Battle of Aldgown 1586; Ben Griam, Gunn Sinclair, Mackay and more. And Gunn related early Wick records. Sinclair Supplement 19, 21.4.1903
REVIEW
This Gunn ‘Supplement’ is in two parts. The first is a solid retelling of the battle of Aldgown in ‘1586’. The fiery cross evokes the Ku Klux Klan (think I’m joking? Read ‘The McKlansmen’ a chapter in the really fascinating Curious Scotland Tales From a Hidden History by George Rousie. Lots of short but weird chapters about really obscure Scottish historical points – including the Cherokee Chief, Scot John Ross ...).
The second is basically a long list from the Wick records up to about the 1720s which is fine if it’s your ancestor, but not terribly interesting otherwise...
KEY PEOPLE / PLACES / PHRASING / GENEALOGY/ MYTHS / HISTORY (basically in order of the Supplement)
· Aldgown fight
· Ben Griam... fifth Earl of Caithness and Sir Henry Sinclair of Keiss, Brother of Dun, sent the fiery cross round through the Sinclairs, to come to Castle Girnigoe... 140 of the best...orders were to go and put all of the Clan Gunn to the edge of the sword... Sir Henry took the command, the Earl accompanying them...clan Gunn was obliged to retreat towards Reay. At the middle of Strathalladale, a small company of Mackays from Strathnaver followed them, and the Sinclairs followed... Gunns and Mackays held straight to Ben Griam More...Gunns and Mackays went up by this track...three fortifications (near the top) .... time of the Druids... impossible to go up to the top of the mountain except by this track. At the entrance of the track the Sinclairs put up their tents and cooked a cow... The Earl went to Badenloch... to the house of the M’Hamish, the chief. A sister of the M’Hamish was married to the Earl, who informed the chief about the whole matter... the Gunns would be starved or cut to pieces if they came down... ‘The armour-bearer of M’Hamish with the fiery crops did not sleep that night’... next morning the Gunns and Mackays came down the track.... enemies were only awakening.... battle... Sinclairs pleading for mercy... no mercy but cutting their heads from their bodies... battle lasted an hour...seven escaped and made south, Gunns pursuing... About Knockfinn Gunns of Braemore met and killed the ‘fugitives’ The Braemores were coming to Ben Griam to help their clansmen... Allt-a- Dhaim-in-Cath...lots of cairns... Insch Craig, Alt-an-a-gan...cairns put over the dead... The following day the Earl of Caithness and Sir Henry invited M’Hamish to see the camp...they reached Craganmore and saw Gunns dancing...Earl understood and made off with the chief giving him passport and a guard till he got to Caithness...Sinclair lineage had very few members in the fight... Earl George was then married to the daughter of the Earl of Huntly...the possibility is that it was M’Hamish who had for wife or sister, aunt or relative to the Earl of Caithness...traditional affinity tie between the Caithness Earls and the M’Hamishes, perhaps the marriage of Alexander, son of William, son of James, son of the Coroner, to a Sinclair, Alexander being the M’Hamish at the battle of Aldgown in 1586.
WICK RECORDS up to say 1720s
· John Gunn ‘unfreeman’ 28 Feb 1660
· John Rorison another
· 26 May 1660 George Sinclair Earl of Caithness
· Alexander M’Murchie Braemore
· W. Hatton
· Alexander Clark, Stirkoke
· George Gunn, Thrumster (naughty!)
· Thoams Hall, Walter Dalrymple Thurso
· James Young, merchant, Wick
· Ronald Doull assaulted Florence Gunn (wife of David Leod) November 1708
· 17 August 1675 William Manson (Gunn lineage)
· William Henderson / Rorison 7 January 1676
· Henry Sinclair notary
· Alexander Coghill’s tack
· Andrew Rorison or Gunn, son of Alexander merchant in Thurso
· Aitken’s tenement Thurso
· William Henderson, Christina Manson, Donald Durham, Joshua Durham, Janet Manson, Donald Taylor,Magdalen Reid, Alexander Rorison, Couper’s tenement, Catherine Rorison, Achorlie now Banniskirk once Banniscarth, David Henderson of Gersay or Stirkoke, Henry Sinclair, Gilbert Omand, Alexander Manson bailie of Wick and his wife Coghill, Margaret Ross, Coghill laird of Bridgend Watten, George Manson,
· Important entry for John Guin (Gunn spelling of the time) of Braemore with sasine, 24 April 1691 Catherine Sutherland, wife of John Gunn of Braemore, had a yearly sum out of that estate, her solicitor Andrew ‘Guin’ Thurso
· Alexander Manson, Lawrence Calder Lynegear, Christina Murray, Alexander Rorison, Jiohn Henderson Schoolmaster, Taylor’s tenement, James Manson tenement Thurso,
· George Gunn and Anna Bain, his wife Braemore sasine 22 December 1694
· James Beattie, James Murray, George Davidson, Robert Henderson, Sir William Dunbar of Hempriggs 1701, Westerdale Henderson, Donald Henderson had Whytegar
· David Gunn and Rosina Bruce had a tenement in Thurso 17 April 1704
· 1708 more on Henderson at Westerdale
· George Gunn of Braemore
· Christina Sinclair, John Rorison Surgeon 1720, Mrs Robison (Margaret Henderson) Wallace’s tenement, Janet Innes, Janet Henderson, John Henderson, Dr John Rorison 1721, Grizeel Manson, David Smith, George Smith, Inkstack Dunnett, Hugh Munro, Sinclair lairds...