MacKintosh of Finegand

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MACKINTOSHES OF FINEGAND IN GLENSHEE

AND FORTER IN GLENISLA

ALIAS MACTHOMIES.

According to the MS. History of the Mackintoshes by Lachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara, written about 1670-80, the ancestor of the "Mackintoshes of Glenshee, Strathardle, and Glenisla" was a natural son of William, the seventh chief, by name Adam, whose period would be in the second half of the 14th century. Among the Mackintoshes thus specified must obviously be included those dealt with in this sketch, who when Kinrara wrote were at Forter in Glenisla and had previously been at Finegand in Glenshee. It may be a question whether in speaking of the Mackintoshes " of Glenshee " the MS. writer meant to indicate this family only, or whether he included the Dalmunzie family at the extreme head of the glen; the latter alternative would of course suggest a new opening for speculation as to the origin of the Dalmunzie family.

The other Mckintoshes referred to, those in Strathardle, were presumably an offshoot of one of the Glenshee families, and may have been either the Ballachraggan family, or, more likely, a family of Mackintoshes who from the middle of the 17th century, when Kinrara managed the clan affairs, down to 1742 were at Inverchroskie and Easter Ennoch as wadsetters.

The Mackintoshes who moved from Glenshee to Glenisla had the alias McThomie * (McHomie or McComie, son of Thomas) at one time perhaps McComie Mhor probably to distinguish them from the neighbouring Mackintosh families at Dalmunzie and Cams, known respectively as McRichies and McInilies. It is possible that the sept may have been known collectively as Clan McThomas, as seems to be assumed by the historian of the McCombies; but this is not certain, as will be shown hereafter. Like the eponymus of the MacRichie Mackintoshes, the Thomas who gave rise to their " alias " cannot now be traced, but perhaps the name of one of the parties to "Clan Chattan's Band" in 1543 may afford a clue to his identity.

On 2 May in that year, in order apparently to add weight to a band of manrent which the 15th chief of Mackintosh had agreed to give to the Earl of Huntly and which he actually signed ten days later some more or less prominent men of the Clan Chattan solemnly bound themselves to renounce their dependence on the chief in the event of his failing to carry out his engagements to the Earl, and among the names is that of "Aye McAne McThomas "Adam son of John son of Thomas.! Spald. The conjunction of names suggests the probability that the Thomas who here appears as grandfather of Adam or Aye in 1543 was a descendant of Kinrara's Adam of the 14th century and the person from whom the McComie Mackintoshes derived their alternative surname. This person, whoever he was, was " Mor " i.e. big, large, as appears from the feu charter of Finegand in 1571 to his descendant " John McComy Woir," the word in italics, a phonetic rendering of the genitive " mhor," qualifying the patronymic, and thus showing that the charter is to John son of Big Thomas. Bodily size and strength appear to have been characteristic of the race from big Thomas down to his descendants the McCombies of our own time, while in Kinrara's English MS. their alleged remote ancestor the 7th Mackintosh chief is said to have been " of stature somewhat higher than the ordinary, of a lean body, and of great strength."

Kinrara says that Adam, natural son of William the 7th chief, " dwelt first in Atholl, and thereafter removed to Garvamore in Brae Badenoch." This receives some confirmation from the record of Sir ,Æneas Macpherson in The, Loyall Dissasive that John Mackintosh of Forter, who fought for King Charles 1. in the great Civil War, told him that his predecessor was of " the house of Garvamore in Badenoch." * These statements may be thought to some extent to strengthen the suggestion made in the preceding paragraph, in as much as Garvamore was in Huntly's lordship of Badenoch, and Aye McAne McThomas in 1543 may have joined in Clan Chattan's Band as being a vassal of Huntly although a clansman of Mackintosh. But, however this may be, and whether Thomas the grandfather of Aye in 1543 was or was not the eponymus of the McComie-Mackintoshes, it is clear that soon after 1543 the family had representatives in Glenshee.!

Mr. McCombie Smith, previously referred to as the historian of the McCombies, gives some particulars of a feu charter of the four merk lands of Finegand and shealing of Glenbeg, granted by Thomas Scot of Pitgorno at Abbotshall 7 Sept. * Loyall Dissunsive (Scott. Hist. Soc.), p. 44.

Sir Æneas, however, rather audaciously claims the McCommies " and " all the other Mackintoshes in the South " as Macphersons, on the strength of their having lived at Garvamore, where, he says, " never a Mackintosh trended till this our age otherwise than as a guest or passenger." But Perhaps he did not know that the Mackintoshes were seneschals (" toiseachs`) of Badenoch in and before the l5th century, and from 1481 actually had charter rights to the country at the head of Loch Laggan, a district which Garvamore adjoined and in which at one time it may even have been included (see Spald. Club Misc. iv. Pref. xxvii; Chartulary of Moray, 99 ; also Mackintoshes and Clan Chattan, 15). And if, as he says, "all the McIntoshes in the south.....tho' by ane unaccountable mistake they bear their [the Mackintoshes'] name have our the {Macphersons'} nature and constantlie from age to age loved us better than them," how would he account for the facts that the heads of the two leading families of those Mackintoshes in 1595 joined in a solemn oath " upon the holy evangels " that they would faithfully serve and defend the chief of Mackintosh " as their natyiff cheiff," and that their descendants even in his own time a century later were found carrying out this obligation ?

But arguing against the flights of imagination of the ingenious Sir. Æneas Macpherson," as Douglas calls him in the Baronage, is like wrestling with a shadow; this claim of the "McCommies and all other Mackintoshes in the South" is obviously much on a par with other claims made by him, notably that which assigns " all of the name of Smith in Scotland " to the Macphersons, as descendants of a son of the shadowy Muirich the "Parson." To use his own words in Vanitie Exposed, such " groundless and positive assertions . . . merits no other treatment but to be laughed at, and rejected by all men of sense and judgement as the spurious issue of a thoughtless brain."

1568, in favour, of John McComy Woir, Janet Rattray his wife, and John McComly Woir * junior, and also of a new charter to them, dated 9 Sept. 1571, of the same lands and shealing, with the addition in favour of the younger John of the lands and shealing place of Cronaherrich in Glenbeg Fam.. of McCombie and Thoms, 6, 17,198-9. In these charters the McComies are stated to have been tenants and occupiers of the lands from of old ab antiquo but although this does not necessarily imply occupation for more than a few years, it is evident that the family had been in the district for some time before 1568, and if Mr. McCombie Smith is correct in his identification of them as the persons indicated by the name " Clan McThomas in Glensche," who appear together with the Fergussons and Spaldings and the Mackintoshes in Atholl in an Act of Parliament of 1587, and by the name " McThomas " among the same neighbours and the Farquharsons of Braemar in another Act of 1594,! it would appear that they and their following were already in some strength.

But this identification cannot be regarded as absolute, in as much as at the same period there were in Glenshee a number of Mackenzies with the alias " McComas " or " McThomas," and it is quite possible that these were the McThomases indicated in the Acts, the McComies being included among the " Mackintoschies in Athole "; or even that the " Clan McThomas " was intended to include both the Mackintosh McComies " and the Mackenzie " McComases. "+

* Mr. McCombie Smith has " Moir," instead of " Woir," or " Vvoir," as it was written.

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	Clan of the Cat \| home Site Index \| Early Clan History \| History \| History Cont. \| Yet Another Version \| Mackintosh Chiefs \| Sept Clans of MacKintosh \| MacKintosh Battles \| MacKintosh of Glenshee \| Dalmunzie MacKintoshes \| MacKintosh of Ballachraggan \| MacKintosh of Finegand \| MacKintosh of Cams \| MacThomas-Mackintosh's \| McCombie-Mackintosh's \| Mackintoshs of Atholl \| MacKintosh of Kyllachy \| McIntosh of Holm \| Mackintosh of Farr \| Mackintosh of Dunkeld \| McIntosh in NA. \| Mackintosh Provosts \| Col Anne MacKintosh \| Chief Wm. McIntosh \| Charles Rennie Mackintosh \| Charles Macintosh Inventor \| Wm Mackintosh of Borlum \| John Mohr Mackintosh \| Gen. Lachlan Mackintosh \| Ewart Alan Mackintosh \| Robert Mackintosh \| Sir James Mackintosh 1765 \| Donald McIntosh \| Clan Chattan \| Clan Shaw \| Tartans \| Arms & Clan Crest \| Books about Mackintosh \| Clan MacKintosh NA \| Related Links \| Web Awards MacKintosh of Finegand MACKINTOSHES OF FINEGAND IN GLENSHEE AND FORTER IN GLENISLA ALIAS MACTHOMIES. According to the MS. History of the Mackintoshes by Lachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara, written about 1670-80, the ancestor of the "Mackintoshes of Glenshee, Strathardle, and Glenisla" was a natural son of William, the seventh chief, by name Adam, whose period would be in the second half of the 14th century. Among the Mackintoshes thus specified must obviously be included those dealt with in this sketch, who when Kinrara wrote were at Forter in Glenisla and had previously been at Finegand in Glenshee. It may be a question whether in speaking of the Mackintoshes " of Glenshee " the MS. writer meant to indicate this family only, or whether he included the Dalmunzie family at the extreme head of the glen; the latter alternative would of course suggest a new opening for speculation as to the origin of the Dalmunzie family. The other Mckintoshes referred to, those in Strathardle, were presumably an offshoot of one of the Glenshee families, and may have been either the Ballachraggan family, or, more likely, a family of Mackintoshes who from the middle of the 17th century, when Kinrara managed the clan affairs, down to 1742 were at Inverchroskie and Easter Ennoch as wadsetters. *The Mackintoshes who moved from Glenshee to Glenisla had the alias McThomie (McHomie or McComie, son of** Thomas) at one time perhaps McComie Mhor probably to distinguish them from the neighbouring Mackintosh families at Dalmunzie and Cams, known respectively as McRichies and McInilies. It is possible that the sept may have been known collectively as Clan McThomas, as seems to be assumed by the historian of the McCombies; but this is not certain, as will be shown hereafter. Like the eponymus of the MacRichie Mackintoshes, the Thomas who gave rise to their " alias " cannot now be traced, but perhaps the name of one of the parties to "Clan Chattan's Band" in 1543 may afford a clue to his identity. On 2 May in that year, in order apparently to add weight to a band of manrent which the 15th chief of Mackintosh had agreed to give to the Earl of Huntly and which he actually signed ten days later some more or less prominent men of the Clan Chattan solemnly bound themselves to renounce their dependence on the chief in the event of his failing to carry out his engagements to the Earl, and among the names is that of "Aye McAne McThomas "Adam son of John son of Thomas.! Spald. The conjunction of names suggests the probability that the Thomas who here appears as grandfather of Adam or Aye in 1543 was a descendant of Kinrara's Adam of the 14th century and the person from whom the McComie Mackintoshes derived their alternative surname. This person, whoever he was, was " Mor " i.e. big, large, as appears from the feu charter of Finegand in 1571 to his descendant " John McComy Woir," the word in italics, a phonetic rendering of the genitive " mhor," qualifying the patronymic, and thus showing that the charter is to John son of Big Thomas. Bodily size and strength appear to have been characteristic of the race from big Thomas down to his descendants the McCombies of our own time, while in Kinrara's English MS. their alleged remote ancestor the 7th Mackintosh chief is said to have been " of stature somewhat higher than the ordinary, of a lean body, and of great strength." Kinrara says that Adam, natural son of William the 7th chief, " dwelt first in Atholl, and thereafter removed to Garvamore in Brae Badenoch." This receives some confirmation from the record of Sir ,Æneas Macpherson in The, Loyall Dissasive that John Mackintosh of Forter, who fought for King Charles 1. in the great Civil War, told him that his predecessor was of " the house of Garvamore in Badenoch." * These statements may be thought to some extent to strengthen the suggestion made in the preceding paragraph, in as much as Garvamore was in Huntly's lordship of Badenoch, and Aye McAne McThomas in 1543 may have joined in Clan Chattan's Band as being a vassal of Huntly although a clansman of Mackintosh. But, however this may be, and whether Thomas the grandfather of Aye in 1543 was or was not the eponymus of the McComie-Mackintoshes, it is clear that soon after 1543 the family had representatives in Glenshee.! Mr. McCombie Smith, previously referred to as the historian of the McCombies, gives some particulars of a feu charter of the four merk lands of Finegand and shealing of Glenbeg, granted by Thomas Scot of Pitgorno at Abbotshall 7 Sept. * Loyall Dissunsive (Scott. Hist. Soc.), p. 44. Sir Æneas, however, rather audaciously claims the McCommies " and " all the other Mackintoshes in the South " as Macphersons, on the strength of their having lived at Garvamore, where, he says, " never a Mackintosh trended till this our age otherwise than as a guest or passenger." But Perhaps he did not know that the Mackintoshes were seneschals (" toiseachs`) of Badenoch in and before the l5th century, and from 1481 actually had charter rights to the country at the head of Loch Laggan, a district which Garvamore adjoined and in which at one time it may even have been included (see Spald. Club Misc. iv. Pref. xxvii; Chartulary of Moray, 99 ; also Mackintoshes and Clan Chattan, 15). And if, as he says, "all the McIntoshes in the south.....tho' by ane unaccountable mistake they bear their [the Mackintoshes'] name have our the {Macphersons'} nature and constantlie from age to age loved us better than them," how would he account for the facts that the heads of the two leading families of those Mackintoshes in 1595 joined in a solemn oath " upon the holy evangels " that they would faithfully serve and defend the chief of Mackintosh " as their natyiff cheiff," and that their descendants even in his own time a century later were found carrying out this obligation ? But arguing against the flights of imagination of the ingenious Sir. Æneas Macpherson," as Douglas calls him in the Baronage, is like wrestling with a shadow; this claim of the "McCommies and all other Mackintoshes in the South" is obviously much on a par with other claims made by him, notably that which assigns " all of the name of Smith in Scotland " to the Macphersons, as descendants of a son of the shadowy Muirich the "Parson." To use his own words in Vanitie Exposed, such " groundless and positive assertions . . . merits no other treatment but to be laughed at, and rejected by all men of sense and judgement as the spurious issue of a thoughtless brain." 1568, in favour, of John McComy Woir, Janet Rattray his wife, and John McComly Woir * junior, and also of a new charter to them, dated 9 Sept. 1571, of the same lands and shealing, with the addition in favour of the younger John of the lands and shealing place of Cronaherrich in Glenbeg Fam.. of McCombie and Thoms, 6, 17,198-9. In these charters the McComies are stated to have been tenants and occupiers of the lands from of old ab antiquo but although this does not necessarily imply occupation for more than a few years, it is evident that the family had been in the district for some time before 1568, and if Mr. McCombie Smith is correct in his identification of them as the persons indicated by the name " Clan McThomas in Glensche," who appear together with the Fergussons and Spaldings and the Mackintoshes in Atholl in an Act of Parliament of 1587, and by the name " McThomas " among the same neighbours and the Farquharsons of Braemar in another Act of 1594,! it would appear that they and their following were already in some strength. But this identification cannot be regarded as absolute, in as much as at the same period there were in Glenshee a number of Mackenzies with the alias " McComas " or " McThomas," and it is quite possible that these were the McThomases indicated in the Acts, the McComies being included among the " Mackintoschies in Athole "; or even that the " Clan McThomas " was intended to include both the Mackintosh McComies " and the Mackenzie " McComases. "+ * Mr. McCombie Smith has " Moir," instead of " Woir," or " Vvoir," as it was written. Click here for more history on the Finegand Branch: Finegand Cont. Finegand 3 Finegand 4 Finegand 5 Finegand 6 Finegand 7 Finegand 8 Finegand 9 Or Goto: MacKintosh of Cams For MacKintosh, Chattan or any of the sept tartans and clan regalia please visit... Gaelic Dreams Imports A full line supplier of Scottish & Irish Imports