WHAT IS A SCOTTISH CLAN?
Derived from the Scottish Gaelic word, clann, which means children, it gives a sense of identity and shared descent to not only those in Scotland but also to those who are part of the Scottish diaspora throughout the whole world. The head of the Clan, the Chief, has been officially recognised by the Lord Lyon Court in Scotland by the issue of Letters Patent which incorporates the Chief's Seal of Arms. A Clan Chief does not have to live in Scotland, today there are several Chiefs who live in Australia.
WHO ARE MEMBERS OF A CLAN?
Historically, a Chief was a Chief of "the countrie". As such he was not only the Chief of his immediate family, but also of all the people living in the Clan territory and their descendants wherever they may live and they would owe their chief allegiance. A Chief was able to both add to his Clan and if required expel people from his Clan. Today, a Chief is empowered to accept anyone who wishes to be a member of his Clan by either joining a clan society &/or wearing the Clan tartan.
WHAT IS A SEPT?
Septs are families who have sworn allegiance to a particular Clan Chief. It is easy to see why some names have become part of Clan Farquharson but for others the connection is not so obvious. It is important to note that various Clan and Tartan books with no official authority have often allocated septs incorrectly to particular Clans. Clan Associations and the geographic location of the earliest known family in Scotland should help to indicate the correct Clan.
Derived from the Scottish Gaelic word, clann, which means children, it gives a sense of identity and shared descent to not only those in Scotland but also to those who are part of the Scottish diaspora throughout the whole world. The head of the Clan, the Chief, has been officially recognised by the Lord Lyon Court in Scotland by the issue of Letters Patent which incorporates the Chief's Seal of Arms. A Clan Chief does not have to live in Scotland, today there are several Chiefs who live in Australia.
WHO ARE MEMBERS OF A CLAN?
Historically, a Chief was a Chief of "the countrie". As such he was not only the Chief of his immediate family, but also of all the people living in the Clan territory and their descendants wherever they may live and they would owe their chief allegiance. A Chief was able to both add to his Clan and if required expel people from his Clan. Today, a Chief is empowered to accept anyone who wishes to be a member of his Clan by either joining a clan society &/or wearing the Clan tartan.
WHAT IS A SEPT?
Septs are families who have sworn allegiance to a particular Clan Chief. It is easy to see why some names have become part of Clan Farquharson but for others the connection is not so obvious. It is important to note that various Clan and Tartan books with no official authority have often allocated septs incorrectly to particular Clans. Clan Associations and the geographic location of the earliest known family in Scotland should help to indicate the correct Clan.
FAMILIES WHO HAVE SWORN ALLEGIANCE TO CLAN FARQUHARSON
|
Barrie
Barry Birse Bowman Brebner Caig Christie Christison Christy Coates Coats Coutts Cromar Farquhar Fearchar Ferries |
Ferris
Fenley Findlay Findlaison Findlayson Findley Finlay Finlayson Finley Gracie Grassick Greusach Hardie Hardy Kellas |
Kerracher
Leys Lyon Lyons MacArtney MacCardney MacCartney MacCaig MacCuaig MacEarcher MacErcher MacErracher MacFarquhar MacHardie MacHardy |
MacKercher
MacKerracher MacKindlay MacKinlay MacKinley Paterson Patterson Reiach Reoch Riach Soutar Tawse Wood Woods |
the sept families of clan farquharson - a more detailed look
Currently, Geoffrey Farquharson's book, Clan Farquharson A History, published by Tempus Publishing 2005, is considered to provide the most detailed and researched document on the Farquharson Clan. However, he has only a limited details of the sept families histories. He did however suggest a classification of the sept names into 4 groups: Territorial, Etymological, Septs with no obvious links to the Farquharson, Sept Names in the Invercauld Document. We have followed this system. Please note that various Clan and Tartan books, who have no official authority, have often allocated septs incorrectly to particular clans. Having a clear idea of where the earliest members of your family lived in Scotland could provide a much better way of determining a clan identity.
There maybe other, as yet unacknowledged family names that should be included in our list. If you believe that your family name is a sept family, please contact the Clan Association with details.
Territorial Septs (Families with a connection to Farqaharson land)
BARRIE
Barrie is derived from Barrie in Angus (around the Dundee area), and through the early recorded history of Scotland is largely restricted to the north-east of Scotland. It is first noted in 1360. In 1408, John Barrie was admitted burgess of Aberdeen. Some Barrie families established themselves in Glenmuick, south of Ballater, and in Glen Tanar, south of Aboyne. Some families had Farquharson landlords and it presumably through this linkage that the name is included as a Sept of Clan Farquharson. Barrie is also listed as a sept of Gordon.
BOWMAN
The name first appears in 1318, when Geoffrey Bowman was responsible for passing on the accounts of the sheriff of Aberdeen to the Exchequer. It is a common name on the west coast of Scotland and is found in Glasgow by 1550 and in Stirling by 1592. Several Bowmans lived in Glenmuick, and 1723 they approached the Earl of Strathmore because they wanted to revert to the surname Lyon. They believed that their forebears had left Angus, the stronghold of the Lyons, on account of unspecified troubles and had adopted the surname. The connection with the Farquharsons clan has two possibilities. The Bowmans of Glenmuick may have been Farquharson tenants or, given that Lyon is also included as a sept, Bowman may have been included by association.
BREBNER
The old form of Brebner is Brabener, or Brabender, meaning native of Brabant. People so called came as traders from the Low Countries and settled along the east coast of Scotland. Over time they migrated inland and by the sixteenth century the name was common in East Ross and Aberdeenshire, including Strathdon. A Patrick Brebner is recorded in Upper Deeside in 1527. The name has a number of spelling variants particularly Bremner.
COUTTS
Coutts is a common Aberdeenshire name, particularly in Upper Deeside. Its origin is thought to be territorial, as in " of Coults", which lies inGledgairn, north of Ballater. The prominent family with this name was granted a Crown charter in 1433 in which they received land in Auchtercoul (Ochtercoull). This charter was granted in favour of William Coutts, his brother Alexander, and their cousins John and Alexander. Other notable persons of this name include William Coutts, provost of Montrose towards the end of the sixteenth century. A member of this family is believed to have founded the London merchant bank of this name. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the name was common in Edinburgh. There is a wide a variation in the spelling of the name: Coittes, Cotis, Cottes, Cottis, Coutts, Cowtes, Cowtis, Kowtis, Coutes, Coutys, Cults. William Cultis was enrolled as a burgess of Aberdeen in 1531. The name Coates and Coats are also variant spelling of Coutts, but are sometimes listed as separate septs of Clan Farquharson. Coutts and its related names predates the surname Farquharson by a considerable period and its inclusion as a sept of the clan is on account of geographic proximity to Farquharson lands.
CROMAR
This name is derived from the locality 'Cromar' in Aberdeenshire. Thomas Cromar is named as being accused of consulting a sorcerer in 1672. Cromar is the area north of Aboyne and Dinner on Deeside that included large tracts of land once owned by the Whitehouse and Invercauld Farquharsons. Inclusion as a sept is presumably on account of Cromars being farmers of the Farquharsons.
HARDY
Hardy is a common French surname but is found in Scotland as early as 1296, in the form of Willaim Hardy of Lanarkshire. In Scotland it is of no particular location, save for a cluster in Crathie and Crathienard. Their inclusion as a sept of the Farquharson clan is due to the existence of the Hardies in Deeside, but also perhaps due to the linkage to the McHardies. Hardy is also a sept of Mackintosh.
MACHARDY
The homelands of the MacHardies is the Highlands of Aberdeenshire and the immediately surrounding areas. Although not well-endowed in terms of land ownership, they were numerous and influential. It is reported that the Strathdon MacHardies followed Mackintosh as their chief and thereby counted themselves as members Clan Chattan. MacHardy today is listed as a Mackintosh sept. It has been proposed that derivation of the name comes through Gartney to MacCardney to McHardy. Clearly the MacHardies are included as a sept of Farquharson on account of their close association on the ground in Deeside, Donside and Glenshee.
KELLAS
The name Kellas is derived from the village of that name in the parish of Dallas, Moray. In 1362 the lands of Easter and Wester Kellas, together with those of Corcoponoch were granted by the bishop of Moray to William Farquharson, the descendant of the Kellas Farquharson who married Jean, daughter of John Farquharson of Invercauld. The Kellas Farquharsons were descended from Ferquhard Cumyn, who changed his name to Farquharson. The inclusion of Kellas as a sept is probably due to this close geographical link. Some Kellas families may have been Farquharson tenants.
ETYMOLOGICAL SEPTS (Septs that are part of Clan Farquharson as their names have derived from Farquharson).
FARQUHAR
In Gaelic this name is Feachar or Fearchir, meaning 'dear one'. There are many forms of the name, Ferchart and Ferchard appearing on documents as early as the twelfth century. The name is commonly found throughout the recorded history of Scotland and has a widespread distribution. The inclusion of the name as a sept of the Farquharson clan is presumably purely on the basis of the 'Farquhar' root. There appears to no territorial or genealogical link.
FERRIES
Within Aberdeen, Ferries is reportedly a diminutive form of Farquharson, it is also a diminutive form of Ferguson. Agnes Ferries married James Farquharson, the first laird of Inverey in 1647, and so it may be argued that the relationship between Farquharsons and Ferries is territorial, the families coexisting on Deeside at this time.
FINLAY
Finlay and its Gaelic equivalent, Fionnlaidh, is an ancient surname, possible appearing in a poetic chronicle of the Kings of Dalraida as Findleach. The name Finlay appears in the earliest Scottish records and various spelling forms Findlay, Findlow, Fyndae, Fyndlla and Fynlai, it punctuates the history of Scotland throughout the centuries. The name has no particular geographic distribution. The name has no connection with the Farquharson clan save for the fact that Finlay happened to be the forename of the recognised founder of the clan, Finlay Mor Farquharson. The notion that all Finlays were descendants of this man, as sometimes seen in print, is erroneous. It is quite possible that none of them was so descended.
FINLAYSON
As with Finlay, Finlayson is an old name with a wide range of spelling variants. It first appears on record as Brice Fynlawsone of Netbolge, Stirlingshire, in 1296. Distribution of the name shows no leaning towards the north-east of Scotland, although an early representative, Ade Findelasone, was listed in 1511 as a tenant of the bishop of Aberdeen. As with Finlay, the name Finlayson does not have an exclusive link with the Farquharson clan.
MACFARQUHAR
This name appears in the twelfth century as McFerchar and Macferkar, and like its root name, Farquhar, occurs steadily throughout Scotland from then on. As with Farquhar, its position as a sept must be a result of etymology rather than any familiar relationship or territorial association.
MACKINLAY
This name is the Gaelic equivalent on Finlayson being the altered form of 'son of Finlay'. In Gaelic script the name is written MacFhionnliagh and here the relationship to Farquharson clan can be seen straight away. The theory that the MacKinlays are not solely derived from Finlay Mor is borne out by their distribution, which is centered on the areas around Glenlyon and Balquhidder. The name is also spelt 'MacKinley'. The linkage with the Farquharson clan may also be through the existence of the Mackintoshes of Cams in Glenshee. This family has an alias of Macinlie, and although their origin is uncertain it has been postulated that they are derived from an illegitimate branch of Farquharsons.
SEPTS WITH NO OBVIOUS LINK TO THE FARQUHARSON CLAN
CHRISITE
The surname Christie is common in Fife which was presumably its place of origin. The name appears in 1457 and 1520 John Chryste was admitted burgess of Aberdeen.
LYON
Tradition among the Lyon family has it that the bearers of the name came to Scotland from France via England. By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that name was not uncommon in England and had a widespread distribution. The first record of the name in Scotland is from 1311/12 when Thomas Lyon, a crossbowman, presumably from England, was part of the garrison at Linlithgow. By 1322 the first known Scottish Lyons appear. A John Lyon had a charter from King Richard II in 1371/2, for the barony of Glamis in Angus. Glamis is renowned today as the birthplace of Elizabeth the Queen Mother, whose maiden name was Bowes-Lyon. There is, it appears no known tie between the Lyons and Farquharson Clan.
MacCAIG
This is a surname from western Scotland, particularly Ayrshire, Argyll and Galloway. It is not easy to see any link, either territorial or genetically, with the Farquharson clan. The name is also a sept of Macleod.
MacCARTNEY
MacCartney is derived from MacArtain, son of Artain. Artain is a diminutive form of Art. An early record finds Glibert McCartnay of Galloway being accused of treasonable communications with Englishmen.
MacCUAG
Once a common name on the island of Islay, sometimes as its variant McCuaig or M"cowag. As with MacCaig, it is difficult to establish any connection between this name and the Farquharson Clan. The surname is also listed as a sept of Clan Macleod.
TAWSE
Tawse comes from the phonetic spelling of Tamhas, the Gaelic version of Thomas. William Tawse was a and tailor in Dunkeld who died in 1667, and John Taws was in Ordie in 1733.
SEPTS NAMED IN THE INVERCAULD DOCUMENT
In the manuscript known as the "genealogy of the Farquharson between 1697-1704 probably by Alexander Farquharson of Broughderagh, Farquhar Shaw of Rothiemurchus is described as having several sons. The document attributes each of these sons as giving rise to one or more new family names. While this seems historically incorrect, the following are considered septs of Clan Farquharson.
COWIE
Cowie is of territorial origin. The name is thought to be largely from the Barony of Cowie in Kincardinshire. A letter by Nicholas de Sumfres was witnessed by Herbet de Cowry in 1394.
DON
This is an Aberdeenshire surname, Matheus Done and Johannes Done were tenants on Deeside in 1527. It was also the name of a family owning Teith in Monteithj, Pershire. According to the manuscripts at Invercauld, the name is derived from the colour of James Farquharson's hair, brown.
DOWNIE
The name Downie is of territorial origin, being from the barony of Duny or Downie in Angus. There were also Downies in Stirling and Kemnay, Aberdeenshire. The name is of ancient origin, being first recognised in, when a Duncan de Dunny witnessed the drawing-up of boundaries between Tulloes and Conon. In 1330 Alexander Downy was a tenant of the abbot of Arbroath.
GRASSICK
Grassick, Greusach, means shoemaker and is a common name in Aberdeenshire, particularly in Glenbuchat and Strathdon. Greusach is a shortened form of MacGeusaich which means 'son of shoemaker'. It has been stated that the MacGreusaich are descended from a Buchanan who moved to Argyllshire with the laird of Ardkinglass's lady during the reign of James III.
McCOMBIE
McCombie and its numerous spelling variants is a shortened form of MacThomaidh, or son of Thomas. Bearers of the name are generally thought to be descended from Adam Mackintosh, a son of the seventh chief of Mackintosh, who settled in Glenshee. A family of M'Combies was well established in Glenshee by the sixteenth century and is believed to have been in the area from at the least the later half of the fourteenth century.
MACYORK
MacYock or MacJock is a Highland border name, from son of Jock. In the seventeenth century there was a family of M'Yocks in Glenshee, whom doubtless were the objects of the genealogical assertions in the Invercauld manuscripts. The MacYocks are also included as a sept of MacDonalds.
PATERSON
Paterson or Patterson is the Scottish form of Patrick's son. It is a common name in Scotland and was particularly common along the north side of Loch Fyne. The name appears on record in 1446, when William Pattison and John Patonson were witnesses in Aberdeen. In 1496 Donald Patyson was made a burgess of Aberdeen.
ROECH
A common descriptive surname from the Gaelic riabhach, meaning 'greyish'. The earliest recorded record of this name is 1452, when John Roech was listed as a burgess of Inverness. The name is of widespread distribution as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and although there some in Aberdeenshire, there is nothing to link the name with Farquharson. Other spellings of the name are Reiach, Reach, Riach and Rioch. These names are also listed as septs of the MacDonald clan.
