Show I. I V E ll L ll 0 i V Fw THE FAMILY MACKAY AY Ono of or the tho most famous of all alt Scotch families Is that of th the fa famous famous fa- fa 1 both for ancient lineage for personal personal per per- prowess and for tho fine CIne quality lIt of history made through some of its Ils most noted men and women The f fam- fam 1115 not numerous nor does It break breakup up Into subdivisions as so man many other families do Considering Its great length the line Is 15 most remarkable for tor forThe forthe The vitality with fth which It has withstood withstood with wIth- stood tho effects of time For the ay have ever been proud proud of of birth of ot blood of their own courage and strength and few tew have marked their course down tho apes ages Tho men are arc brawny o of frame sturdy of limb with more morl giant s strength than lithe or vivid quickness lul with a certain slowness that was founded on caution and reserve rather r than on stupidity or lack of genuine wit The women are wholesome in looks and md quiet of words with a depth of fooling feeling that made of them the b best t of friends the fondest of or wives and th the wisest of mothers Among Amon tho the old and Taro accounts o othe ot of the Mackay family we find the following following follow tollow- ing historical Incidents and facts Origin Orllo MACKAY the name m of or a S1 num numerous and powerful clan cnn In the northwest o otho of oC oCr r the tho county count of at Sutherland styled In ir 1 Gaelic the tho or race aco o oft or of t Morgan badge the bulrush The accounts accounts ac ac- counts of or Its origin art arc various In Inthe Inthe Inthe the Celtic manuscript of or 1450 there 1 Is no reference to it It although mention 1 Is made ronde of at the Mackas of at Kintyre who ho were called of Us Ugadale These however however how how- ever el were vassals of ot the Isles and ha hano had no connection with the la 1 kas o of Strathnaver Pennant assigns to them thema a Irish Celto-Irish descent In tho the twelfth century after King William WilHam the Lion tad defeated defeated Harald earl carl carlot of Orkney and Caithness and taken possession o of these districts Mr 1 Highlands of Scotland p rv P. 88 supposes that the tho they were descended from tho the aboriginal Gaelic inhabitants of or Caithness The Norse orse sagas state that about the be be- be of oC the twelfth century thero there lived In the tho Dolum of or or Strathnaver Strathnaver a mangy man named 1 anoble a n anoble noble and rich man and that his sons were Magnus Orti and Ottar the Earin Earl Ear EarlIn Earlin in Thurso The of or tart larl was the same samo as os the Gaelic and Mr Ir Skene is of ot opinion that and his Ills son Ottar were the tho Gaelic of Caithness Sir Robert Gordon In his hll voluminous History of Sutherland p. p 3 from a n similarity of at badge badJe and armor armorial al bearings bear- bear Jogs ings accounts the clan Mackay A branch of the but this this is b bj by ho no means probable Alexander the tho first of ot the family amily aided In driving the Danes from tram the north His son Walter aHer chamberlain to Adam bishop of Caithness Caithness ness married that prelates prelate's dau daughter and had a n. son on Martin who received from his maternal grandfather certain church lands in lit Strathnaver being the first t of the family who obtained possession possessions possessions pos pos- sessions session there Martin 1 had a son n Magnus Magnus Mag Mag- nu nus or Manus who fou fought ht at Bannockburn Bannockburn Bannock Bannock- burn under Bruce and had two sons Bona Morgan and Farquhar l From rom Morgan the clan derived ed their Gaelic name nune of at Clan l Clan wic In Strathnaver Donald Morgans Morgan's son on married a daughter of or Macneill of GIho who was named I lye and ha had a son on of oC tin same name In Gaelic pronounced like lik 1 V. V The common translation of or Is Hugh Huoh but hut amid all tho the fanciful fanciful fan Cnn conjectures that thal have ha boon thrown out as ns to the tho derivation of tho the name It seems to ha have vc been forgotten that tho the lye lyo was wu borne horne primarily by 11 byan byan an Insular chief and seems not unlikely to have havo originated In tho the Gaelic word I an nn Island had a n son another Donald called Donald or and It is from this son that the clan clem has acquired the tho patronymic of or Mackay He and his son were killed in the castle of Dingwall b by William Earl Curl of Sutherland In 13 1395 5 The Truer Truce That R Broken It appears from Sir Robert Gordons Gordon's History p p. p 60 that the earl had halt a feud cud with him and his son Ron Donald Mackay in which man many lives were lost st an and great reat depredations committed on both side sides To put an nn end rud to It the earl proposed proposed pro pro- posed a meeting with them at Dingwall Ding Ding- w wall wail lJ In n presence of the 1 Lord ord of or the Isles his law in and some of the neighboring barons the friends of oC both parties This was acceded d to and andIn andin In the castle of or Dingwall n a discussion I to took k place lilace between the carl earl and i Mackay re regarding ar tho the points In dispute when mutual reproaches s p passing ng between he- he be between tw tween en them tho earl carl became so In Incensed Incensed incensed In- In censed a as to kill Mackay and his son with his own hands W With Ith some pome difficult difficulty dif dif- difficulty he effected his escape and hastening hastening has hns- home prepared for his defense The however howe were too weak to take re en revenge o and a a. reconciliation took toole place between Robert the next next earl cart and Angus Anfus Mackay the eldest Oldest o oDonald's of Donalds Donald's j surviving sons of oC whom there were other two viz Iz and anel Neill Angus the eldest St son married a slator sister sis sis- tor ter of at Malcolm l of at the tho Lewis and had b by her two sons Angus that Is dark complexioned and Rod Rod- crick Gald that Is Is s Lowland On their fathers father's death their uncle n h n Mi lr tutor and n ic t of ii lr- lr upon po th the management of their lands Un Understanding t that at his sister the widow widow wid wid- I ow of ot Angus was III treated b by tho the uncle Malcolm Macleod with a large larre following went to Is visit t her and on his return homewards ho he laid waste Strathnaver el and a great part of or the In Sutherland Sutherlan carrying off a with him As soon large arEA arg boot booty along as and his brother Nelll Neill were informed of at this this the they acquainted ac ac- acquainted Robert Earl Karl of or Sutherland who Immediately dispatched a large part party arty to assist the tho Overtaking Over Over- taking Macleod upon the marches be between between between be- be tween Ross and Sutherland at a place called a n desperate esp rate conflict ensued It was long and furious fu furious furious fu- fu rious cruel and doubtful says sas Sir Robert Gordon GonIon and rather desperate than ban resolute Malcolm Macleod was slain Main with all his party part save one and the he goods and cattle wore recovered Black JUnek n M linN Han Power In 1 1411 n when Donald Lord of or the Isles in prosecution of or his claim to the tho earldom of Ross burst Into Sutherland Sutherland Suther- Suther land and he was attacked at Dingwall b by Angus or Black Angus Mackay The he latter however was defeated and taken alien prisoner and amI his brother gald al and many of his men were slain After fter a D. short confinement Angus was released ed by the Lord of or the Isles who desirous of at cultivating tho the alliance of or orso hla hia him so o powerful a n chief gave sa daughter Elizabeth in marriage and ana with her bestowed upon him man many lands ands by charter harter In 1415 He was waR called calico en or Angus the tho Absolute Absolute Ab Ab- solute from his great reat power At this time Ime we ar are told Angus Angus' f could bring Into the field 1000 fl fighting men In Angus AnUs invaded Caithness with all II the forces he lie could collect and spoiled polled and lal laid waste wast that district Tho The Inhabitants met t him at where n a battle was fought in which both sides skies suffered severely i reb hut but the result wits was not decisive and Mackay lacka continued his depredations de- de predations To put a stop to th the disturbances disturbances dis- dis in the Highlands James I. I carl early arly In the following year ear summoned the he principal chiefs to meet him and his parliament at Inverness and among amons the number umber arr arrested b by the tho Ring king on this occasion oc- oc ct aslon casion I n about rort forty In all was Angus with his f four ur cons tons After a short confinement Angus was Voas pardoned and released re- re leased eased with three of them the eldest oldest Neill Mackay be being kept as a a. hostage host for his good behavior Being confined In the Bass at the month of the Firth of or Forth he was ever eer after called Nelll r asse or Bass Mackay During his imprisonment his son Thomas Macneill proprietor of ot the lands of Creigh and In n Souther- Souther land had a quarrel with Mowat of f TC To avoid oid his vengeance Mowat took refuge with Ith his lils followers in the chapel I i of S SI Sc Duffus near Tam Tain but th they were e followed thither by Thomas who slew him hit n and his people and burnt the chapel t to o tho the In consequence of oC this outrage the luIn king g a proclamation a against Thomas ThomaR Macneill promising his lands land asa a as a n. reward reward to 10 on any one who would kill or apprehend h hend n him Angus Murray l of with a view Jew to his lils apprehension of offered d his lils brothers Morgan an and Nelll Neill Macneill for the their lr assistance his two daughters daughter a in marriage besides promising to aid them In gutting getting possession lon of or the lands of or o f Angus in Strathnaver Tl The They ey ac ac- accordingly accordingly accordingly cordingly apprehended their brother Thomas who was d delivered up to the c king Icing and executed at Inverness s. s Murray hurray gave his dau daughters In marriage e to Nelll Neill and Morgan l Macneill 1 acne III as ns h hp he ha had bad t promised and thereafter made c an Incursion in In- In cun olon cun-olon on Into Strathnaver fr to seize th the o I lands of oC Angus Mackay The Tho matter mat lat tel ter belp too old to lead his clan I In person gave O the command of oC It to John Joh n h his natural son but bUl to S save si l e th the effusion of blood he lie sent a message C t this this to o his cousins Nelll Nelli and Morgan lor an offering to surrender to them all his hs lands h In Strathnaver If the they would ouM allow allo- him t to retain This offer was rejected and a n. desperate battle took place a at t near Tongue TonJ Among tho the slain were hero the tho beginners of tho the strife Angus Murray and his two sons law Neill and nd Morgan Macneill III When hen JUnek Died DiNt John the victor Jetor lost an armIn arm armIn armIn In the conflict After the battle Angus tho the chief caused himself to b be carried to the field flold ld to search for Cor the bodies of slain cousins when he wn was killed by an nut arro arrow from a Sutherland man who lay lav la concealed near the spot In 1413 Neill Was Wasse as e Mackay wits was re rei released released re- re leal leased d from confinement In the Bass am amon and andon andon on assuming tho the he b bestowed stowed on John for his attention to his father the lands of In fee cc simple which were long Ions possessed b b by his posterity that particular branch o otho of the tho called the tho can cai h. h or an an Neill leill n soon soon after his lima accession ravaged ra Caithness but be he died the same samo year car leaving two sons Angus and John Ro Roy Mackay Macka tho the latter founder of another branch called the tho ean ean- ean Ro Roy i |