The Tale of Clan Gregor (MacGregor)

 Today I was able to connect my daughter-in-law's McGregors to a line in FamilySearch.org going back through the famous outlaw (or folk hero) Rob Roy McGregor to early kings of the Scots and Picts in the 700s AD.

I noticed that some of the McGregor and Stewart lines go back through Buchanan Parish in Stirlingshire. As I was recording information on the family of Andrew Stewart, I thought that Buchanan castle would have been a familiar landmark in their everyday lives.

The story of Clan McGregor has always interested me. A major turning point was the Battle of Glen Fruin, often referred to as "the last clan battle". Of the many versions of the story, this is perhaps the simplest:

The McGregors and Colquhouns/Cahoons occupied nearby territories along Loch Lomond (west of Buchanan Parish). Two McGregors found themselves deep in Cahoon territory and slaughtered a sheep for supper. Their action was reported and trouble ensued. A posse was raised by the Laird Colquhoun of Luss to arrest the criminals. But the pursued men reached home quickly and the McGregors decided that no one was going to lynch two McGregors for having supper at Colquhoun expense. When the two small armies met, the numbers should have favored the Colquhouns who had more horsemen. But the McGregors lured them into a swamp, where the horses became mired in the deep mud. The McGregors won a total victory on the field of battle. But Luss appealed to the king, and told his version of the story. 

"In April 1603 James VI of Scotland issued an edict that proclaimed the name of MacGregor as "altogidder abolisheed". This meant that anyone who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death. In 1604, MacGregor [the clan chief] and eleven of his chieftains were hanged at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh. As a result, the Clan Gregor was scattered, with many taking other names such as Murray or Grant They were hunted like animals and flushed out of the heather by bloodhounds." [from Wikipedia] 

This situation seems to have improved somewhat over the  2oo years until Clan Gregor was again legalized. Until then, it was not easy being a McGregor.

I hope you enjoyed this story of the McGregor/Gregor Clan. 

If it interests you, please share it with your family.

Bill/Dad