Caithness (Gunn) Family History by John Henderson W.S; including Braemore Gunns
I believe the following to be out of copyright... MDCCCLXXXIV!
For further details see http://www.archive.org/stream/caithnessfamilyh00henduoft/caithnessfamilyh00henduoft_djvu.txt
1) THE SINCLAIRS OF ASSERY. The Sinclairs of Janet Gordon, widow of James Sutherland of Assery. -.-, Forse. John Sinclair's second wife was Margaret Davidson, who is traditionally supposed to have been of the Davidsons in Achingills or Buckies, and by her he had
1. John Sinclair, first of Lybster. 2. William, who, in 1670, held the wadset of Forsie, and who was afterwards in Ulgrimbeg and Ulgrimore. He married Jean, daughter of William Sinclair of Dun, and had two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. The former married, in 1705, Donald Gunn in Achalibster. (Achlibster?)
2) THE SINCLAIRS OF STIRKOKE.
The Sinclairs of Occumster, granted a disposition to Francis Sinclair, whose mother, if Captain Kennedy's account is correct, was perhaps of this family. Francis Sinclair married Margaret Williamson, and had three sons and two daughters :
1. Francis, his successor. 2. John. 3. Gustavus. 1. Marjory, who was the fifth wife of Donald, first Lord Reay, by whom he had three sons, William of Kinloch, Charles of Sandwood, and Rupert ; and two daughters, Margaret, who died in Thurso in 1720, and Christian, who married, in 1650, Alexander Gunn of Killernan (Clan Gunn), and was in 1668 infeft in liferent in lands of Navidale, etc., on disposition by her husband.
3) THE BUDGES OF TOFTINGALL.
The Budges of a son, Donald, who was called " Gallach," from his having been fostered in Caithness, by his mother's relations of the Clan Gunn, to which she belonged. Donald Gallach's grandfather, Alexander, died in 1449, and as the Budges hadcertainly settled in Caithness towards the end of the fifteenth century, their descent from the Macdonalds, and their connection with the county, through Donald Gallach, are not improbable.
4) THE INNESES OF THURSATER.
The Inneses tradition that the last laird of Thursater was accustomed to attend the kirk of Thurso (of which he was an elder) with his " twelve children' which may account for the extinction of the family estate. In 1718 a daughter of John Calder of Strath was the wife of James Innes in Thrumster, who was afterwards in Ollaclate. Their son, William, was also in Ollaclate, and was father of the late Major James Innes of Thrumster, and it is thought thatthe connection traditionally said to exist between the Inneses of Thursater and the Inneses of Thrumster was through this James Innes of 1718, and that he was probably the son or grandson of the last Innes of Thursater. Reverting to the other sons of Robert Innes and Margaret Sinclair, there were : I. ROBERT INNES OF OUST, in 1633, who married Elizabeth Sinclair, and died before1671, leaving two sons and three daughters : 1. George. 2. John. 1. Jean, who married Thomas Gunn or Rorieson in Thurdistoft.
5) THE BRUCES OF HAM.
WALTER BRUCE OF HAM, third son of Saul Bruce Lyth, obtained, in 1636, from James Sinclair of Rattar, a wadset of Ham and Wester; and in 1647 he got a wadset of Brough from William Sinclair of Rattar. In 1663 the Earl of Caithness gave him a charter of these lands, confirming to him and his heirs "an irredeemable bond of alienation.' Walter Bruce married three times ; first, Janet, eldest daughter of James Sinclair of Rattar ; l secondly, Barbara, daughter of William Smithe, minister of Dunne from 1614 to 1650 ; 2 and, thirdly, Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Sinclair of Latheron, and sister to the first Sinclairs of Brabster and Barrock. The last-named survived her husband and married George Sinclair of Olrig. By his first marriage Walter Bruce had two sons and a daughter : 1. John, his successor. 2. David, afterwards styled of Ham. 1 Contract of Marriage, 20th December 1642. 2 Contract of Marriage, 1657. By his second marriage he had two sons and a daughter : 1. Walter. 2. William. 1. Rose or Rosie, who married Andrew Gunn, and who seems to have been heiress to Walter and William.
6) THE HENDERSONS OF STEMSTER.
THE traditional account of the Caithness Hendersons is that they are descended from Henry Gunn, a younger son of George Gunn, who was chief of the clan in the fifteenth century. After the slaughter of their chief and several of his sons in a combat with the Keiths, a family difference led to Henry separating himself from his surviving brothers, and settling in the lowlands of Caithness. In 1594 we findmention of a champion of the clan Gunn, named Donald Mac- William Mac-Hendric, who may have had something to say in the matter of the Henderson patronymic ; but the popular account is, as has been said, that they are the descendants of Henry Gunn.
David Henderson of Stemster had four sons and three daughters :
1. William. 2. Alexander, his successor. 3. Patrick, who died in Demerara. 4. John, who died in Jamaica. 1. Mary, who married the Reverend Robert Gunn, minister of Latheron. 2. Anne, who married, in 1779, the Reverend William Gunn, minister of Golspie from 1776 to 1785, when he died. She lived until 1841.
See Donald ‘the Scholar’ Gunn / Adam 'Mulbuie' line, b... for more on these Gunns, but also on this site.
7) THE HANSONS
ELIZABETH MANSON married John Sinclair in Watten, and had four daughters : 1. Isabella Sinclair, who married David Bruce in Hastigrow, a descendant no doubt of the Bruces who owned the lands of Hastigrow and others in that locality in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They had two sons, William and David, who both died in America, and five daughters, of whom Jean and Katharine died unmarried; Janet Bruce married Neil Sutherland, and had a son, William, who married Miss M'Kay, daughter of the Eeverend Mr. M'Kay, minister of Reay ; Elizabeth Bruce married George Gunn, and had issue...
8) THE GUNNS
A DETAILED notice of the Clan Gunn is beyond the scope of these notes : for such we must refer to Gordon and other authorities ; nor shall the debatable question be entered upon, whether their ancestor was Gunnius, brother of Sweyn, the Freswick pirate, or Guin, son of Olave, king of Man. By the most credible accounts, they are of Norwegian origin, and it is at least certain that they settled in Caithness at a remote date, and in course of time so increased in numbers as to have attained to the position of " The Clan Gunn." The Gunns seem to have occupied chiefly the highland portions of the county, although their burial-place was at Spittal. Their connection with Caithness as a distinct clan ended about 1619. It is singular that, until the middle of the seventeenth century, we find no written evidence of their tenure of land. Probably, as in the case of Donald Gunn of Braemore,noticed in " Ministers and Men in the Far North' what possessions they had were "gained by the sword," and retained by the same title during their period of prosperity. George Gunn was chief of the clan in the fifteenth century, and lived at the castle of Harberry, in Clyth. This chieftain was popularly styled the "Cruner Gunn," from his holding the office of " Cruner" or " Crouner " of the district, an ancient office which empowered the holder to attach the persons of offenders against the Crown. By his clansmen and highlanders generally he was known as the " Nin Braistack-more," from the great silver brooch worn by him as a badge of office. He is reputed to have had seven sons, of whom four, along with himself, fell in 1464, in a combat with the Keiths, their hereditary foes. Of these sons, James succeeded to the chieftainship ; Robert, the second son, is ancestor of the Gunns ofBraemore and other respectable families ; from John, the third son, are descended the Gunns of Dalmore and Dale, and others ; Henry, the fourth son, is the traditional ancestor of the Caithness Hendersons ; and William, the fifth son, of the Williamsons and Wilsons. James has been supposed to be the fifth son; but it appears certain that on his father's death in 1464 he took up the chieftainship, and that he, along with his brothers, William and Henry, retired into Sutherlandshire ;and at Killearnan, in Kildonan, the succeeding chiefs had their residence until the accidental destruction of the mansion-house by fire in 1690. That there was a " Crouner" in the county at a remote period, whether of the ClanGunn or not, is shown by part of the names still attached to certain localities, for instance, the " Crouner's Garden," near Strath, and the like ; while in an ancient document, entitled " Inventar of the Gudes of Alexander Southeiiand, 1456 "(father-in-law of William St. Clair, first Earl of Caithness), there are entries proving the "Crouner" to have had a son Henry, and a son Alexander, thus: "Item, Alexander the Crouner's son an (owing) me for the teind of Dael, Thurno, and the begyn, with uther geeds that he tuk of myn that comes to 24 of Marks and mair ; "and " Item, Henry the Crounars son an me for tends and ky (teinds and cattle) that he tuk of myn 40 merks and mar, as vitail (victual) was sold in the countrie that tym." In 1664 John Gunn appears to have been in possession of Braemore, under the peaceful title of a written lease from the Earl of Caithness, at a rent of 490 Scots. It is said that a section of the clan claimed the chieftainship for this John, but that, on a formal discussion of the question at a meeting in Thurso, the honourwas adjudged to a rival candidate. John Gunn in Braemore obtained in 1664 a wadset over that estate, for 1000 merks,from John, Earl of Breadalbane. He appears to have lived down to at least 1698, for in that year his son and successor, George, is designed in a tack of Dirlot as" Younger of Braemore." In 1715 George Gunn got another tack of Braemore from Lord Glenorchy, reserving the " salmond fishings with the deer and Kae;" and in the same year he obtained a wadset for 3000 merks. In 1732 George Gunn got a wadset for 17,000 merks from Sir James Sinclair of Dunbeath. Sir James acquired Braemore in 1729 as part of the Caithness estate purchased by him and Ulbster from Lord Glenorchy. The representatives of this branch of the Gunns appear to be the Gunn-Munroes of Poyntzfield. The first Sir George Gunn Munro of Poyntzfield was a son of the Reverend John Munro, minister of Halkirk, by his wife, Janet Munro, only child of George Gunn of Braemore. The genealogy of the Gunns of Braemore is stated by the Rev. Mr. Gunn of Watten, who has given much attention to the subject, to be as follows : 1. Robert, second son of George Gunn, "the Crounar" (killed in 1464). 2. Donald, his eldest son. 3. David, his eldest son. 4. Alexander, his eldest son, who married Christian, daughter of Donald, first Lord Reay. 5. John, his eldest son. 6. George, his eldest son. 7. Janet, his only child, married John Munro, minister of Halkirk, who died in 1743 or 1746. His third son was the first Munro of Poyntzfield. 8. Captain John Gunn Munro, eldest son of Janet Munro, married Elizabeth Sutherland of Torboll, and had three sons and four daughters. In 1752 he acquired Braemore in fee-simple. 9. William Gunn Munro, eldest son, had no family, and was succeeded by his brother. 10. George Gunn Munro succeeded his brother in Braemore, and also inherited Poyntzfield under an entail executed by his uncle, Sir George, in 1784. In 1793 Sir Eobert Anstruther purchased Braemore for about 4000 at a judicial sale, and obtained a decreet of sale in his favour.
9) THE GORDONS OF SWINEY.
The Gordons of CHARLES GORDON, ancestor of this family, " having acquired considerable means by a long course of industry' purchased the estate of Pulrossie, in Sutherlandshire. This property he sold to Mr. Dempster of Skibo, and in 1789 he purchased the estate of Swinzie or Swiney from Captain Patrick Sinclair of Durran, as administrator for his son, Patrick Sinclair Sutherland of Swinzie, for 5500. The conveyance was taken to his eldest son, Lieutenant John Gordon, who was thus the first Gordon of Swiney.
John Gordon had five sons and two daughters : 1. Lieutenant John Gordon, who had a son, John. 2. Dr. M'Kay Gordon, who settled in South America. 3. Charles. 4. George. 5. William.
1. Mrs. Young. 2. Mrs. Gunn, Bisgill.
For further details see http://www.archive.org/stream/caithnessfamilyh00henduoft/caithnessfamilyh00henduoft_djvu.txt
1) THE SINCLAIRS OF ASSERY. The Sinclairs of Janet Gordon, widow of James Sutherland of Assery. -.-, Forse. John Sinclair's second wife was Margaret Davidson, who is traditionally supposed to have been of the Davidsons in Achingills or Buckies, and by her he had
1. John Sinclair, first of Lybster. 2. William, who, in 1670, held the wadset of Forsie, and who was afterwards in Ulgrimbeg and Ulgrimore. He married Jean, daughter of William Sinclair of Dun, and had two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. The former married, in 1705, Donald Gunn in Achalibster. (Achlibster?)
2) THE SINCLAIRS OF STIRKOKE.
The Sinclairs of Occumster, granted a disposition to Francis Sinclair, whose mother, if Captain Kennedy's account is correct, was perhaps of this family. Francis Sinclair married Margaret Williamson, and had three sons and two daughters :
1. Francis, his successor. 2. John. 3. Gustavus. 1. Marjory, who was the fifth wife of Donald, first Lord Reay, by whom he had three sons, William of Kinloch, Charles of Sandwood, and Rupert ; and two daughters, Margaret, who died in Thurso in 1720, and Christian, who married, in 1650, Alexander Gunn of Killernan (Clan Gunn), and was in 1668 infeft in liferent in lands of Navidale, etc., on disposition by her husband.
3) THE BUDGES OF TOFTINGALL.
The Budges of a son, Donald, who was called " Gallach," from his having been fostered in Caithness, by his mother's relations of the Clan Gunn, to which she belonged. Donald Gallach's grandfather, Alexander, died in 1449, and as the Budges hadcertainly settled in Caithness towards the end of the fifteenth century, their descent from the Macdonalds, and their connection with the county, through Donald Gallach, are not improbable.
4) THE INNESES OF THURSATER.
The Inneses tradition that the last laird of Thursater was accustomed to attend the kirk of Thurso (of which he was an elder) with his " twelve children' which may account for the extinction of the family estate. In 1718 a daughter of John Calder of Strath was the wife of James Innes in Thrumster, who was afterwards in Ollaclate. Their son, William, was also in Ollaclate, and was father of the late Major James Innes of Thrumster, and it is thought thatthe connection traditionally said to exist between the Inneses of Thursater and the Inneses of Thrumster was through this James Innes of 1718, and that he was probably the son or grandson of the last Innes of Thursater. Reverting to the other sons of Robert Innes and Margaret Sinclair, there were : I. ROBERT INNES OF OUST, in 1633, who married Elizabeth Sinclair, and died before1671, leaving two sons and three daughters : 1. George. 2. John. 1. Jean, who married Thomas Gunn or Rorieson in Thurdistoft.
5) THE BRUCES OF HAM.
WALTER BRUCE OF HAM, third son of Saul Bruce Lyth, obtained, in 1636, from James Sinclair of Rattar, a wadset of Ham and Wester; and in 1647 he got a wadset of Brough from William Sinclair of Rattar. In 1663 the Earl of Caithness gave him a charter of these lands, confirming to him and his heirs "an irredeemable bond of alienation.' Walter Bruce married three times ; first, Janet, eldest daughter of James Sinclair of Rattar ; l secondly, Barbara, daughter of William Smithe, minister of Dunne from 1614 to 1650 ; 2 and, thirdly, Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Sinclair of Latheron, and sister to the first Sinclairs of Brabster and Barrock. The last-named survived her husband and married George Sinclair of Olrig. By his first marriage Walter Bruce had two sons and a daughter : 1. John, his successor. 2. David, afterwards styled of Ham. 1 Contract of Marriage, 20th December 1642. 2 Contract of Marriage, 1657. By his second marriage he had two sons and a daughter : 1. Walter. 2. William. 1. Rose or Rosie, who married Andrew Gunn, and who seems to have been heiress to Walter and William.
6) THE HENDERSONS OF STEMSTER.
THE traditional account of the Caithness Hendersons is that they are descended from Henry Gunn, a younger son of George Gunn, who was chief of the clan in the fifteenth century. After the slaughter of their chief and several of his sons in a combat with the Keiths, a family difference led to Henry separating himself from his surviving brothers, and settling in the lowlands of Caithness. In 1594 we findmention of a champion of the clan Gunn, named Donald Mac- William Mac-Hendric, who may have had something to say in the matter of the Henderson patronymic ; but the popular account is, as has been said, that they are the descendants of Henry Gunn.
David Henderson of Stemster had four sons and three daughters :
1. William. 2. Alexander, his successor. 3. Patrick, who died in Demerara. 4. John, who died in Jamaica. 1. Mary, who married the Reverend Robert Gunn, minister of Latheron. 2. Anne, who married, in 1779, the Reverend William Gunn, minister of Golspie from 1776 to 1785, when he died. She lived until 1841.
See Donald ‘the Scholar’ Gunn / Adam 'Mulbuie' line, b... for more on these Gunns, but also on this site.
7) THE HANSONS
ELIZABETH MANSON married John Sinclair in Watten, and had four daughters : 1. Isabella Sinclair, who married David Bruce in Hastigrow, a descendant no doubt of the Bruces who owned the lands of Hastigrow and others in that locality in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They had two sons, William and David, who both died in America, and five daughters, of whom Jean and Katharine died unmarried; Janet Bruce married Neil Sutherland, and had a son, William, who married Miss M'Kay, daughter of the Eeverend Mr. M'Kay, minister of Reay ; Elizabeth Bruce married George Gunn, and had issue...
8) THE GUNNS
A DETAILED notice of the Clan Gunn is beyond the scope of these notes : for such we must refer to Gordon and other authorities ; nor shall the debatable question be entered upon, whether their ancestor was Gunnius, brother of Sweyn, the Freswick pirate, or Guin, son of Olave, king of Man. By the most credible accounts, they are of Norwegian origin, and it is at least certain that they settled in Caithness at a remote date, and in course of time so increased in numbers as to have attained to the position of " The Clan Gunn." The Gunns seem to have occupied chiefly the highland portions of the county, although their burial-place was at Spittal. Their connection with Caithness as a distinct clan ended about 1619. It is singular that, until the middle of the seventeenth century, we find no written evidence of their tenure of land. Probably, as in the case of Donald Gunn of Braemore,noticed in " Ministers and Men in the Far North' what possessions they had were "gained by the sword," and retained by the same title during their period of prosperity. George Gunn was chief of the clan in the fifteenth century, and lived at the castle of Harberry, in Clyth. This chieftain was popularly styled the "Cruner Gunn," from his holding the office of " Cruner" or " Crouner " of the district, an ancient office which empowered the holder to attach the persons of offenders against the Crown. By his clansmen and highlanders generally he was known as the " Nin Braistack-more," from the great silver brooch worn by him as a badge of office. He is reputed to have had seven sons, of whom four, along with himself, fell in 1464, in a combat with the Keiths, their hereditary foes. Of these sons, James succeeded to the chieftainship ; Robert, the second son, is ancestor of the Gunns ofBraemore and other respectable families ; from John, the third son, are descended the Gunns of Dalmore and Dale, and others ; Henry, the fourth son, is the traditional ancestor of the Caithness Hendersons ; and William, the fifth son, of the Williamsons and Wilsons. James has been supposed to be the fifth son; but it appears certain that on his father's death in 1464 he took up the chieftainship, and that he, along with his brothers, William and Henry, retired into Sutherlandshire ;and at Killearnan, in Kildonan, the succeeding chiefs had their residence until the accidental destruction of the mansion-house by fire in 1690. That there was a " Crouner" in the county at a remote period, whether of the ClanGunn or not, is shown by part of the names still attached to certain localities, for instance, the " Crouner's Garden," near Strath, and the like ; while in an ancient document, entitled " Inventar of the Gudes of Alexander Southeiiand, 1456 "(father-in-law of William St. Clair, first Earl of Caithness), there are entries proving the "Crouner" to have had a son Henry, and a son Alexander, thus: "Item, Alexander the Crouner's son an (owing) me for the teind of Dael, Thurno, and the begyn, with uther geeds that he tuk of myn that comes to 24 of Marks and mair ; "and " Item, Henry the Crounars son an me for tends and ky (teinds and cattle) that he tuk of myn 40 merks and mar, as vitail (victual) was sold in the countrie that tym." In 1664 John Gunn appears to have been in possession of Braemore, under the peaceful title of a written lease from the Earl of Caithness, at a rent of 490 Scots. It is said that a section of the clan claimed the chieftainship for this John, but that, on a formal discussion of the question at a meeting in Thurso, the honourwas adjudged to a rival candidate. John Gunn in Braemore obtained in 1664 a wadset over that estate, for 1000 merks,from John, Earl of Breadalbane. He appears to have lived down to at least 1698, for in that year his son and successor, George, is designed in a tack of Dirlot as" Younger of Braemore." In 1715 George Gunn got another tack of Braemore from Lord Glenorchy, reserving the " salmond fishings with the deer and Kae;" and in the same year he obtained a wadset for 3000 merks. In 1732 George Gunn got a wadset for 17,000 merks from Sir James Sinclair of Dunbeath. Sir James acquired Braemore in 1729 as part of the Caithness estate purchased by him and Ulbster from Lord Glenorchy. The representatives of this branch of the Gunns appear to be the Gunn-Munroes of Poyntzfield. The first Sir George Gunn Munro of Poyntzfield was a son of the Reverend John Munro, minister of Halkirk, by his wife, Janet Munro, only child of George Gunn of Braemore. The genealogy of the Gunns of Braemore is stated by the Rev. Mr. Gunn of Watten, who has given much attention to the subject, to be as follows : 1. Robert, second son of George Gunn, "the Crounar" (killed in 1464). 2. Donald, his eldest son. 3. David, his eldest son. 4. Alexander, his eldest son, who married Christian, daughter of Donald, first Lord Reay. 5. John, his eldest son. 6. George, his eldest son. 7. Janet, his only child, married John Munro, minister of Halkirk, who died in 1743 or 1746. His third son was the first Munro of Poyntzfield. 8. Captain John Gunn Munro, eldest son of Janet Munro, married Elizabeth Sutherland of Torboll, and had three sons and four daughters. In 1752 he acquired Braemore in fee-simple. 9. William Gunn Munro, eldest son, had no family, and was succeeded by his brother. 10. George Gunn Munro succeeded his brother in Braemore, and also inherited Poyntzfield under an entail executed by his uncle, Sir George, in 1784. In 1793 Sir Eobert Anstruther purchased Braemore for about 4000 at a judicial sale, and obtained a decreet of sale in his favour.
9) THE GORDONS OF SWINEY.
The Gordons of CHARLES GORDON, ancestor of this family, " having acquired considerable means by a long course of industry' purchased the estate of Pulrossie, in Sutherlandshire. This property he sold to Mr. Dempster of Skibo, and in 1789 he purchased the estate of Swinzie or Swiney from Captain Patrick Sinclair of Durran, as administrator for his son, Patrick Sinclair Sutherland of Swinzie, for 5500. The conveyance was taken to his eldest son, Lieutenant John Gordon, who was thus the first Gordon of Swiney.
John Gordon had five sons and two daughters : 1. Lieutenant John Gordon, who had a son, John. 2. Dr. M'Kay Gordon, who settled in South America. 3. Charles. 4. George. 5. William.
1. Mrs. Young. 2. Mrs. Gunn, Bisgill.