The Hebridean Explorer's Ancestry and Genealogy

Part 1:

I decided to concentrate on the direct male line in my family and as you can see from the chart on the right, I have managed to trace my roots back to my great, great, great grandfather - Murdo (Murchadh) Macdonald, who was born in 1795 on the Hebridean Island of Lewis.

Murchadh was his Gaelic name but from the 1800’s most people were forced to write an anglicised name on official forms such as birth certificates and census forms. It is also the reason you might notice the name Isabella rather than the Gaelic Ishbal.

Murdo was a tenant farmer in the village of Coll, and over the last two hundred years one of his direct descendants has been on the same plot of land. Even today, although I don’t currently live in Lewis, my younger brother, Kevin Alexander Macdonald still works the land as a part-time crofter. (My children go over every spring to ‘help’ Kevin with the lambing).

John Alasdair Macdonald’s (Iain Alasdair Dòmhnallach) Ancestry and Family Tree

Part 2:

The Isle of Lewis has a history as a Clan MacLeod and latterly a Clan Mackenzie Island so it was fair to assume that we may have come from elsewhere in the Highlands. The Macdonald Clan is the largest of all the Scottish Clans and has seven main branches - Antrim(Ireland), Ardnamurchan, Clanranald, Glencoe, Glengarry, Keppoch and Sleat. Trying to pin down which specific branch we are from is one of the hardest tasks, however thankfully my ancestors gave us some clues!

In Gaelic culture, a system of patronymics has been widely used for many centuries (eg. Macdonald = son of Donald). As a Gael, when asked by another Gael who I am “Co leis thu?” I reply with “mac Calum Iain Iain Dhòmhnaill”, meaning I am the “son of Malcolm John, son of John, son of Donald” (my great grandfather). It is also very common to finish that reply with an overriding family name that may stretch back many generations. In my case I would say “ic Raonuill” meaning “son of Ranald’s son”.

That’s the major clue that helps narrow down which branch we may be from. Now if you look at the list of branches above, then Clanranald of Macdonald stand out as the obvious choice - impossible to prove but perfectly plausible. However, this summer I stumbled on another scenario. Gaelic has a tremendous oral tradition of storytelling, songs and poetry. Two stories mention a son of the Macdonalds of Keppoch (clan lands north of Fort William) being present in Lewis during the late 1600’s. The first tells the tale of a famous swordsman and ‘son of Keppoch’ being forced into hiding for many years on Lewis, due to a duel that resulted in the death of a powerful clansman.

The second tells the story of the Ailein Dearg (Red Allan), the youngest son of Alexander Buidhe (yellow), of the Macdonalds of Keppoch. Allan (along with 8 others) was implicated in the murder of his cousin Alexander, the Chief of the Clan. After the murder, Allan’s father (also the murdered Chief’s uncle) became the 14th Chief of the Macdonalds of Keppoch. Of the nine men implicated in the murder, seven were eventually caught and beheaded and their heads were washed in a well near Invergarry. It is still to this day known as the “well of the heads”. Allan was not caught but forced into hiding around 1665........ Gaelic tradition suggests that he spent most of the rest of his life in Lewis!!

Here’s the clincher.... In English this Clan are known as the Macdonalds (MacDonnells) of Keppoch or Clan Ranald of Lochaber. In Gaelic however, their name is ... Clann Mac ‘ic Raonuill na Ceapach.

Given the rarity of our family name in Lewis and the two Gaelic stories about a Macdonald of Keppoch in Lewis, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is a perfectly plausible scenario that my great, great, great, grandfather, Murdo Macdonald was a descendant of Allan Dearg, the youngest son of the 14th Chief of the Macdonalds of Keppoch also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber.

Part 3:

A couple of points about the Clan to stretch the imagination!

Alastair Carrach, the progenitor of the clan, was one of the sons of John Macdonald, 1st Lord of the Isles, and Princess Margaret of Scotland.

Princess Margaret was the granddaughter of King Robert I of Scotland - ‘Robert the Bruce’

Below is a brief overview of my Highland roots, split into 3 sections - part 1 (evidenced), part 2 (plausible but unsupported) and finally part 3 (stretching the imagination!)

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