The traditional Clan Gunn Chiefs
The traditional Clan Gunn Chiefs by Alastair Gunn
This article should more accurately be called ‘The Senior MacHamish Gunns originally of Killernan’ line as the idea that the Gunns had Clan Gunn Chiefs is not supported by history - the idea is an 1800s invention. I am, though, using the term Clan Gunn Chief here to simplify my argument so that people clearly understand why this MacHamish family group line is of importance.
There were no Clan Gunn Chiefs before Coroner Gunn (often wrongly called Crowner Gunn); he is the first Gunn known to history which means we don’t even know his parents, let alone any earlier generations. For the full detail supporting the following Clan Gunn Chief line – and also for the full detail dismissing earlier supposed Chiefs - see my book The Gunns: History, Myths and Genealogy.
One has a new generation every thirty years or so. It is awkward to decide when each new generation became the Clan Gunn Chief - I am happy with the following sequence of names but deciding the years when a person was Chief is often not possible.
The Clan Gunn Chiefs...
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 1
(Clan Gunn Chief 1) Generation 1. Chief Coroner GUNN (d. c. 1450) Coroner Gunn died before an Earl of Caithness was appointed in 1452 (the Earl title had been in abeyance) as with an Earl in place the position of Coroner would have been more insignificant than the stories suggest about Coroner Gunn. Normally a Scottish Coroner was only third in charge of a county behind an Earl and Sherriff. In other words, given the lack of an Earl before 1452 and the Sherriff at that time being at Inverness then Coroner Gunn had to have lived before 1452. He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 2) Generation 2. Chief James GUNN (c. 1420- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 3) Generation 3. Chief William MacHamish Cattigh GUNN (c. 1450- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 4) Generation 4. Chief William MacHamish GUNN (c. 1480- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 5) Generation 5. Chief Unknown MacHamish GUNN (c. 1510- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 6) Generation 6. Chief David GUNN (c. 1530- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 7) Generation 7. Chief Alexander MacDavid GUNN (c. 1560-c. 1624). Alexander MacDavid Gunn married Barbara Mackay who was born about 1570. She was a daughter from the second marriage of Iye Du Mackay of Farr, 12th of Strathnaver, chief of Clan Mackay. The key point is her birthdate is well known in history (give or take a couple of years). Chief Alexander MacDavid GUNN’s brother was William Beag / Bheg Gunn whose family becomes the Chief line, see part 2. Chief Alexander MacDavid Gunn had
(Clan Gunn Chief 8) Generation 8. Chief William Mhor GUNN (c. 1593 - alive 1624) William Mhor died without issue.
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 2
William Mhor’s uncle was William Beag Gunn and it was William Beag’s descendants who took over at Killernan after William Mhor’s death. William Mhor and William Beag are not brothers as some believe – history proves it. For example, a William MacHamish of Killernan is leading fighting men on the Isle of Lewis in 1600/1601 when William Mhor (also a MacHamish of Killernan) had to be about ten years old, given his mother’s birth date. This is just one of many examples which prove that the word MacHamish is not a title as some believe but just an indicator of a particular family.
(Clan Gunn Chief 9) Generation 8. Chief Alexander Killernan GUNN (c. 1590 - c. 1657). Alexander was the oldest son of William Beag Gunn. This generation 8 Chief Alexander married Mary Christiane (Dame) (Lady Fowlis) MACKAY (c. 1598 - c. 1657). He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 10) Generation 9. Chief John Killernan GUNN (born c. 1636- ). He married Katherine (Christina?) SINCLAIR (born c. 1640). John was certainly ‘of Killernan’ by 1658. A spendthrift. He certainly had generation 10 Alexander GUNN (c. 1658 - ) and probably two younger sons, this is shown by documents of the time. Was this generation 10 Alexander ever a Chief? The Gunns lose Killernan sometime in the period 1679-1704. Did the loss of Killernan cause the disappearance of this generation 10 Alexander and his brothers from history; in other words, did this branch of the family sink into obscurity due to lack of money?
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Clan Gunn possible Chiefs – part 3
The Mackay text also records that this Alexander ‘had issue.’ There is an unsubstantiated story of two MacHamish children being killed but it is not clear whose children and when. It may have been children from this marriage, and it may have happened at Tacher. If such an event happened it would explain why the issue disappeared from history. The idea of issue, may, of course be wrong – without supporting evidence it is only a possibility. Certainly generation 9. Alexander Gunn’s younger brother Donald Crotach Gunn is viewed as a Clan Gunn Chief which clearly implies that this Alexander’s line, if it existed, died out.
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 4
(Clan Gunn Chief 11) Generation 9. Chief Donald Crotach GUNN (c. 1642-c. 1708). Donald was the youngest brother of Clan Gunn Chief 10 generation 9 Chief John Killernan Gunn. He married Margaret SUTHERLAND. It is probable, but not definite, that Donald was a Clan Gunn Chief. Certainly Donald’s children are viewed as Chiefs but was Donald Crotach’s position more like that of William Beag – father of Clan Gunn Chiefs but not one himself? Perhaps. For this exercise I am treating him as a Chief. He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 12) Generation 10. Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681-c. 1763). He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 13) Generation 11. William GUNN (c. 1755 - 10 September1780). William died without issue in a fairly pointless battle in India. William’s younger brother was Morrison but he was never Clan Gunn Chief, the 1822 Family Tree makes this clear as do Army records.
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Clan Gunn Chiefs - part 5.
But the real interest is with the siblings of (Clan Gunn Chief 12) Generation 10. Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681- c. 1763) as from these siblings come potential traditional Clan Gunn Chief lines. There is, though, the important difference between known descent lines and those able to be considered as Clan Gunn Chief possibilities.
The Clan Chief issue involves Lord Lyon. It is certainly highly questionable about Lord Lyon’s ability to choose a Clan Chief – Scotland’s supreme court, the Court of Session, has overruled Lord Lyon on that issue. Lord Lyon does, though, have the right to award the property of a Clan Chief Coat of Arms.
Lord Lyon, as I understand it, will reject a person for a Clan Chief Coat of Arms if someone in their family tree lost loyalty to the British Royal Family at the time a person in that line would have been the Chief – and that disinheritance continues down that line to today if the initial inheritance happened up to and included 11 May 1870. However, the 12 May 1870 British Naturalization Act[1] enabled foreigners to inherit property even though they were / are citizens of a country which did not have loyalty to the British Throne.
The siblings of Clan Gunn Chief (12) Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681- c. 1763), in probable order of seniority, were -
Generation 10. George ‘Corrish’ GUNN (1682- )
The Clan Gunn Reay / Bloomingdale Tree of 1822 details two descendants of George ‘Corrish’ Gunn. There were two sons. BUT the Tree clearly shows no descendants from them. I accept that the Gunn of Corrish line went extinct at a very early stage.
Ideas that there were descendants were based on confusion with descent from the closely related George Gunn ( a MacHeorish from the Gunns of Borrobol). Corrish and MacHeorish are just too close in sound...
Generation 10. Esther GUNN (1685- )
The records are confused on Esther. She may – or may not – have married Donald Mackay of Skerray. It is probable that she did. Her family have been Mackays for many, many generations – not holding the Clan name for generations normally makes one ineligible to be Clan Chief.
Generation 10. William (Lt. Col.) GUNN (c. 1686- )
This line is well known and I believe Lord Lyon declared it ineligible for consideration as Clan Gunn Chief due to the loyalty to the British Royal Family issue. I suspect not holding the Gunn surname for generations might also have become an issue even if they had been eligible.
Generation 10. Margaret GUNN
Lord Lyon accepts that Margaret Gunn married a John Gunn of/in Kinbrace. (It’s in Kinbrace.) This line is clearly traceable and continues down to my family which has continuously held the surname Gunn and which also has two other descents from Coroner Gunn. This is the de facto Clan Gunn Chief line.
[1] See, for example, https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1870-03-03/debates/5f8cb209-2fb3-40a9-aeac-5f0212e5791d/NaturalizationBill%E2%80%94(No18).
This article should more accurately be called ‘The Senior MacHamish Gunns originally of Killernan’ line as the idea that the Gunns had Clan Gunn Chiefs is not supported by history - the idea is an 1800s invention. I am, though, using the term Clan Gunn Chief here to simplify my argument so that people clearly understand why this MacHamish family group line is of importance.
There were no Clan Gunn Chiefs before Coroner Gunn (often wrongly called Crowner Gunn); he is the first Gunn known to history which means we don’t even know his parents, let alone any earlier generations. For the full detail supporting the following Clan Gunn Chief line – and also for the full detail dismissing earlier supposed Chiefs - see my book The Gunns: History, Myths and Genealogy.
One has a new generation every thirty years or so. It is awkward to decide when each new generation became the Clan Gunn Chief - I am happy with the following sequence of names but deciding the years when a person was Chief is often not possible.
The Clan Gunn Chiefs...
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 1
(Clan Gunn Chief 1) Generation 1. Chief Coroner GUNN (d. c. 1450) Coroner Gunn died before an Earl of Caithness was appointed in 1452 (the Earl title had been in abeyance) as with an Earl in place the position of Coroner would have been more insignificant than the stories suggest about Coroner Gunn. Normally a Scottish Coroner was only third in charge of a county behind an Earl and Sherriff. In other words, given the lack of an Earl before 1452 and the Sherriff at that time being at Inverness then Coroner Gunn had to have lived before 1452. He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 2) Generation 2. Chief James GUNN (c. 1420- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 3) Generation 3. Chief William MacHamish Cattigh GUNN (c. 1450- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 4) Generation 4. Chief William MacHamish GUNN (c. 1480- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 5) Generation 5. Chief Unknown MacHamish GUNN (c. 1510- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 6) Generation 6. Chief David GUNN (c. 1530- ) He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 7) Generation 7. Chief Alexander MacDavid GUNN (c. 1560-c. 1624). Alexander MacDavid Gunn married Barbara Mackay who was born about 1570. She was a daughter from the second marriage of Iye Du Mackay of Farr, 12th of Strathnaver, chief of Clan Mackay. The key point is her birthdate is well known in history (give or take a couple of years). Chief Alexander MacDavid GUNN’s brother was William Beag / Bheg Gunn whose family becomes the Chief line, see part 2. Chief Alexander MacDavid Gunn had
(Clan Gunn Chief 8) Generation 8. Chief William Mhor GUNN (c. 1593 - alive 1624) William Mhor died without issue.
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 2
William Mhor’s uncle was William Beag Gunn and it was William Beag’s descendants who took over at Killernan after William Mhor’s death. William Mhor and William Beag are not brothers as some believe – history proves it. For example, a William MacHamish of Killernan is leading fighting men on the Isle of Lewis in 1600/1601 when William Mhor (also a MacHamish of Killernan) had to be about ten years old, given his mother’s birth date. This is just one of many examples which prove that the word MacHamish is not a title as some believe but just an indicator of a particular family.
(Clan Gunn Chief 9) Generation 8. Chief Alexander Killernan GUNN (c. 1590 - c. 1657). Alexander was the oldest son of William Beag Gunn. This generation 8 Chief Alexander married Mary Christiane (Dame) (Lady Fowlis) MACKAY (c. 1598 - c. 1657). He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 10) Generation 9. Chief John Killernan GUNN (born c. 1636- ). He married Katherine (Christina?) SINCLAIR (born c. 1640). John was certainly ‘of Killernan’ by 1658. A spendthrift. He certainly had generation 10 Alexander GUNN (c. 1658 - ) and probably two younger sons, this is shown by documents of the time. Was this generation 10 Alexander ever a Chief? The Gunns lose Killernan sometime in the period 1679-1704. Did the loss of Killernan cause the disappearance of this generation 10 Alexander and his brothers from history; in other words, did this branch of the family sink into obscurity due to lack of money?
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Clan Gunn possible Chiefs – part 3
- To rephrase key points of the preceding paragraph - was generation 10. Alexander Gunn ever a Chief? Does this family line still exist?
- Generation 9 Alexander GUNN (born c. 1638 - ) was the immediately younger brother of Clan Gunn Chief number 10 John Killernan GUNN. Alexander married Christina Mackay. A. Mackay’s The Book of Mackay records on page 143 Alexander as the ‘chieftain (Clan Gunn Chief if you like) of the MacHamish Gunns.’ Note the word chieftain, and that the text does not attach ‘of Killernan’ to his name. But what, then, about possible Chief generation 10 Alexander? Or even his father Clan Gunn Chief 10 generation 9 John? Did this Mackay source call this generation 9 Alexander Gunn a chieftain as Clan Gunn Chief 10 John and / or his son generation 10 Alexander did not matter due to poverty especially given this generation 9. Alexander was marrying into the wealthy Mackay family so did matter? Or were Clan Gunn Chief number 10 John Killernan Gunn and his son dead and so this generation 9 Alexander was really a Chief? I consider that Generation 9 Alexander was the main MacHamish at one point (probably due to marrying well) but whether he was ever Chief is not clear.
The Mackay text also records that this Alexander ‘had issue.’ There is an unsubstantiated story of two MacHamish children being killed but it is not clear whose children and when. It may have been children from this marriage, and it may have happened at Tacher. If such an event happened it would explain why the issue disappeared from history. The idea of issue, may, of course be wrong – without supporting evidence it is only a possibility. Certainly generation 9. Alexander Gunn’s younger brother Donald Crotach Gunn is viewed as a Clan Gunn Chief which clearly implies that this Alexander’s line, if it existed, died out.
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Clan Gunn Chiefs – part 4
(Clan Gunn Chief 11) Generation 9. Chief Donald Crotach GUNN (c. 1642-c. 1708). Donald was the youngest brother of Clan Gunn Chief 10 generation 9 Chief John Killernan Gunn. He married Margaret SUTHERLAND. It is probable, but not definite, that Donald was a Clan Gunn Chief. Certainly Donald’s children are viewed as Chiefs but was Donald Crotach’s position more like that of William Beag – father of Clan Gunn Chiefs but not one himself? Perhaps. For this exercise I am treating him as a Chief. He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 12) Generation 10. Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681-c. 1763). He had
(Clan Gunn Chief 13) Generation 11. William GUNN (c. 1755 - 10 September1780). William died without issue in a fairly pointless battle in India. William’s younger brother was Morrison but he was never Clan Gunn Chief, the 1822 Family Tree makes this clear as do Army records.
*****
Clan Gunn Chiefs - part 5.
But the real interest is with the siblings of (Clan Gunn Chief 12) Generation 10. Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681- c. 1763) as from these siblings come potential traditional Clan Gunn Chief lines. There is, though, the important difference between known descent lines and those able to be considered as Clan Gunn Chief possibilities.
The Clan Chief issue involves Lord Lyon. It is certainly highly questionable about Lord Lyon’s ability to choose a Clan Chief – Scotland’s supreme court, the Court of Session, has overruled Lord Lyon on that issue. Lord Lyon does, though, have the right to award the property of a Clan Chief Coat of Arms.
Lord Lyon, as I understand it, will reject a person for a Clan Chief Coat of Arms if someone in their family tree lost loyalty to the British Royal Family at the time a person in that line would have been the Chief – and that disinheritance continues down that line to today if the initial inheritance happened up to and included 11 May 1870. However, the 12 May 1870 British Naturalization Act[1] enabled foreigners to inherit property even though they were / are citizens of a country which did not have loyalty to the British Throne.
The siblings of Clan Gunn Chief (12) Alexander of Badenloch later of Wester Helmsdale GUNN (c. 1681- c. 1763), in probable order of seniority, were -
Generation 10. George ‘Corrish’ GUNN (1682- )
The Clan Gunn Reay / Bloomingdale Tree of 1822 details two descendants of George ‘Corrish’ Gunn. There were two sons. BUT the Tree clearly shows no descendants from them. I accept that the Gunn of Corrish line went extinct at a very early stage.
Ideas that there were descendants were based on confusion with descent from the closely related George Gunn ( a MacHeorish from the Gunns of Borrobol). Corrish and MacHeorish are just too close in sound...
Generation 10. Esther GUNN (1685- )
The records are confused on Esther. She may – or may not – have married Donald Mackay of Skerray. It is probable that she did. Her family have been Mackays for many, many generations – not holding the Clan name for generations normally makes one ineligible to be Clan Chief.
Generation 10. William (Lt. Col.) GUNN (c. 1686- )
This line is well known and I believe Lord Lyon declared it ineligible for consideration as Clan Gunn Chief due to the loyalty to the British Royal Family issue. I suspect not holding the Gunn surname for generations might also have become an issue even if they had been eligible.
Generation 10. Margaret GUNN
Lord Lyon accepts that Margaret Gunn married a John Gunn of/in Kinbrace. (It’s in Kinbrace.) This line is clearly traceable and continues down to my family which has continuously held the surname Gunn and which also has two other descents from Coroner Gunn. This is the de facto Clan Gunn Chief line.
[1] See, for example, https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1870-03-03/debates/5f8cb209-2fb3-40a9-aeac-5f0212e5791d/NaturalizationBill%E2%80%94(No18).