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CLAN EWEN:

Some Records of its History.

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DATE MlCriOriCHED '
FFR 8 199415 — \

PROJUCT and
FiChE ff

7L18 81 Os

G. S. j

QALLjf _ i

The Late R. S. T. AVacEwen.

BARRISTER-AT-LAW, LINCOLN'S INN, AND SOMETIME RECORDER

OF RANGOON.

6ENEAI..CC1CAL SOCIET'

OF UTAH
DEC 192B

//^57

Glasgow :

John Mackay, **The Celtic Monthly" Office,
I Blythswood Drive.

1904.

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY
35 NORTH WEST TEMPLE
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84150

MACEWAN TARTAN

PREFACE.

-»«I«<«

The following account of Clan Bwen is expanded
from a series of articles contributed some years ago
by the late Mr. R. S. T. MacEwen to the Celtic
Monthly. The interest taken in the subject led Mr.
MacEwen to make further researches, and at the
time of his death in June, 1900, he had almost com-
pleted his manuscript for publication in book form.
As the volume has been denied the benefit of its
author's final revision, errors may have crept in
which his more competent editorship and wider
knowledge would have detected. Yet it will have
served its purpose if it has in any way illustrated an
obscure chapter of clan history.

The attempt to weave together the scattered
threads of tradition and historical record by which
the history of Clan Ewen may still be darkly followed,
has not been easy. All the usual materials for a clan
history are wanting. A broken and disrupted clan
since the middle of the 15th century, it boasts few
authentic memorials and even fewer traditions of its
early history and subsequent misfortunes. The dis-
persed clansmen had no bard-senachies to crystallize
and hand down the story of their race, nor charter
boxes to preserve the record of past possessions and
spoliations. Even the customary wreath of legend

IV PREFACE.

and superstition has been denied to these * Children
of the Mist.' Some grim Privy Council records, the
genealogies and charters of allied or neighbouring
clans, some vague local traditions, — these are prac-
tically all the ' documents ' for a history of Clan
Ewen.

The Editor of these pages desires to record
his grateful acknowledgment of the information
and assistance ungrudgingty given by Mr. R. D.
M'EwExN, Glasgow; Mr. John C. M'^Ewen, Inverness;
Mr. John M^Ewen, Girvan ; and many others.

A. M. M.

History of Clan Ewen.

I. The Dalriada Scots.

THE ancient Clan Bwen or MacBwen of Otter,
Boghan na h-Oitrich, wliich once possessed a
stronghold of its own, was one of the earliest of the
western clans sprung from the Dalriada Scots. These
Scots were among the assailants of the Roman
province in Britain, but they did not finally settle in
Argyllshire till the beginning of the sixth century.
The year 503 is usually said to mark the commence-
ment of the reign of their , first king in Argyllshire ;
but little of their history is known prior to the found-
ation of the Scottish Monarchy in the middle of the
ninth century. Skene thinks they came more as
colonists than invaders. The first leaders were the
three sons of Ere — Lorn, Fergus, and Angus. These
were the representatives of three or four tribes who
frequently fought among themselves, and against the
Britons and Saxons. Historians are of opinion that
from 736 to 800 they were partly, if not wholly, sub-
ject to the Picts.

2 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

St. Columba, who was "one of them, established
the monastery of lona in 563 a.d. He was sprung
from the Royal House of the Northern Hy Neill,
while in the female line he was connected with the
Kings of Dalriada. According to Skene, the last of
the old abbots of lona of whom there is any notice died
in 1099, ^^^ thereafter, for upwards of sixty years,
there is an unbroken silence regarding the Monastery.
The Celtic Church had to give way before the invasion
of one of the religious orders of the Roman Church.
In the twelfth century, Somerled, who had lona for
one of his possessions, attempted to restore the old
abbey and offered it to the Abbot of Berry, but the
Abbot of Armagh and the King of Ireland disallowed
the proposal. In 1166, on the succession of his son
Reginald, the monastery was re-built on a larger scale.
Reginald is said to have been " the most distinguished
of the Galls and of the Gaels for prosperity, sway of
generosity, and feats of arms"; and the Church
benefited largely by these qualities. Adopting the
policy of the Scottish Kings he introduced to his
territories the religious orders of the Roman Church.
He founded three monasteries— one of Black Monks
in lona, in honour of God and St. Columba ; one of
Black Nuns in the same place ; and one of Grey Friars
(Cistercian or White Monks) at Saddell in Cantire.
It is of this later Roman Catholic Benedictine Monas-
tery and Nunnery,* and not of the Columban build-
ings, that the present ruins are the remains. The
Western Celts continued to be Roman Catholics till
the Reformation. But the original Celtic Church in
Columba's time was not the Romish Church as repre- '
sented at the present day. Columba stands forth as
♦Skene's "Celtic Scotland," Vol. II.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 3

the great founder of the Ionian Church, whence radi-
ated the light which penetrated to England and a
great part of the continent of Europe.

Somerled, Regulus of Argyll, was the leader of
the Scots in the middle of the twelfth century. He
was a son of Gillebride, and grandson of Gille-
Adamnan. Gillebride had been driven from the
Scottish Dalriada by the Norwegians, and applied for
help to his Irish kindred. He returned to Scotland
with his son Somerled and a band of followers, who
encountered and defeated a large force of Norwegians,
and seized their territories. In 1153 the Scots rose
against Malcolm IV., but Somerled was detached by
an offer of the Isles, while some of his chiefs were
imprisoned in Roxburgh Castle. In 11 64 he again
rose and landed at Renfrew, but he was defeated and
slain. He had married a daughter of Olave, the
Norwegian King, and left four sons, Dubhgal,
Reginald, Angus, and Olave. The eldest succeeded
to his father's possessions on the mainland, while the
second, Reginald, received the Isles, with the title of
King of the Isles. Up to 1222 Argyll maintained
semi-independence of the Scottish Crown, and it was
not till 1266, in the reign of Alexander III., that the
Hebrides and the Western Isles were annexed to the
kingdom.

Hill Burton says the Celtic races were Christian
when they first settled in Scotland, and had a literary
language and a written literature in their own tongue,
and were in a higher stage of civilization than the
Picts, the Britons, or the Saxons. As to their
religion, we know they were under the spiritual sway
of lona. Whatever the cause, there can be no doubt
of their success; they came, they saw, they conquered,

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

they settled and spread, and eventually gave their
name to the kingdom — Scotland.

II. The MacEwens of Otter.
Clann Eoghain na h-Oitrich.

Up to the thirteenth century these Scots were
divided into a few great tribes, corresponding to the
ancient maormorships or earldoms. Skene, in his
"Table of the Descent of the Highland Clans,"
divides the Gallgael into five great clans, from whom
sprung nine smaller clans. The clan system of later
times had not appeared before this date. From the
S iol Gillevray, the second of the great clans, he gives
the Clans Neill, Lachlan, and Kwen : Chiefs MacNeill,
MacLachlan, and MacHwen. He shows the Clan
Lamond to have sprung from Siol Eachern, although
elsewhere it would appear that Ferchard and Ewen,
the ancestors of the Lamonds and MacEwens, were
brothers. The genealogies given by Skene are taken
from the Irish MSB. and Mac Firbis. He considers
the later portion of the pedigrees, as far back as the
common ancestor from whom the clan takes its name,
to be tolerably well vouched for, and it may be held
to be authentic.

Referring to the Maclachlans, MacEwens, and
Lamonds, he says, "this group brings us nearer
historical times. They are sprung from Aodha Alain,
termed Buirche, called by Keltic De Dalan. This
Aodha Alain, or De Dalan, was the son of Anradan
and grandson of Aodha Allamuin (Hugh Allaman)'
the then head of the great family of O'Neils, kings of
Ireland, descended from Niall Glundubh, and the

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 5

fabulous King Conn of the one hundred battles."
Niall Glundubh lived between 850 and 900.

Aodha Alain, whose death is recorded in 1047,
had ^three sons : Gillachrist, Neill, and Dunslebhe.
Gillachrist had a son, Lachlan, who was the ancestor
of the Maclachlans ; Neill was the ancestor of the
MacNeills. Dunslebhe had two sons, Ferchard,
ancestor of the Lamonds, and Bwen, ancestor of the
MacEwens. The four were kindred tribes ; but if
Ferchard and Ewen were brothers, the Lamonds and
MacEwens were originally more closely allied to each
other than they were to the Maclachlans and Mac-
Neills. " These clans were in possession, in the
twelfth century, of the greater part of the district of
Cowal, from Toward Point to Strachur. The
Lamonds were separated from the MacEwens by the
river Kilfinnan, and the IMacEwens from the Mac-
lachlans by the stream which divides the parishes of
Kilfinnan and Strath Lachlan. The MacNeills took
possession of the islands of Barra and Gigha."*

The MacEwens possessed a tract of country
about twenty-five miles square, and could probably
bring out 200 fighting men. " On the conquest of
Argyll by Alexander IL, 1222, they suffered severely,
and were involved in the ruin which overtook all the
adherents of Somerled, except the MacNeills, who
consented to hold their lands of the Crown, and the
Maclachlans, who gained their former consequence by
means of marriage with the heiress of the Lamonds."*
But although the MacEwens suffered severely at this
time, a remnant survived under their own chief at
Otter, on the shores of Loch Fyne, where the last
chief died two-and-a-half centuries afterwards.
* Keltic, History of the Highland Clans, Vol. ii.

.6 HISTORY OF CLAN EWAN.

MacKwen I. of Otter, the earliest chief of the
clan of whom there is any mention, flourished about
1200. He was succeeded by Severan II. of Otter,
who was probably the chief of 1222. The names of
the third and fou'rth chiefs are lost. Gillespie V. of
Otter assumed the chiefship about 13 15. From this
date there were four chiefs ; Ewen VI., John VII.,
Walter VIII. , and Sufnee or Swene, the IX. and last
of the Otter chiefs. So late as 1750 it is recorded
in the "Old Statistical Account of the Parish of
Kilfinnan " : — " On a rocky point on Loch Fyne there
stood in 1 700 the ruins of Castle MacEwen (Caisteal
]\IhicEoghain), the stronghold of the earlier lords of
the Otter." On the same authority, quoted by Skene,
this MacEwen is described as the chief of the clan
and proprietor of the northern division of the parish
of Otter, and in the MS. of 1450, which contains the
genealog}^ of Clann Eoghain na h-Oitrich, or Clan
Ewen, the AlacEwens are derived from Anradan, the
common ancestor of the AlacLachlans and the MacNeills.

In 1431-32 Swene MacEwen, IX. of Otter, granted
a charter of certain lands of Otter to Duncan, son of
Alexander Campbell. In 1432 he resigned the barony
of Otter to James I., but received it anew from the king
with remainder to Celestine Campbell, son and heir
of Duncan Campbell of Lochow. After Swene's death.
King James, in 1493, confirmed the grant to Archibald,
Earl of Argyll, as heir to his father, Colin. In 15 13
the barony of Otter was confirmed to Earl Colin by
James V. In 1526 it was resigned by Earl Colin, and
granted by James V. to Archibald, his son and heir
apparent. In 1575 another Archibald Campbell ap-
pears in a charter as " of the Otter " ; and in the Act
of 1587 a Campbell is entered as "The Laird of

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 7

Otter." So that after the middle of the fifteenth

century the barony and estates of Otter passed and

gave title to a branch of the Campbells, and the

MacBwens became more than ever " children of the

mist."

In consequence of their desperate condition the

remnant sought new alliances, as a necessity of the
times. Some remained in their own neighbourhood
and joined the Campbells. In 1602 proof is allowed
to Colquhoun of Luss to show that a number of
MacGregors, MacLachlans, MacBwens, and MacNeills
were " men " of the Barl of Argyll, and that the Barl
was answerable for certain depredations committed
by them and specified in the complaint. Others
joined MacDougal Campbell of Craignish in Lome.
Some of the latter are said to have settled in Lochaber.
Besides those who joined the Campbells, some, no
doubt, allied themselves to other western clans, for
the name was common at one time in the Western
Highlands and Islands, especially in Skye. Other
colonies were formed in the Lennox country, in Dum-
bartonshire and in Galloway, while the name is common
in Lochaber in connection with the Camerons. This
sept was known locally as the " Sliochd-Boghain."
The Muckly family — said to be decended from the
Lome-Macdougal branch — and other families, , and
many bearing the name still in Argyll and the Isles,
are descendants of the old clansmen.*

III.— MacBwens as Bard-Seanachies.

To the men of Otter, broken up as a clan, and

bereft of chieftain and lands, the protection of a power-

*As an instance of the complete dispersion of the clan, Mr. H.
W. Ewen writes that his family have been settled in South Lincoln-
shire since 1500.

8 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

ful cliief became a desperate necessity. No doubt tbe
majority of them existed in other clans as fighting
auxiliaries, but there is evidence that a few of them
found more peaceful occupations. The position of
bard and seanachie was an honourable one, and the
dispossessed clansmen who obtained these posts suffered
no diminution of rank.

Mr. Lovat Fraser in his Highland Chiefs'' says the
MacEwens became hereditaiy bards of the Campbells ;
and from old chronicles it appears there were other
MacBwen poets and bards in different parts of the
country. One lived in Inverness-shire.

The Bard-Seanachies were important functionaries
and officers in the Celtic system, and the most learned
men in the clan. Originally, in the Druidical period,
they were of the priestly and second order of Druids,
and in later times they held a high place in the High-
land clans, down to the beginning of the eighteenth
century. They combined, in their own persons, the
offices of Poet-Laureate, Genealogist, and Herald of
Arms. They were educated in the science of genealogy,
and their work was preserved in the form of rhymes.
These they recited on important occasions ; just as a
Herald of the College of Arms, in the present day,
recites the titles of distinguished persons at great public
functions. The office was hereditary. Logan says of
them : " The Celtic bards were members of the priest-
hood, and no class of society among the ancients have
been more celebrated. . . . Whether we consider the
influence which they possessed, their learning or poetic
genius, they are one of the most interesting orders of
antiquity, and worthy of our entire admiration.
Their compositions commemorating the worth and

* The Celtic Monthly.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. ' 9

exploits of heroes were a sort of national annals, which
served the double purpose of preserving the memory
of past transactions, and of stimulating the youth
to an imitation of their virtuous ancestors." They
accompanied the clans to war, animating them by the
chanting of heroic poems, while each great chief was
constantly attended by a number who entertained him
at his meals, and roused his own and his followers'
courage by powerful recitations. "They also officiated as
a sort of aides-de-camp to the chief, communicating his
orders to the chieftains and their followers." "An im-
portant part of their duty was the preservation of the
genealogies and descent of the chiefs and the clan,
which were solemnly repeated at marriages, baptisms,
and burials. The last purpose for which they were
retained by the Highlanders was to preserve a faith-
ful history of their respective clans. . . . From their
antiquarian knowledge the bards were called * Sean-
achaidh,' from ' Sean,' old, a title synonymous with
the Welsh 'Arvydd Vardd,' an officer who latterly
was of national appointment, and whose heraldic duties
were recognised by the English College of Arms.
They attended at the birth, marriage, and death of all
persons of high descent, and the marwnod, or elegy,
which they composed on the latter occasion, 'was
required to contain truly, and at length, the genea-
logy and descent of the deceased from eight immediate
ancestors ; to notice the several collateral branches of
the family, and to commemorate the surviving wife or
husband. These he registered in his books, and
delivered a true copy of them to the heir, etc., which
was produced the day of the funeral, when all the
principal branches of the family and their friends
were assembled together in the great hall of the

lO HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

mansion, and then recited with an audible voice.
He also made a visitation called the Bard's Circuit,
once every three 3'ears, to all the gentlemen's houses,
where he registered and corrected their armorial
bearings. . . . Some of their awards of arms are of
as late a date as 1703. The Bard had a stipend
paid out of every plough land, and the chief was
called ' King of the Bards.' " ''

Dr. Johnson's sceptical spirit refused to be satis-
fied with the popular accounts of the bards and
seanachies. He professed to have made searching-
enquiries into their early history with very unsatis-
factory results. "Neither bards nor senachies," he
says, "could write or reiid:'—(/o7irney to the West-
ern Islands.) For this daring calumny he has been
brought to task by his critics. The Rev. Donald
AlacNicol in his Re^narks on Dr. Samuel Jo hnso7is
Jour7iey to the Highlands (1779), has some interesting-
remarks on the matter. He tells us that "the
AlacEwens had free lauds in Lorn in Argyleshire,
for acting as bards to the family of Argyll, to that of
Breadalbane, and likewise to Sir John Macdougall of
Dunolly, in 1572. The two last of the race were
Aime and his son Neil. I have now before me an
elegy upon the death of Sir Duncan Dow Campbell
of Glenurchy, composed by Neil MacEwen. The date
which is 1630, is in the body of the poem. How long
he lived after this I cannot take upon me to say, but
as there is nuich of the history and genealogy of the
family iutenvoven with the performance, he must
certainly have been both bard and sennachie." And
further on in the same book, he says, referring to Irish
Gaelic : " We have a striking instance of this in the
* The Scottish Gael, Vol. ii.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. IF

elegy of Sir Duncan Dow Campbell . . . composed
by the bard, Neil MacBwen, in 1630. This poem is
in many places altogether unintelligible to most High-
landers, though other productions of a much earlier
date, as being composed in the Albion dialectic of the
Celtic, are perfectly understood. . . . But MacEwen
was one of those bards who resided sometimes in Ire-
land. His poem is in the Gaelic character, and in his
own handwriting ; and it is still preserved among the
papers of the family of Breadalbane at Taymouth."

Mr. J. F. Campbell, in his Tales of the West
Highlands, furnishes an example of the work of one
of the MacKwen bard-seanachies from a MS. which
came from Cawdor Castle, and which contains the
following preamble : " Genealogy Abridgement of the
Very Ancient and Notable Family of Argyll, 1779 " ;
wherein the writer explains that *' In the following
account we have had regard to the genealogical tree
done by Neil MacEwen, as he received the same from
Eachern MacEwen, his father, as he had the same
from Arthur MacEwen, his grandfather, and their
ancestors and predecessors, senachies and pensioners
to great families, who for many ages were employed
to make up and keep such records in their accustomed
way of Irish rhymes."

IV. — The Lennox Sept.
MacEwens, Ewens, Ewings, Etc.
A considerable sept of the clan settled early in
Dumbartonshire, on the shores of Loch Lomond, and
in the Lennox country, owning allegiance to the
Stewart Earls of Lennox, who were descended from
Bancho, Thane of Lochaber, the ancestor of the Royal
line. As early as the tenth century the Scots occupied

12 HISTORY OF CLAN EvVEN.

Strath- Clyde, and Gaelic was the language from
Renfrew to Galloway for several centuries. It has
left its impress still strong in personal and place
names in that region.'" It is not astonishing therefore
that Arg3^1eshire Scots should at a later date migrate
to the shores of the Clyde and to Galloway. Gaelic
in time disappeared before the inroads of the Teutonic
language in the districts bordering on the Highland line
as it had done in the southern districts at an earlier
period. The people in a few generations lost touch with
the Highlands ; they no longer spoke Gaelic, they
were incorporated with the southern inhabitants, and
in character and sentiment they became a Lowland
people, although originally of pure Celtic descent.

The Lennox sept received grants of laud in the
district to which they gave their name. Between
1625 ^^^ 1680 there are at least four charters in which
successive Dukes of Lennox and Richmond are served
heirs in the lands of "MacKewin" and " M'^Bwin,"
as the name was then written. t But there is reason
to believe their advent there was much earlier. Ac-
cording to tradition, this sept, under a chieftain of
their own, sought the protection of Levenach, the
Celtic Earl, in the fifteenth centuiy. They are said to
have joined the standard of Mary, under Lennox, and
to have fought at Laugside in 1568, where they
received a banner which seems to have gone the way
of many other ancient clan banners. They were a
powerful race of men and a story used to be told in
connection with an old stone coffin which at one time
lay in the MacBwen burying-ground, that a man of

* Dr. Macbain in The Transactions of the Inverness Gaelic

Society, Vol. xxi.
t Report on the Public Records of Scotland.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 1 3

the clan carried the coffin under one arm, and the lid
under the other, from the loch to the churchyard of
Luss. A descendant of one of these families, who
died in 1898 at the age of seventy-eight, writing
in 1885, after referring to these traditions, said :
''These MacBwens certainly belonged to Dum-
bartonshire, on Loch Lomond, and had been there for
many generations. The name in olden times was
spelt with the a — M'^Kwan — and there was a paper in
the family tracing them back to the Battle of Lang-
side, where they won their colours (the standard
referred to) fighting for Queen Mary. All the old
tombstones not claimed by families living in the
parish were destroyed years ago, so there is no
memorial left of this branch of the old MacBwen
race."

Mr. Guthrie Smith, in his History of Strath-
endrick, has the following account of the Glenboig
family : " In 16 14 there was a charter granted by the
Duke of Lennox to William Neaubog, alias Macewin,
eldest son and heir of William Mackewin, alias
Neaubog de Glenbog Wester. In 1691 the proprietor
was James M'^Aine, called in 1698 James Macewan.
In the Valuation Roll of 1723 the following appears :
'John Williamson and Janet Ure, his spouse, their
equal share of the five-merk lands of Wester Glenboig,
£^6 14s. 4d. ; John Buchanan, maltman, and Jane
Ure, his spouse, their equal half of the five-merk lands
of Wester Glenboig, £\b 14s. 4d.' These Williamsons
(if the first Williamson was not himself a William Mac-
Bwan who changed his name after the fashion of the
time) appear to have succeeded the Macewans of
Glenboig. The greater part of the lands of Wester
Glenboig was afterwards acquired by Napier of

14 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

Eallikinrain. But in 1796 there was a William
MacEwan of Glenboig, writer in Edinburgh, who
received a grant of arms at that date from the Lyon
office. Netherton, the other division of the estate, is
(1890) farmed by Mr. James Ewing (another form of
the name), who belongs to a family who have long
heen tenants there."

There are numerous families and persons bearing
the clan name at the present day in Dumbarton,
Stirling,''''' Clackmannan, Renfrev/, Lanark, Ayr, on
the banks of the Clyde, and in the surrounding districts.
Mr. William M'^Ewan, late M.P. for Central Edin-
hurgh, the magnificent donor of the " M^Ewan Hall,"
belongs to a Clackmannan family. There have been
in the past, and there are now, several Ewen and
Ewing families of position and affluence in the Lennox
country and the surrounding districts — the Ewens or
Ewings of Craigtown and Keppock, of Glasgow,
Levenfield, Ballikinrain, &c.

V. — MacEwens in Galloway.

According to tradition, this branch of the clan

made its appearance in Galloway at an early period

in the middle of the fifteenth century, — about the time
of the dispersion from Otter. A descendant f of the
family of High Mark, Wigtonshire, furnishes the
following interesting account of the sept:

" The late Sir Andrew Agnew, in his history of

The Agnews in Gailozvay, states that about the middle

of the fifteenth centuiy the Laird of Lochnaw was

* The Stirlingshire branch is of considerable antiquity. Mr. R.
MacEwen, Clifton, informs us that in his family burying-ground in St!
Ninian's Churchyard, Stirling, a stone bears the date of 16 14.

t Mr. John APEwen, Girvan, Ayrshire.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 1 5

Ijesieged in liis castle, wliicli was then situated on the
island in the middle of the loch, by the retainers of
the Black Douglas, with whom the Agnews had a
feud regarding the Sheriffdom of Galloway. When
the besieged were on the point of capitulation they
were surprised to see, one da}^, that their enemies had
heen attacked in the rear by another armed force, and
they sallied out, and with the aid of their new allies
routed the forces of the Douglas. To recompense
these allies — who were the remnant of a broken High-
land clan called M^Ewen — the Laird of Lochnaw gave
them the tenantship of four of his farms — Knock,
Maize, Achnoterach, and High Mark — and their
descendants are in occupation of the two latter to
the present day.

"In a private letter to Mr. Robert M^Ewen,
R.N., in 1840, Sir Andrew Agnew, while recommend-
ing him to the Lords of the Admirality for a commis-
sion, states that he could recommend him not only
because he knew him personall}^ but also from the
fact that ' his family had been tenants on his estates
from time immemorial.'

** One of the family (a Covenanter) was shot by
command of Claverhouse at the village of Baor, in
Ayrshire, and was buried, and a headstone was erected
to his memory in the churchyard there. Another of
the family at this time was ruling elder of the Parish
Church of Leswaet, and through him the old church
Bible which Richard Cameron (the Cameronian leader)
had used and preached from, came into the possession
of the family, and is now in that of the writer.

" Early in the eighteenth century another of the
family, Andrew M'^Kewan, was killed by command of
the Earl of Cassils, for although

1 6 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

Frae Wigtown tae the town o' Ayr,
Portpatrick tae the Cruines o' Cree,

Nae man can get a binding there
Unless he court St. Kennedie.

M^Kewan was too independent to give up His farm to
a follower of Kennedy at the latter's request, and met
his death as the result. When tried for the crime,
Kennedy was ordered to pay the widow of M'^Kewan
a large quantity of cattle to recompense her for the
death of her husband. So much for the law and
justice, and the value set on men's lives in those days.
" At the time of the rebellion of the '45 Sir
Andrew Agnew took the field for King George,
accompanied by two dhuin vassals, John and Thomas
iNPEwen from High Mark ; while two other brothers,
Robert and Gideon, took the Jacobite side and fol-
lowed the fortunes of Prince Charles. The story goes
that when Sir Andrew Agnew was besieged in Blair
Castle, going the rounds one day he passed John
M^Ewen, and in looking out at the rebel forces he
also saw the brother Robert, the Jacobite. Turning
to John he said, * Jock, do you see Rab ? ' and on being
answered in the affirmative, he ordered him to * Shoot
the beggar,' a command which, it is needless to say,
was not carried out, for after all ' blood is thicker than
water.' This John M^Ewen aftenvards went to the
Continent with Sir Andrew Agnew, and was present
at the Battle of Dettingen, where Sir Andrew com-
manded the North British Fusiliers.

*' The grandson of John M'^Ewen, bom in 1766,
and also John by name, ran away to sea when in his
teens, and during his first voyage was pressed into
the Royal Navy, and for seven years was in active
service. When he received his discharge he sailed as

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 1 7

first officer of the privateer * Mary,' of Liverpool, under
Captain Thompson, who was mortally wounded in the
first engagement. Before his death he handed the
command of the vessel over to M'^Ewen, writing on
the back of the Letter of Marque, * From James
Thompson, commander, to John M^Ewen.' This
document, signed by the Lords of the Admiralty in
1793, is now in possession of the writer. After
making some prize money in command of the
privateer, M'Ewen bought the hull of a Government
transport, and after fitting her out sailed with a cargo
to the West Indies ; but on his return with a cargo of
sugar he was wrecked on the north-west coast of Africa,
losing all he had on board except his quadrant, now
in the possession of his great-grandson.

** Captain M^'Ewen left a son, Robert, who became
a marine engineer and was the first to erect a steam
engine in Russia, and was presented by the Czar
Nicholas with a cup for his services. He was awarded
the Isis Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Arts on
two occasions: ist, for his safe mercurial steam
guage; and, and, for his machine for hot pressing
lace goods. The cup and medals are also in the pos-
session of the writer. He received a commission in
the Royal Navy, and died at Monte Video in i860
on board H.M.S. ' Curacoa.'

*' In the old family Bibles, and in the burying-
place in Leswaet Churchyard, near Stranraer, the
name is spelt in various ways, as M'^Kewan, M'^Keown,
M^Ewine, M'Ewing, M^Ewan, and in later times
M'^Ewen, the form now generally adopted.

'* On the farm of High Mark, Leswaet, the names
of the fields are evidently of Gaelic origin ; and there
is also a cove on the shore called * Otter Cove,' pro-

iS HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

bably so named after the original home of the race.
In the days of the * Free Traders ' it was no doubt a
convenient shelter and landing place. A member of
the family who got into trouble over his * trading' is
said to have escaped to the Isle of Man, where he was
joined by his wife and family, and became the ancestor
of a family of the name in that island."

There is an old seal in the family showing an
oak tree springing into leaf again, with the motto
*' Reriresco " over it. It was used by Robert M'^Ewen
in his lifetime, but is of much older date.*

There are, besides the writer, other descendants
of these Galloway families."

VI. — MacBwens in Lochaber.

Sliochd Eoghain.

Keltic, in his History of the Highland Clans,
says the original seat of the MacBwens was in Loch-
aber. This must have been before the thirteenth
century, for we find them at Otter, in Cowal, in 1222;
when, with other western clans, they suffered severely
in the conquest of Argyll by Alexander II. Accord-
ing to the manuscript of 1450, the Siol Gillevray —
from whom theMacEwens, MacNeills, and MacLachlans
are derived— are descended from a certain Gillebride,
King of the Isles, ancestor of the MacDonalds. Skene
doubts the Gillebride genealogy, and favours the
descent from Anradan and Aodha Alain (De Dalan),
as given in chapter ii., *' but, nevetheless, the tradi-
tionary affinity which is thus shown to have existed
between these clans and the race of Somerled at so
early a period, he thinks seems to countenance the
♦ See post on the subject of these family seals.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWKN. 19'

notion that they had all originally sprung from the
;same stock." * The MacNeills were certainly vaseals
of the Lords of the Isles ; and according to Keltie,
the Camerons were connected with the House of Islay
in the reign of Robert Bruce, and their modem
possessions, Lochiel and Locharkaig, belonged to
the Lords of the Isles. They are said to have
•deserted Alexander, Lord of the Isles, for James I.
MacKenzie, in his History of the Camerons, also says
that the MacLachlans of Strath-Lachlan are said to
iDe descended from the Camerons and related to the
MacLachlans of Coruanan, ** and this may have been
the link which led Donald Dubh, the celebrated
* Taillear ' Cameron warrior, to Cowal when he tired
of a fighting life in Lochaber."t

It is curious that tradition should have associated
the three Siol Gillevray clans — which are western
-clans — with the Camerons in Lochaber — which is a
Moravian clan — if there was no connection existing
"between them ; and that Donald Dubh should have
£ed to and settled in Cowal, where the MacEwen and
the MacLachlan territories lay, if he was not sure of a
kinsman's welcome. Again, the name of Ewen is very
•common in the Cameron family. It appears as early
as 1 2 19, when Sir Ewen de Cambron, third son of
the fourth chief, is mentioned in the Chartulary of
Arbroath. Up to the close of the fourteenth century
the history of the Camerons is meagre and imperfect,
and the name does not appear again till we come to
Ewen, eldest son of Allan, the ninth chief This
Ewen became tenth chief (1390-96), and was the chief
in 1396 in the fight on the North Inch of Perth.

* Keltie, Vd. ii., p. 162.
• t History of the Camerons, MacKenzie.

20 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

Sir Walter Scott, in the preface to tlie 183 1 edition
of The Fair Maid of Perth, quotes an opinion
that Clan Qnhele of Wyntown were the Camerons
"who appear to have, about that period, been
often designated as MacBwens, and to have gained
much more recently the name of Cameron, i.e.,
crooked nose, from a blemish in the physiognomy of
some heroic chief of the line of Lochiel." They were
apparently known as MacBwens before they were
known as Camerons, but *' Camshron " (crooked nose)
must have been adopted as their name much earlier,
for in 1 2 19 we find the title Bwen de Cambro. From
the end of the fourteenth century for a long period the
name Bwen is common among the Camerons, both as
a first or personal name, and as a surname with the
prefix Mac. Since then, there have been four chiefs
of the Dame, of whom one, Sir Bwen Cameron, seven-
teenth chief, has a distinguished record. Among
younger sons, and sons of cadets of the family, there
are numerous Bwens. Bwen, the thirteenth chief, by
his second wife, Marjory Mackintosh, had a son, also
Bwen, the progenitor of the Brracht family, known
as "Sliochd Boghain." Bwen ** Beag," fourteenth
chief, met an early death. He had a natural son by a
daughter of MacDougall of Lome, Domhnull Mac-
Boghain-Bhig, Donald MacBwen Beg, better knowTi
as "Taillear Dubh," and Mac-Dhomh'uill Duibh (Black
Donald), a celebrated warrior. So successful was he
that he was suspected of a fairy origin, which gave him
a special charm, and he has been the subject of much
romantic history. He it was, who, getting tired of
fighting, retired for a time to a monastery in Cowal,
but subsequently returned to the world, married and
settled in that district, and left issue.^' The Rev.
* Mrs. Mary Mackellar's Traditions.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 21

Malcolm Campbell Taylor, D.D., Professor of Churcli
History, Edinburgli University, is said to be a
descendant of his — tbe name Taylor being derived
from "Taillear."

Keltie also bas it that after the breaking-up of
the Otter clan some followed MacDougall Campbell
•of Oraignish into Lochaber. Could this have been
the MacDougall of Lome — Donald MacBwen Beg —
whose daughter was the mother of the "Taillear
Dubh?"

In 1576-77 we find one — "Allaster M'Ewin of
Camroun," — applying to the Lords of Council for
release from the Earl of Athole, who held him and
others in confinement at Blair Athole. Again in 1598
there was a raid by the Lochaber clans on the Dunbars
of Moyness, which formed the subject of complaint to
the Privy Council, and among those charged are a
number of MacEwens.

But these are not the only traditionary and his-
torical instances of connection between the Camerons
and the Western Celts . According to the best received
Cameron tradition, the first Cameron, already referred
to, was a western Celt from Dumbartonshire. An
«arly tradition is that he was a younger son of the
Royal Family of Denmark, who came over in 404 to
assist Fergus II. ; that he married the daughter and
heiress of MacMartin of Letterfinlay, and thus acquired
the property and chiefship of the clan ; and that he
was called " Camshron," in Gaelic, from his crooked
nose.* The author of the Memoirs of Sir Ewen
Cameron and modem clan authorities, however, favour

• As to the way clan pedigrees were constructed in ancient
limes, see Skene's Celtic Sccftland, and Clans Fast and Present in
The Celtic Monthly for May, 1899, p. 148.

22 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

the later tradition, that the first Cameron was a Celt and
not a Dane ; and the chief has been handed down in
history as of Celtic origin. The '* crooked nose," as we
shall see, had no connection with a Prince of Denmark^
The later tradition will be found set out at length
in Mackenzie's History of the Camerons, Shortly
stated, it is this: — "The first Cameron was much,
renowned for feats in arms and prodigious strength,
marvellous instances of which are given. He entered
the lists with the most famous champions of his day.
In one of these encounters he received a violent blow
on the nose, which set it awry, and from this circum-
stance he was called * Camshron,' or Cameron, ' Knight
of the crooked nose.' The name was, therefore, not
Danish, or a first or personal name, but a Gaelic
sobriquet arising out of the injury to his nose." The
tradition proceeds : — ** Our hero was now arrived at
the thirty-fifth year of his age, and had given many
signal proofs of his valour, so that his name became
terrible all over the country. But having little or na
paternal estate, he began to think it highly necessary
for him to join himself to some great and powerful
family, the better to enable him to distinguish himself
more eminently than it was possible for him to do as
a single man, without friends or relations, or at least
such as were of little or no account. He had spent
his life in the shire of Dumbarton ; but as he had no-
family or inheritance to encumber him, he resolved to-
tr}' his fortune in the world and go in search of a
wife. He ^t out accordingly, and happened to light
on that part of the country where Lochiel's estate now
lies. Here he informed himself of the character and
circumstances of the chief who resided there, and
understood that he was a man of a large estate, and

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 23

liad a great number of friends and dependents, and
withal iiad a fair and excellent young lady to his
daughter. This was a foundation sufficient for our
Crooked-Nose Klnight to build his hopes and future
expectations upon. He made himself known to the
chief, and as his fame as a warrior and man of great
strength had preceded him, he was well received and
hospitably entertained. This chief was MacMartin,
Baron of Letterfinlay, and chief of a clan in Lochaber
at that time. In short, a bargain was soon struck for
the daughter, who was as well pleased as the father
with the offer of a husband so much to her liking ; for
strength of body, vigorous and sinewy limbs, and
undaunted courage, were in those days the best quali-
fications to recommend a man to the affections of a
lady. Having married the daughter and led the
clan in all their battles against neighbouring tribes
and enemies with conspicuous success, he eventually
attained to the chiefship." This is the story which the
Highland bards have recorded of this great progenitor
of the Camerons.

Here we find not a Danish Prince of 404, arriving
under kingly protection, and with an introduction
from Fergus II., but a Celtic adventurer, many cen-
turies later, from Dumbartonshire. Of his family
history nothing is stated, but he was without estate or
powerful relatives or friends. He was a soldier of
fortune, and he was successful. From the time he
assumed the chiefship, the Clan MacMartin and its
dependent septs became known as Clan 'Camshron' or
Cameron.

This chief was not only skilful in war, but was a
man of powerful physique and giant strength. Dum-
bartonshire in early times appears to have been the

24 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

home of Celtic giants. We have this Cambro able to
lift a 5oolb. stone with the greatest ease. In the New
Statistical Account of Scotland (Parish of Luss), we
are told it was a place of refuge for the Highlanders
from the earliest times. A powerful tribe of Celts
lived at Dumfin, where there are traces of an ancient
fortification. The chief, Fian M'Cuel, or Fingal, and
his associates are represented as giants, of whom the
most extravagant feats are related. An enormous
stone or mass of rock is pointed out, which, it is said,
Fingal, standing on the top of Benbui, took upon his
little finger to throw to the top of Shantran Hill, a
distance of several miles, but that not being rightly "^

balanced, it fell into a small brook midway between
the two ! Then there is the tradition of the MacEwen
giant who carried a stone coffin from the loch to the
churchyard at Luss — having the coffin under one arm
and the lid under the other. There is a curious .
similarity in these various feats of strength. Allowing
for the necessary amount of fiction attaching to legends
of the kind, we may fairly assume that these early
western Celts were a powerful race, so distinguished
for athletic performances as to render these worthy of
transmission in Celtic folklore. It seems not improb-
able, too, having regard to the Cameron tradition,
that Cambro was of this race of Celtic giants.

It is not stated when Cambro appeared in Loch-
aber, but it is evident that it could not have been so
early as the time of Fergus II. (404), nor even many
centuries later, nor yet so late as the close of the
14th century. It is more likely to have been in the
twelfth century. Originally the septs of Clan Chattan
and Clan Cameron followed the Maormor of Moray ;
and, according to Gregory, separated about the middle

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 2$

of the fourteentli century. Mackenzie points out that
Gregory, who agrees with the other authorities, states
that the Camerons, as far back as he could trace, had
their seat in Lochaber, and appeared to have been
first connected with the Macdonalds of Islay in the
reign of Robert the Bruce — that is to say, in the
beginning of the fourteenth century.

In 1396, according to MacKenzie, there were
four septs or branches of the clan, viz. : Gillanfhaigh
or Gillonie (Camerons of Invermalie and Strone), the
Clan Soirlie (Camerons of Glen Nevis), MhicMhartain
(MacMartins of Letterfinlay), of which Cambro had
been chief, and the Camerons of Lochiel. There were
also dependent septs, the principal being Mhic Gilveil,
or MacMillans. It is said to have been the head or
captain of the first of these, Gillanfhaigh (MacGillonies)
or Maclanfhaigh — 'Fhaigh' in its aspirated form being
represented by ' Hay ' or ' Kay ' of the Chroniclers —
who led the Camerons at the Inch of Perth.

Bancho (Shakspeare's Banquo), who was Thane
of Lochaber in the time of King Duncan, and was
slain by Macbeth because he was foretold that Bancho's
posterity would be kings of Scotland — a prophecy
which was fulfilled — had a sister Marion who married
Angus, the first of the Cameron chiefs of whom there
is any mention. From Bancho's grandson Walter,
Great Steward of Scotland — an office which became
hereditary and was turned into a surname — the Royal
Stewart family and the Stewart Earls of Leunox were
descended. Then, at a much later period, viz., in
1546, we find ' Bwen Eoghain MacAilein,' the 13th
Cameron chief, supporting the then Stewart Earl of
Lennox in his rebellion, for which he was tried and
executed. Here we have another instance of close

26 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

connection between the Lochaber and Dumbartonsliire
chiefs and clans.

All these traditions and historic incidents point to-
a very eariy connection between the western clans and-
those known at a later period as Camerons. If Keltie
and the historian quoted by Sir Walter Scott be
correct, the MacBwens in their early wanderings had
first settled in Lochaber, and were the progenitors of
the later Camerons. This would account for the name
among the Camerons as early as the 13th century.
Cambro was of the same race, and may have been of
the same tribe. The name Bwen, while it has been
common in the Cameron families and in Lochaber, is
rare among the neighbouring clans of the district who
were connected with the Camerons under Moravian
rule. It is not a common name among the Mackin-
toshes, or the other septs of Clan Chattan or the
Moravian clans. It is of western origin, and common
among the western clans. In later times, the families
of that name in Lochaber appear to have derived it, in
some cases, from the Cameron Bwens, according to
Celtic custom, for the " Sliochd Eoghain" were the
children and descendants of the first Bwen, chief of
Erracht. In others, it doubtless had its origin in the
later connection with the Macdougall Campbells of
Lome; and the " Sliochd Boghain" was probably
composed of the descendants of both.

The Privy Council Records afford further evidence
of this close intermixture of MacBwens and Camerons.
In 1576 we find Allister Dow Mc Allane Vc Bwin
Camroun and John Camroun, his brother, denounced
for the slaughter of Donald Dow McKewin. In 1598,
there was a complaint before the Council at the
instance of George Dunbar in Clunes and others

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 2/

against B\vne McConeill Vc Ewne Coneill of Blar-
maseylacli, John Badach Mc Vc Ewne of Errach, his
brother Ewne, Duncane Mc Martin of Letterfinlay,
and many other MacEwens, who are described as
" 200 brokin hieland men and someris, all bodin in
feir of weir." The charge against them gives a pic-
turesque view of the occupations of our ancestors.
Armed ** with bows, darlochs, and twa-handit swords^
steil bonnetis, haberschondes, hacquebutis and pis-
toletis," they are accused of having " come under
cloud and silence of night be way of briggandice " to
the house of the said George Dunbar, where they
committed sundry offences of which the discreet
historian need make no mention. Some years later
we find these MacEwens allied with the outlawed
MacGregors. In 16 12 there is an order to denounce
John Camroun Mc Vc Ewne in Errach and others
for refusing to concur with Lochiel against " the
rebellious thieves and lymmaris of the Clan Gregour."
Again, in the same year, several MacEwens are fined
for resetting and defending Clan Gregor. In the
following year there is a solemn proclamation against
Allan Cameron of Locheil for not taking measures
against the MacGregors, the preamble declaring that
*' he has made shipwraik of his faith and promisit
obedience, shaking off all feir of God and his prince
and reverence of the law; and preferring the mis-
chevious and unhappy course of his bypast wicked
lyff to godliness, civilite, good reule and quietness."
As associates in this " mischevious and unhappy
course of bypast wickedness " are enumerated several
MacEwens, whose affection for the 'lymmaris' of
Clan Gregor would seem to have been incorrigible.
In consequence of an old feud between the

28 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

Camerons and the Robertsons of Struan, Sir Ewen
Cameron, in 1666, marched with 80 men to Stnian's
lands in Kinloch, and raided the Robertsons. Among
them were two MacEwen Camerons, John and Duncan*
dhuine vassals. This formed the subject of a trial
before the Privy Council.

VII.— MacEwens in Perthshire, Inverness,

AND Skye.

From an early date, a branch of the MacEwens
appears to have been settled in Perthshire, probably
in the Kenmore district, and a curious legend is con-
nected with their early history. The original head of
the clan in Perthshire died, leaving two sons. He left
also a beautiful white horse, the possession of which
occasioned a dispute between the two sons. The
matter was decided by a singular test, namely, who
could roll a millstone down a certain mountain by
means of a straw rope passed through the hole in the
centre. The one son accomplished the feat and
obtained the horse. The other, being unsuccessful,
betook himself to Ayrshire, where he founded another
branch of the family.* However unsound the story
may be as a genealogical explanation, it points to
a traditional relationship existing between remote
branches of the family at a time when their early
origin was lost in tradition.

From Perthshire or' Lochaber the MacEwens
spread northwards. At an early date the name
appears among the Mackintosh genealogies. " About
this time (circa 1370) also lived Kenneth Macewn,
*This legend has been kindly furnished by Dr. David MacEwan!
^ho obtamed U m 1847 from an octogenarian soldier of the narre o
MacLwan.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 29

father of Parson. This Kenneth came from Lochaber
in Badenoch, and dwelt first at Tullocher. He was a
tenant and retainer of Lauchlan, laird of Mackintosh.

But his brothers, John, Murrach, and Gillies, came
thither long before that time. This Lauchlan, 8th
laird of Mackintosh, passed away from among the
living in the year of Christ 1407."* A daughter of
Ferquhard, 9th laird of Mackintosh, married Duncan
Mackynich vie Bwen (commonly called Parson). To
Malcolm, loth laird of Mackintosh (died 1470), Charles
MacKwen vie Volan subscribed for himself and his
posterity as hereditary servant. In 1569 the laird of
Mackintosh leased to Donald MacBwen alias Cameron
and John, his brother, the lands of Glenlui and Loch-
arkaig. In 161 8 there was a complaint to the Privy
Council by Lord Gordon against Sir Lauchlan Mac-
kintosh in the matter of *' a riot and tumult at the
ford of Culloden" to prevent Lord Gordon exercising
his right to collect the teinds of the parish of Inver-
ness. MacBwens were conspicuous among the followers
of Mackintosh, who, to quote the report, ** in a grite
rage, tumult, and furie, attacked Lord Gordon's poore
hairmless men."

A considerable body of MacBwens appear to have
been settled in Skye at one time. It is not stated
when their first settlement there took place ; but from
General Wade's Statement of the Highland Clans in
1 71 5, there were 150 MacBwens then in the Island,
who fought for King James in that year. The colony
may have been derived either from the Otter or
Lochaber families, or both. There is a tradition,
unsupported however by documentary evidence, that
1 20 of the Skye MacBwens fought for Prince Charlie
* Macfarlane' s Genealogical Collections (Scot. Hist Soc.)

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY
35 NORTH WEST TEWPlE
0201 qyc} SALT UKE CITY, UTAH 84150

30 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

at Culloden. If this be true it is curious that there is
no record of an event so comparatively recent. In the
List of Persons Concerjied in the Rebellion of 174^
(Scot. Hist. Soc), the strength of the clan in rebellion
is given at 5, and of the four MacEwens mentioned by-
name, two hail from Stirling, one from Perth, and one
from Dundee. The List is obviously incomplete, as
the total number of the clans is only given as 780.*

VIII.— The Clan Name.
The name Bwen is a distinctive, ancient, and not
ver}^ common name, derived from the Gaelic Eo^han,
meaning ' kind natured ' (latin Eugenius). Clan names
were derived from the personal or first name of the
ancestral chief, with the prefix 'Mac' In later times,
for special or fanciful reasons, the ' Mac ' was often
dropped, and the personal name became the surname.
This was more particularly the case when persons of
Highland descent, bearing clan names, settled in the
Lowlands. The name MacGregor is a good instance
of this change. When the clan name became pro-
scribed, the clansmen called themselves Gregors,
•Gregs, Doos, and other forms of the name. Mr!
Adam says: "two reasons have contributed towards
rendering obscure the origin of Highland names of
clan ongm ; the villainous and erratic spelling of
our ancestors, and the clothing of a Highland
name m a Lowland garb, either by dropping the
prefix Mac or by othenvise transmogrifying the
ongmal name.f A distinguished Gaelic scholar and
* In a note to R.dgauntkt, Scott says that he beheves that the
adventure ascnbed to Pate-in-Peril. in 1745, was actually undertaken
hy a gentleman of the name of MacEwen or Macmillan.

t What is my Tartan 1 Frank Adam, F.S. A., Scot.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 3 1

^writer on the subject points out tliat surnames 'largely
■depend on individual and local history, being subject
to local caprices and * pet ' changes.' In a work on
the subject he gives the derivation of this name as
.above stated.* It would, however, be ridiculous to
hold, at the present day, that all persons bearing a
•clan name are necessarily descendants of the old
clansmen. In the majority of cases they probably
are : in others the name may have been derived from
.a different source or taken by an ancestor for a 'special*
or 'fanciful' reason. In later times surnames have
often been derived from the Christian name of the
parent, as Mac William and Williamson. Some Mac-
Kwen surnames may have had this origin, or in some
instances may have been derived from Ian, Ivan, or
Kwan in the same way. But in the absence of family
histories showing the origin and course of a name, in
•each case, it is possible to treat the subject only
generally, having regard to the localities where the
name is common, and to any traditions or information
which connect it with these localities. Where the
name is of clan origin and still common in the clan
territory, and where septs and families can be traced
by tradition or otherwise from the original home to
•other localities where the name is found, while the other
names common to those localities are different, — in
iDoth these cases there is a prima facie presumption
that the name has been handed down from the original
source, and that those who bear it are the descendants
and representatives, — remotely, no doubt, — of the
immigrant clansmen. Clan Bwen was a small clan
"which was dispersed at a remote period, and therefore
the only means of identifying present day holders of
* Personal Names and Surnames in Inverness : A. Macbain.

2 2 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

the name is by tracing the old clansmen to the districts
and localities where the name survives.

Lord President Forbes described a 'Highland
clan' as a * set of men all bearing the same surname, and
believing themselves to be related the one to the other,
and to be descended froni the same stock.' Originally
Clan Ewen answered this definition — one which is still
true, subject to the above considerations. According
to Lower, surnames and the practice of transmitting
them to descendants came gradually into common use
in England as early as the nth and three following
centuries. Other, equally good, authorities hold that
not till the time of the Reformation did surnames
become established on something like their present
footing in England and the lowland counties of
Scotland, and at a later period in the Highlands, and
there have always been the difficulties connected with
spelling, to the confusion of antiquaries and genea-
logists. This name alone furnishes several variations,
viz. : Ewan, Ewen, Ewing, MacEwan, MacEwen,
McEwan, T^^IcEwen, Macewin, MacKewan, McKewan,
McKeown, McEwing, McAine, etc. The original
clan name, of course, is Ewen, and Skene and the
other authorities so spell it, and the later forms of the
name, and those most common at the present day, are
Ewen and Ewing, MacEwan and MacEwen, and the
abridged form of the two latter : K is the common Irish
form. The same variations in spelling have occurred
in places widely apart, as Argyll, the Lennox, Galloway,
and Lochaber, all of which are associated with the
clan. Sometimes i is used in place of a or e, in the
last syllable ; and where k has been used in early, it
has been dropped in later, times. Uniformity was the
last thing thought of: in the case of father and son,

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

or in the same family, it was not considered necessary.
As a rule, spelling was phonetic, and to this fact
may be ascribed the frequent introduction of the K;
rather than to any recent Irish connection. Bxcel-
lent examples are furnished in the Galloway and
Glenboig families. In the former the name appears
in the family Bibles and on the tombstones in the
various forms stated : in the latter we have first
Macewin, then in 1691 AIcAine, and the same man
in 1698 as Macewan, while the family history shows
continuous descent and succession.'"

X. — Evidence of Heraldry.

Heraldry is usually a safe and reliable guide in
cases of pedigree and enquiries into family histories.

* Uniformity in spelling was not practised by even the best
English writers, e.g., Dryden and Driden, Jonson and Johnson. An
ingenious American has discovered 4,000 variations of the name
Shakespeare.

24 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

There are nine grants of Arms by tlie Lyon Office in
Scotland to persons bearing the clan name. Six of
these are Ewings and three McEwans.

One of the earliest is Ewen or Ewing of Craig-
toiin, whose achievement appears on a tombstone of
1600 in Bonhill Churchyard. These arms belonged
originally to Br3^son of Craigtoun. In Nisbet's System
of Heraldry (1722), one of the best authorities on
ancient Scottish Heraldry, it is said that these arms
are carried by John Ewen, Writer to the Signet ; and
further on, with reference to Bryson of Craigtoun, that
"this family ended in two daughters : the eldest married
Walter Ewing, Writer to the Signet : they were the
father and mother of John Ewing, Writer to the
Signet, who possesses the lands of Craigtoun which
belonged to his grandfather by the mother's side, and
by the father's side he is the male Representer of
Ewing of Keppoch, his grandfather, in the Shire of
Dumbarton ; which lands of Keppoch were purchased
by a younger son of the Family, who had only one
daughter, married to John Whitehill, whose son
Thomas possesses the lands of Keppoch, and is
obliged to take upon him the name of E\vang."

These arms then came into the Ewen or Ewine

family with the lands of Craigtoun by the marriage
of Walter Ewen or Ewing, Writer to the Signet, with
the eldest daughter of Bryson. The arms, themselves,
throw no light on the family history of the Ewens or
Ewings : but the father of Walter Ewen or Ewing
was of the Keppoch family in Dumbartonshire. We
therefore find this much : (i) that the name was then
spelt both ways, and that Ewing or Ewen were
interchangeable : and (2) that the family belonged to
Dumbartonshire where the clan name was common.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 35

Again, all tlie arms of the later Ewings of
Keppoch, Glasgow, Levenfield, Loudon, and Balli-
kinrain, which are recorded, are founded on and
connected with those of the first Bwen or Bwing of
Craigtoun.

The three M'^Kwen families return similar results.
The Muckly family, in addition to its name and place
of settlement in Argyll, claims descent from the Mac-
Dougalls of Lome, who were joined by a sept of Clan
MacKwen of Otter. Macewan of Glenboig belonged
to the Lennox sept. M'^Ewan, Glasgow, belonged to
a Renfrewshire family of the same sept, descended, on
the female side again, from a daughter of Campbell
of Craignish in Lome. So that so far as name,
localities, and other circumstances go they all point, —
in the absence of other evidence, — to one and the
same conclusion, viz., that these families are descended
from different septs of the ancient Clan Bwen.

There is another circumstance of some importance
in this connection, which, although not having modem
heraldic sanction, is of the same character. In early
times, when writing was not an ordinary or common
accomplishment, documents of moment were attested
by seals. This practice was common up to 1540 and,
as Nisbet says, ' contributed much to the regularity of
arms.' It continued down to a much later date, and
for some purposes is still in force. These seals bore a
device, an animal, tree, shrub, flower, leaf, or other
symbol, and sometimes a motto. The devices, again,
in later times, became common to connected families
and persons of the same name who recognised a clan
relationship, until at last they have come to be spoken
of and used as * clan crests.' But their original purpose
was altogether different. Seals were handed down from

36 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

father to son or heir. In some instances the devices
were chosen as crests when a person of the name
took out arms. The case of M'^Bwan, Glasgow, is an
instance in point. His arms were granted in 1847.
The escutcheon displays emblems of his profession and
pursuits, while the crest and motto, — an old stunted
oak, putting forth new branches and fresh foliage, with
the motto * Reviresco,'— have been in use on seals by
MacEwens everywhere from a very much earlier
period. This seal has been used b]/ individuals and
families of the name in different parts of the country,
in Argyll, Galloway, the Lennox, Renfrew, Glasgow,
and other places, by persons who could only have
recognised a clan relationship and must, personally,
have been unknown to each other. It was evidently
the emblem of the clan ; a symbol of family kinship
and clan origin which testified to common misfortunes
and common aspirations. It was in use at a period
long before the modem fashion of ' clan arms ' and
' crests ' — a custom without heraldic sanction — came
into being, and was employed for purposes not of
show and display but of business. The Lyon Office '
is unable to fix the origin or date of these seals, but
states they are 'common to the name.'* So that this
quasi heraldic device is another link between the past
and the present of an ancient, shattered, but reviving
race. For this is what the device and motto signify.
It has been well chosen as an epitome of the history
of the clan. It is not uncommon to find different
families and members of different clans bearing the
same crest, but there is no other instance of this device
being carried except by MacEwens.

* See Note to Appendix.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 37

XI. — MacEwen Tartan.

Tartan has been the dress of the Celtic Highlander
and of the Lowland Clansman from time immemorial,
and particular 'setts' or patterns are of great antiquity,
but it has been found impossible to assign dates to any
of them. Distinctive clan tartans as now worn are
of comparatively recent date In a work on Clan
Campbell,* it is stated that *'the adoption of peculiar
tartans by entire clans is referable to the civil wars
of the Earl of Mar and Prince Charles Edward, as
the sources of the custom of wearing distinctive clan
tartans." Long before that time we know from Logan
and others that "every strath and every island differed
from each other in the fancy of making plaids, as to
the stripes in breadth and the colours, while family,
tartans were in a great measure dependent on indi-
vidual taste." Since the abolition of the Act against
the wearing of tartan, many old tartans have been
revived, and in the present reign many new ones have
been designed. The MacEwen tartan is a handsome
blue and green check, Math red and yellow lines alter-
nately on the green bars of the check. It somewhat
resembles the Farquharson and MacLeod tartans ; or
if in place of the white lines in the ' Campbell of
Loudon' red lines be substituted, we get the MacEwen
tartan exactly. The ground -work of the MacEwen
tartan is the same as that of the 'Black Watch,' which
was the original Campbell tartan. The MacEwen has
the double l>ack lines running through the blue
gi-ound as in the ' Black Watch,' the distinguishing
feature between the two being that for the black cross
lines (over-checks) of the ' Black Watch ' there is a
* The Clan Campbell : J. Menzies & Co., Edinburgh.

38 HISTORY OF CLAN EWBN.

red and yellow line alternately in the green ground of
the MacEwen. The colours are brighter in the latter
than in the former. In the work on Clan Campbell
above referred to we are told that *' the original name
of the * Black Watch ' arose from the tints of their
tartans, in which black and green predominated, as
they yet do in those of the Campbells. The majority
of the Western tribes, traceable all to one source,
adopted nearly the same colours, and indeed there can
be little doubt but that the distinctions now perceivable
are of comparatively recent adoption. The * Black
Watch' tartan contains all the really fundamental
parts of every variety of that species of garb. The
difference of hues and the intermingling lines and
divisions appear to be a later addition to the tartans
of the separate tribes, and should be ascribed to the
era of the later rebellions." The Campbells have had
and still have several different " setts " : Argyll,
Breadalbane, Cawdor, Loudon, Strachur, and there
may be others : but the late Duke of Argyll has
gone back to the ' Black Watch ' as the original clan
tartan. The similarity of the MacEwen tartan to the
* Black Watch ' and the ' Campbell of Loudon ' (red
in lieu of white lines) points to the early connection
of the clan with the Campbells, just as in heraldry
ensigns and cadences point to connection and distinc-
tion in families. In early times the tartan took the
place of the heraldic shield.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

* Scale of Colours in MacEwen Tartan.

Jth of

AN
INCH.

colours.

JthOF

AN
INCH.

COLOURS.

JthOF

AN
INCH.

COLOURS.

Blue

Green

Red

Black

Blue

Green

Black

Blue

Black

Green

Blue

Black

Yellow

Green

Blue

Black

...

For illustration purposes, suitable to the size of this volume, the scale of the

tartan frontispiece has been reduced to about half usual size,

such as would be worn for a scarf.

XII. — Summary.

The foregoing investigations and enquiries point
to the following conclusions : —

I. — That Clan Bwen or MacBwen was originally
a western clan, descended from the Siol Gillevray, one
of the Celtic tribes of the Dalriada Scots.

II. — That they possessed territory, and were
settled under a chief of their own in Argyll, on the
shores of Loch Fyne, from the 13th to the middle of
the 15th century, when the clan was finally broken up.

III. — ^That previous to the latter date they had
suffered severely in the wars of the times, and both
before and after the death of the last chief remnants

* This, and other information, has been kindly supplied by
Mr. John C. M'Ewen, Inverness.

40 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

souglit new alliances and homes in Argyll, the Lennox
Country, Dumbartonshire, Galloway, and elsewhere.

IV. — That at an early period of their history they
became connected with Lochaber, if it was not (as
Keltic asserts) their original settlement: that a second
incursion took place from Lome at a later period : that
the settlers became incorporated with the Camerons,
the principal clan in the district, and that the name of
Ewen has been common among the Camerons and in
the district from the earliest times of which there
is any record.

V. — That the name is distinctly of Gaelic and
clan origin, and that except where particular family
histories and other evidence point to a dififerent
conclusion, persons bearing the name and traceable to
the localities known to have been occupied by the
early clan, its septs and descendants, are of the same
race and probabl}'- sprung from the MacBwens of
Otter. In the Lowland districts the blood has mixed
largely with that of the Lowland inhabitants.

VI. — That, subject to the same exception, those
bearing clan names in Argyll and the Western High-
lands and Islands are presumably the descendants of
the men who joined the Campbells and other Western
clans, before and after the dispersion, in the 15th
century.

VII. — That those traceable to the Lennox
country, Dumbartonshire, the neighbouring Eastern
and Southern Counties and Galloway are descendants
of the Lennox and Galloway septs.

VIII. — That those traceable to Lochaber are more
immediately descended from the ' Sliochd Eoghain^
while those who settled in Skye may have had the

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 4 1

same origin or have been descended from the men of
Argyll.

The clan has had a hard and checkered existence
from its earliest days ; it was wiped out as a territorial
clan in the middle of the 15th century. From that
date it has been scattered in groups in different parts
of the country, the largest number having migrated
to the fertile regions of the South, where the clan
names are now more numerous than they are in the
Highlands. In this respect the history of the clan
is not exceptional. It is more remarkable that,
considering its early dispersion and subsequent
vicissitudes, it is still possible to speak of ' Clan
Bwen.' Few clans can offer such scanty material to
their would-be historian. Clan Bwen was broken up
as a clan during one of the darkest ages of our history,
when chroniclers were few, and such an event was too
common to excite their interest. In later times the
evidence of family papers and contemporary records
is singularly scanty ; even family and local traditions
—those unfailing resources of the clan historian— are
all but wanting. In other clans allegiance to a recog-
nised chief has been and still remains a powerful bond
of union ; but it would bafRe the patience of the most
unwearied genealogist to discover on whose shoulders
the mantle of the lords of the Otter has now descended.
More tantalising still is the absence of personal records.
Now and again some ancient document gives us a list
of names ; but what manner of men these were, of
what physical or mental complexion, we can but dimly
imagine. The scenes which the lurid light of Privy
Council records reveal to us tell of the licence of an
age rather than of individual character, and if there
were some who " preferred the mischevious and un-

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

happy course of bypast wickedness," there were others
— bards and senachies and honest gentlemen — who
sought "godliness, civilite, good reule, and quietness."
But despite lack of chief and lands and ancient records,
Clan Ewen still preserves — if not its unity— at least
a sense of union and clanship.

At the present time there are many bearing
the Clan name in Scotland and in England and the
Colonies. Some are men of affluence and propert3^ ;
many hold prominent and influential positions in
the learned professions, the army, commerce, and
agriculture. If the descendants of the ancient Clan
Ewen could be mustered to-day they would make a
a goodly show as compared with the " 200 fighting
men " of old.

^.'RSCTJK\,..V , .^t^aiiJsS^

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

APPENDIX.

Arms pertaining to Persons and Families bearing Clan Ewen or
MacEwen names, as recorded in the Lyon Court of Scotland.

NAMES.

EwiNG (on a tombstone in
Bonhill Churchyard, 1600.
Supposed to be Ewing of
Craigtoun).

EwiNG (Keppoch, County of
Dumbarton, descended of
Craigtoun).

Ewing (Glasgow, descended
of Keppoch).

Ewing (Levenfield, County
of Dumbarton).

ARMS.

Ewing (Loudon).

A chev. between three stars, with
the sun in base.

Ar. a chev. embattled az. ensigned
with a banner gu. Charged with a
Canton of the second, thereon a
Saltire of the first, all between two
mullets in chief, and the sun in his
splendour in a base of the third.
Crest: a demi lion ramp, in his
dexter paw a mullet gu. Motto :

Audaciter. dee illustration on page 33.)

Quarterly, first and fourth, as the
last, within a bordure az. ; second
and third, ar. a bend gu. between
three banting birds ppr. for Bontine.
Crest and viotto same as last.

Ar. a chev. gu. ensigned with a
banner of the second, charged with
a Canton az, thereon a Saltire of
the first, all between two mullets in
chief, and the Sun in his splendour
in base of the second, a bordure
indented, also of the second, charged
with three crescents of the first for
diff. Crest: a demi lion ramp, hold-
ing in his dexter paw a mullet gu.
Motto: Audaciter.

As the last, the bordure charged
with three mullets az.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

NAMES.

EwiNG (Ballikinrain, County
of Stirling).

M'EwAN (Mackewan, Muckly,
County of Argyll, descen-
ded of the Macdougals of
Lome).

M'EwAN (Macewan, Glenboig,
County of Stirling).

M'EwAN (Glasgow, of a Ren-
frewshire family, descended
on the female side from a
daughter of Campbell of
Craignish).

ARMS.

As Levenfield, the bordure charged
with three mullets ar.

Per fess az. and or. in chief a lion
ramp. ar. gorged with an antique
crown vert, in base a garb of the
first.

Ar. a Sheaf of arrows ppr. banded
az. between four roses in a Saltire
gu. Crest : a dexter arm coupled at
the shoulder, the elbow resting on
the wreath and grasping a scymitar
all ppr. Motto : Pervicax recti.

Az. on a fess ar. between a lion
ramp, in chief of the second, and a
garb in base or., a ship in full sail
on the sea between a thistle and a
stalk of sugar cane, both slipped
ppr., a bordure gyronny of eight of
the third and sa. Crest : the trunk
of an oak tree with a branch sprout-
ing forth on either side ppr. Motto :
Reviresco.

HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN. 45

IsTO T E.

All the Ewingarms are founded on those of the first Ewen orEwing
of Craigtoun. He belonged to the family of Keppoch in Dumbarton-
shire, and by marriage with the eldest daughter of Bryson of Craigtoun
obtained that estate and took the arms of Eryson. The other Ewings
obtained grants at different and later dates, founding them on those
of Craigtoun, with the proper heraldic differences. .

The Muckly (Argyll) and M'Ewen (Glasgow) families both claim
relationship to Lome families which were joined by MacEwens of
Otter. •

The Glenboig (Stirling) family belonged to the Lennox sept, as
also did M^Ewan, Glasgow.

M^Ewan, Glasgow, took for his crest and motto a device and
motto which had been common to MacEwans everywhere for a long
time previous, and had been used as a badge on seals, of which there
are specimens extant in MacEwan families. The Lyon Office states
they are 'common to the name.'

A coat of arms is the exclusive property of the grantee, and
descends to his eldest lineal representative. Younger children are
not entitled to their father's arms, but are required to 'matriculate'
them in the Lyon Court with their proper differences.

A modern practice has arisen of assuming 'clan arms' and
' crests ' : it has no heraldic sanction and is absurd on the face of it ;
because arms were originally the devices by which one person was
known from another when in armour, which would lose its purpose
if everybody had the same arms on his shield : it follows that
members of a clan are not entitled to use the arms of the chief.

On the subject of crests. Woodward in his work on Heraldry has
the following : " In Great Britain the crest has become the part of
the armorial insignia most generally employed. We find it divorced
not only from the coat of arms but from its helm, doing the duty of
a badge on furniture, plate, buttons, panels of carriages, the harness
of horses (and he might have added note paper). It need hardly be
said that all this is an entire departure from the original idea of the
crest as the ornament of a knightly helm ; and that to speak (as
people who ought to be better informed often do) of a whole achieve-
ment,— arms, helm, crest, and motto, — as " our crest," is as absurd
as it would be to call a suit of clothes a tiara." These crests are
really the work of the modern ' heraldic ' stationer.

46 HISTORY OF CLAN EWEN.

On the other hand individuals, families, members of clans, may
use a badge if they desire to use a distinctive mark. This was a
common practice in ancient times, the device and motto being
displayed in seals. Woodward says : " Badges were the earliest form
of hereditary insignia, preceding shield or coat armour, and commonly
used as seals. It was distinct from a crest, although family badges
were sometimes used as crests. It is described as a subsidiary family
ensign, occasionally accompanied by a motto, borne by adherents
(clansmen), dependants, or retainers. It is entirely different from
the species of badge, unrecognised by heraldic authority, which has
gradually sprung up among the Highland clans, namely a leaf or
sprig of some tree or shrub, usually carried along with two eagle's
feathers in the bonnet which the Chief wears."

The MacEwen badge was probably one of these old statutory
seal badges described by Nisbet, who says it was enacted by sundry
statutes that every Freeholder should have his proper seal. It had
to be produced when required at the head Court of the Shire, and
duplicates in lead were often kept by the Clerk of the Court for
reference in case of need.

A badge differs from an armorial crest inasmuch as the latter
nearly always rests on a cushion, whereas a badge has no cushion,
and the seals almost invariably bore the initials of the owner for the
time being.

A badge may always be used as a mark of distinction if people
desire it, but it should be distinguished from an armorial crest. This
badge is not a crest except in the single instance of M'Ewen,
Glasgow, who chose it for his own, and as such it belongs only to
his representative ; but as a badge it is common to all clansmen. As
such it is more interesting and valuable than any modern crest ; for
it is not a borrowed ensign or assumed plume, but an original,
ancient, and unique device, containing an historical epitome, which
crests do not.

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CLAN MACLEAN— A History of the Clan Maclean, from its first settle-
ment at Duart Castle, with a Genealogical Account of some of the Principal
Families, with their Heraldry, Legends. Superstitions, etc., by J. P. Maclean.
Maps, Portraits, Views of Battlefields, Castles, and Armorial Bearings. Royal
Svo; scarce, handsomely bound (new), published 25s., for 12s. 6d.

GAELIC NAMES OF PLANTS (Scottish and Irish), Collected and
Arranged in Scientific Order, with Notes on their Etymology, their uses. Plant
Superstitions, Clan Badges, etc., among- the Celts, with copious Gaelic, English,
and Scientific Indices, by John Cameron, Sunderland. New and Enlarged

Edition, Now Ready. Price 6s. 6d.

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS OF
SCOTLAND, by Donald Gregory. Exhaustive Index, 450 pages, los. 6d.
The most authoritative work on the Clans.

HISTORIES OF THE CLANS MACKENZIE, CAMERON, MUNRO,
ERASER. MENZIES, MACDONALD, AND MACGREGOR, gilt top, edges
uncut in separate volumes. 21s. each. CLANS CAMPBELL, MACKINNON,
CHISHOLM. MATHESON, FORBES. AND STEWART, 12s. 6d. each.
Works relating to all Clans in great variety.

HISTORIES OF ALL THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS kept in stock.
42nd. Black Watch, 6s.; 71st H.L.I., 72nd Seaforths, 73rd Perthshire, 74th
Highlanders, and 92nd Gordons. 8s. 6d. each ; 79th Camerons, 6s. and 12s. 6d. ;
■91st Argyll and 93rd Sutherland, published 30s., now for lOs. each. These
volumes are all new and handsomely bound in cloth, with coloured plates,
collotvpe or engraved illustrations.

SETTLEMENT OF SCOTTISH HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA AND
CANADA, prior to the peace of 1783, together with Notices of Highland
(Scottish) Regiments and Biographical Sketches, by J. P. Maclean, Ph.D.,
author of "The History of the Clan Maclean." Royal 8vo, cloth, illustrated,
15s., post free.

THE CELTIC LYRE, by Fionn. A Collection of Gaelic Songs, with
English Translations. Music in both Notations, F'cap 4to, cloth, gilt lettering,
3s. 6d. This delightful volume contains the words and music (in Tonic and
Sol-fa Notations) of sixty-eight of our choicest Highland Melodies. Each song
has an excellent English translation, which can be sung to the original music.
The collection includes love songs, laments, marching songs, boat songs, war
songs, etc.

CLAN MACRAE.— History and Genealogy of the Clan Macrae, by the
Rev. Alex. Macrae, B.A., London, with numerous illustrations of places of
Clan Interest, Coats of Arms, Map of Macrae Country, Traditions, Poetry,
Antiquities, Folklore, etc., of the Clan. Royal Svo, cloth, gilt, 446 pages,
published 21s., now for 16s.

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0201373

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