now, if Donald and Neil and their sons were still alive, this succession of John as head of the kindred is an example of an important Celtic principle - that the head of the kindred (clan) fell to the one considered most capable of ensuring its success and survival. The law of primogenitor did not apply in the gaeldom until much later.
Iain Dubh had three sons - Hector, Lachlan and John about whom many romantic and probably unprovable stories are told. Research done for Nicholas Maclean-Bristol when writing his excellent "Warriors and Priests" shows that Hector was the oldest, Lachlan the middle son and John the youngest. The latter was also a "natural" or illegitimate son and is considered the progenitor of the mainland Macleans of Lorn, Ardgour and Morvern.
Lachlan Lubanach and his brother Hector Reaganach were, respectively, the progenitors of the Duart and Lochbuie families but how these two acquired land in Mull is not known for certain, but they are certainly the first Macleans on the island. The most popular clan legend claims that the two brothers murdered Mackinnon a vassal of MacDougall of Lorn, took MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, prisoner, and finally demanded lands in Mull from MacDonald. Given the critical strategic position of the lands granted to Lachlan and Hector, this legend seems unlikely and requires some more analysis.
MacDougall held many of the western isles but the family sided against King Robert The Bruce in the Wars of Independence whereas the MacDonalds sided with him and when King Robert won, MacDougall saw his lands forfeited and granted to MacDonald. However, when the King died and was succeeded by his son King David II in 1329 there was a rapid realignment of loyalties and MacDonald supported the Balliol faction against King David - fortunately for his survival, this support was not very prominent and in 1343 John MacDonald received a Royal Charter (which included the island of Mull) and started to call himself John de Yle or John Lord of the Isles.
This is where dynastic marriage came into the equation - bubonic plague (the Black Death) was sweeping Scotland and MacDonald was finding it hard to man all his strongholds and needed reliable men, bound to him by marriage, to install as constables. On 13 May 1367, Lachlan MacGilli eoin received a mandate from the pope to marry Mary, the daughter of John de Yle, and, given the supreme importance of the matrilineal inheritance (inheritance through the female line), this gave Lachlan a particularly powerful link to his immediate overlord.
MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, then made his son-in-law, Lachlan MacGilli eoin, chamberlain of the household (the most powerful position in the feudal hierarchy) and in July 1390 granted him the castle of Duart and various other lands. At the same time, Hector was granted four merks of land, which apparently must have included Lochbuie where he promptly built a fortified keep.
This, then, is how the kindred (clan) of MacGillieoin - now referred to as MacGillean - came to be settled on Mull and holding large tracts of land. As a result of this dynastic marrying one thing becomes clear - Lachlan had established himself as the most powerful of the MacGillean kindred: he held Duart which was the most powerful castle on Mull, he was the son-in-law of his feudal overlord, and he had earned his nick name of Lachlan Lubanach or Lachlan the crafty. The supremacy of Lachlan resulted in him being appointed as chief of the MacGillean kindred. At all times since then the clan has recognised the Duart family as the Chiefly family and at no time did the descendants of Hector of Lochbuie do other than recognise, accept and support this situation.
Legally and structurally (in clan terms) there is only one clan Maclean and all are descendants of Gillean of the Battle Axe. It is irrelevant how the name is spelt and indeed there was no regularisation of the spelling of the name until the late 1700's and it was some time later that each family "fixed" the spelling of their particular line, thus Maclean and Maclaine are the same clan. Indeed, the Lochbuie family did not start spelling their name "Maclaine" until 1745 following the failed Jacobite rebellion. There is a strong likelihood that this was to differentiate the Lochbuie family (who did not come "out" for the Jacobites) from the Duart line (who were "out") in this way Lochbuie may have been able to defend the clan lands from the Campbells and thus ensure the survival of the clan.
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honor, strength and courage in battle. They were fierce Jacobites fighting in all of the Jacobite risings. This next section is cut and pasted directly from the online available source "Wikipedia"
There are several different origins for the surname Maclean, however, the clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGilleEathain. This was the patronymic form of the personal name meaning "servant of (Saint) John".[1] They are descendents of Loarn mac Eirc, a 5th century king of Dál Riata. The family grew very powerful throughout the Hebrides and Highlands through allegiances with the Catholic Church in the 9th century, the MacDonalds in the 13th century, the MacKays and MacLeods in the 16th century. The early kings of Scotland also befriended the clan for their knowledge of the sea and their large numbers of sea-going vessels, which were useful against the Viking raids in the 9th century.
The founder of the clan was a Scots warlord descended from the royal Cenél Loairn named Gillean of the Battle Axe [2]. The stories of Gillean being descended from the FitzGerald dynasty is fictitious, as the FitzGeralds are of Cambro-Norman descent and the Macleans are of Gaelic descent, having been in Scotland since the Dalriadic migration from northeastern Ulster in the earlier centuries AD. Gillean's great-grandfather was Old Dugald of Scone, born ca. 1050 during the reign of King Macbeth of the House of Moray, the principal royal line of the Cenél Loairn. He was a Judex (judge) and Councillor to King David of Scots.[3] Gillean's son Malise mac Gilleain (from the Gaelic Maoliosa "Servant of Jesus") was thought by some to have taken the name Gillemor in 1263 and wrote his name as "Gillemor Mcilyn ("son of Gillean"), County of Perth" on the third Ragman Rolls of 1296. This has been disproved in "Warriors and Priests" by Nicholas Maclean-Bristol. Malise is said to have led his followers against the Norsemen at the Battle of Largs in 1263 during the Scottish-Norwegian War where the Scottish were victorious.[3]
Gillean's great-great-grandson settled in Mull and by 1390, Donald, Lord of the Isles gave land to his two brothers-in-law, thus starting the two main branches of the clan: Maclean of Duart and Maclaine of Lochbuie (both on the island of Mull where the name is still frequently found).
During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacLeans fought at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1296 where they were allied with Andrew de Moray. They later fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 for Robert the Bruce defeating Edward II of England.
During the 14th and 15th century many battles were fought between the Clan Maclean and Clan Mackinnon.[4] In 1411 the Clan MacLean fought as Highlanders at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July 1411 against an Army of Scottish Lowlanders. Their enemy was the forces of the Duke of Albany and Earl of Mar. The MacLeans were led by "Red Hector of the Battles", the 6th Chief, who engaged in single combat with the chief of Clan Irvine, known as "Sir Alexander de Irwine." After a legendary struggle both died of the wounds inflicted upon each other.[3]The Battle of Corpach took place in 1439. It was fought between the Clan Maclean and the Clan Cameron.[5] In 1484 the Clan MacLean fought at the Battle of Bloody Bay on the side of the Lord of the Isles, chief of Clan Donald.[3]
In 1513 During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Clan MacLean fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field. Hector MacLean 9th chief was killed. The clan extended its influence to other Hebridean islands such as Tiree and Islay and onto the mainland.[3] In 1560 the Clan MacLean, joined by their allies the Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod became part of the Gallowglass, who were ferocious mercenaries of Norse-Gaelic descent who served in Ireland for King Shane O'Neill.
The Battle of the Western Isles was fought in 1586, on the Isle of Jura, between the Clan MacDonald of Sleat and the Clan MacLean.[3][6][7] In 1588 the Clan MacLean captured Mingarry Castle seat of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan, from where they fought off a Spanish galleon called the Florida.[3]
The Battle of Glenlivet took place in 1594, Clan MacLean under Sir Lachlan Maclean fought in support of the Earl of Argyll and Clan Campbell against the Earl of Huntly and Clan Gordon.[3]
The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart took place on the 5 August 1598. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean on the Isle of Islay. Chief Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean was killed.[3][6] After Sir Lachlan MacLean's death in 1598, his sons took revenge on his suspected murderers, the MacDonalds, by carrying out a massacre of the people of Islay which lasted for three days. After obtaining "Letters of Fire and Sword" he was assisted in this by the MacLeods, MacNeils,and Camerons. The quarrel between the MacLeans and the Macdonalds of Islay and Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occupancy of the crown lands called the Rinns of Islay, but it soon involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led to the near destruction of them both. The Macleans, who were in possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Islay was really the crown tenant.[3]
During the Civil War Sir Lachlan Maclean, 17th chief led the Clan MacLean as royalists at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645), Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, alongside men from Clan MacDonald, and other allies from Ireland raised by Alasdair MacColla. Their enemy was the Scottish Argyll government forces of Clan Campbell, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll. Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of 1500 MacDonalds and MacLeans defeated the Argyll Campbell force of 3000.[3]
In 1647 the MacLean's Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean. The Battle of Inverkeithing took place in 1651. Clan MacLean fought at the battle as royalists. Sir Hector Maclean, 18th chief was killed.[3]
Archibald Campbell the 9th Earl, son of the Marquess of Argyll, invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and garrisons Duart Castle in 1678. The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689, Clan Maclean led by Sir John Maclean, 20th chief fought in support of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee.[3]
During the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746 the Clan MacLean supported the House of Stuart and the Jacobite cause. Sir Hector Maclean, living in exile in Paris, went to Edinburgh to gain support for the Prince Charles Edward Stuart, but was betrayed by his bootmaker and was imprisoned in Edinburgh Caste and then the Tower of London. Because he was considered a French citizen, he escaped a capital sentence and was released after the rising was over. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Charles MacLean of Drimin was killed leading the MacLeans at Culloden.[3]
Many of the clansmen were killed at Battle of Culloden. The massacre of the MacDonald clansmen in the late 17th century marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 the Campbells had gained possession of Duart Castle and most of the MacLean estates. However, Duart Castle was reclaimed by the family in 1911 and has been restored as the family seat. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull is the traditional home of the MacLeans. There has probably been a fortress on the site (the "Dubh-Aird" – Black Height) since early mediaeval times. The current castle originally consisted of a square curtain wall surrounding lean-to buildings, and was most likely built for MacDougall of Dunollie around 1250. Some 100 years later it was part of the dowery of Lady Mary Macdonald, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, upon her marriage to Lachlan Lubanach Maclean. Lachlan built the Great Keep of Duart ca. 1370, and additions were made to the castle in the middle and late 16th century, and late 17th century. Duart was abandoned by the Macleans in 1691, and the castle was inhabited by the redcoats until 1751. Duart fell into ruins but was restored early in the 20th century by Sir Fitzroy Donald MacLean and has been the seat of the clan chief since its reopening in 1912. The exterior of Duart was used in the film "Entrapment" with Sean Connery (whose mother was a Maclean) and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Notes and references
^ "McLean Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com (ancestry.com). Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^ Gillean na Tuaighe in Scottish Gaelic and it is pronounced Gillane not Gill-ee-un.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Clan Gillean (The Macleans), Edited by James Noel Mackenzie Maclean. F.S.A (Scot), F.R.Econ.S. Foreword by Fitzroy Maclean C.B.E, M.P. Published by the Clan Maclean Association, London and District Branch.
^ "Clan [email protected]".
^ "The Battle of Corpach@Clan Cameron.org".
^ a b 'Conflicts of the Clans' published in 1764 by the Foulis press, written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland.
^ "Conflicts of the Clans: Troubles in the Western Isles in the Year 1586". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
^ Way of Plean; Squire (2000), p. 212.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 541–543.
^ Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 545–546.
^ "Another for Hector"
In the battle of Inverkeithing, between the Royalists and Oliver Cromwell's troops, five hundred of the followers of the Laird of M'Lean were left dead on the field. In the heat of the conflict, seven brothers of the clan sacrificed their lives in defence of their leader, Sir Hector Maclean. Being hard pressed by the enemy, he was supported and covered from their attacks by these intrepid men; and as one brother fell, another came up in succession to cover him, crying "Another for Hector." This phrase has continued ever since as a proverb or watch-word when a man encounters any sudden danger that requires instant succour.
—David Stewart (3rd edition 1825), Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments, Chapter 3
Way of Plean, George; Squire, Romilly (2000). Clans & Tartans. Glasgow: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472501-8.
Innes of Learney, Thomas (1971). The Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland (8th Edition (1975 reprint) ed.). Edinburgh: Johnston and Bacon Publishers. ISBN 7179 4501 4.
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was the seat of Clan MacLean.[1]
In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary, daughter of the John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and she was given Duart as her dowry.[2]
In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean.
In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan.
In 1678, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, son of the Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle, and afterward to Kintail under the protection of the Earl of Seaforth.[3]
In 1691 Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll.[1] The Campbell clan demolished the castle, and the stones from the walls were scattered. Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle.[4]
By 1751 the remains of the castle were abandoned. Descendants of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who then sold it to Carter-Campbell of Possil who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle. He later sold his Torosay Estate which now included the ruins of Castle Duart to A. C. Guthrie in 1865. On September 11, 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean and restored.[1][5][6]
The castle was used as a location in the 1999 film Entrapment, starring Sean Connery (who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The castle also features prominently in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll, starring Anthony Hopkins.
It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.
The current chief of the Highland, Scottish clan, Clan Maclean is Sir Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean of Duart and Morvern Bt, CVO, Deputy Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, 28th Clan Chief and 12th Baronet of Morvern. The seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLean is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull.
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