McWilliam and McPherson

The Braes of Glenlivet

Some years ago I came across an interesting document in the archives of Aberdeen University library. It is titled “Notes respecting the Family of McPherson or McWilliam of Corries of Glenlivet in the County of Banff”, and was written by H. (Hugh) Duff MacWilliam of Hawthorn, Buckingham Road, Harrow View, Middlesex. I referred to some of his other work in a previous post, and I will refer to him again as HDM. The document is dated 1903. I don’t know much about HDM’s life, but he was born in Archiestown in 1859 – the son of Alexander McWilliam (of the Corries, Glenlivet family) and Jessie Ann McQueen, and he was a cousin of John Alexander MacWilliam (physiology professor also referred to in previous post).

This is a seven page hand-written document, presenting information extracts from a number of sources regarding people of the name McWilliam (or variations such as McKullie, McCullie, McVillie, Macwillie) and McPherson who lived in the Corries in Glenlivet. Glenlivet is in Inveravon parish, and HDM’s sources include parish registers from there, Banff Sasine Register, Elgin Commissary records, tombstone(s) at Inveravon Parish Church, the Inventory of Charters at Gordon Castle. The Sasine Register is an old form of register of feudal property title. The references are all from the years 1637 to 1750.

I am including reference to this here because I believe there is a link between the Inveravon McWilliam folks and my own well-established line at Glencorrie in Mortlach – and some onward links to branches of the family in Cabrach parish. I discussed my evidence for this in my last post.

The HDM document is mainly in tabular format, which is difficult to transcribe here. I attach a scanned copy (below) of the whole thing. Here, though, is a transcription of the long note at the end of the document, in which HDM makes some interesting observations.

“As illustrating that the name was formerly McPherson, there is a tradition that a certain John McWilliam (said to be a brother of Alexander and William first, of the family in Delgarvan) quitted Glenlivet and settled in Bracklach in the Parish of Cabrach some years prior to 1745 and that at the ’45 he paid a substitute to take part in the rising and dressed him in the MacPherson tartan.

The late Mr William McWilliam of Culmill, Beauly and formerly of Delgarvan stated in reply to an enquiry in the year 1884 that he had always heard that his family belonged to the Clan McPherson. It is also said that when George Macpherson Esq. Of Invereshie succeeded to the Ballindalloch Estate in 1806 he was desirous that all the McWilliams, McWillies or McCullies should if possible adopt the name Macpherson.  The Abbe (Paul) Macpherson (1756 – 1846), a native of Glenlivet states in his M.S. Memoirs that his ancestor was a certain John of the family of Macpherson of Phoness in Badenoch who removed to Glenlivet in the 16^th Century. Mr James Macpherson of Edinburgh, a scientist in Macpherson genealogy, expressed the view that probably from this John all the Macphersons in Glenlivet were descended.”

Some of HDM’s comments here suggest links between McPherson and McWilliam (or variations of the spellings, McVillie, McKullie etc), e.g. because of the fairly common occurrence of aliases (McPherson alias McVillie). I am particularly intrigued by the John McWilliam in the Cabrach who is reputed to have paid a substitute to take his part in the 1745 rising (and presumably fairly likely death), dressed in the MacPherson tartan!  

MacPherson is a historic Scottish clan, with an active clan association. I have checked with one of their vice-presidents (Alan G. MacP) and he tells me that he is aware of some of these uses of “aliases” and that this was all fairly common practice. “ Variations in Highland surnames were generally a means of distinguishing individuals by use of a patronymic that with usage transforms into a true surname.”

The bottom line for me is that I am not sure yet what to make of these MacPherson links. McWilliam is not a clan (or at least hasn’t been since the 13^th century or so), and maybe there were some attempts to encompass them within the MacPherson clan, or perhaps the Clan Chattan, which was/is an association of clans – including MacPherson, MacIntosh, Davidson and others, but not McWilliam. If you want a tartan we probably have more right to Gordon than any of these.