John MacHamish in Navidale, perhaps of Killernan – one of the mythical Gunn Chief line…
Time to reconsider John MacHamish Gunn, often wrongly called a son of William Mhor MacHamish – Mark Rugg Gunn, pages 166-167 is an example of this ‘son’ error.
John was never a son of William Mhor as William Mhor’s mother Barbara Mackay had to be born about 1570. This means William Mhor had to be born around 1595. But the below paragraph shows John MacHamish ‘in Navidale’ was a criminal thug in 1624. There was no time for William Mhor, born around 1595 to have adult criminal children by 1624 so there was no way that William Mhor had John in Navidale as his child. John and William Mhor were brothers. There is more evidence to support this idea, but that’s another entry.
There is a record of complaint – see Thomas Sinclair pages 151-153 - against John MacHamish and his brother Alexander MacHamish in 14 June 1624 – the complaint says that ‘John M’Keymes in Navidale, and … Alest M’Keymes his brother ... took and led me captive as their bond slave, and abused myself…John MacHamish and Alexander MacHamish (also) … took away most wrongfully the whole of my property’. So note two people held the ‘title’ MacHamish in this complaint, again proof that MacHamish was not a title held by a single person although Gunn myth has it otherwise. The term MacHamish was a way to indicate a family of Gunns, nothing more and it was not a special term. Note MacRob Gunns are a way of indicating a family just like the MacHamish Gunns…
Secondly John was ‘in’ Navidale - but never ‘of’ Navidale. There is a major Scottish difference between these two terms. ‘In’ means you worked there / lived there; ‘of’ means you in effect owned it. Sir Alexander Gordon – part of the family who owned the whole huge Sutherland Estate – was of Navidale until at least August 1631 when he left to live in Ireland but he was still referred to as of Navidale in 1637. DM Rose – see page 167 Mark Rugg Gunn – says Alexander MacHamish Gunn (John’s brother) got Navidale in 1636. That makes sense as Alexander married well; he married Dame Mary Margaret Foulis sometime after 1635. So the year after Alexander’s marriage he bought Navidale, presumably with his wife’s money – and became ‘of Navidale’. And there was no time gap – Sir Alexander Gordon ‘owned’ the estate until Alexander bought it from him.
Was John even ‘of Killernan’? William Mhor has paperwork of the time indicating he was ‘of Killernan’ until at least 1623. Alexander has paperwork of the time indicating he was ‘of Killernan’ by 1636. That leaves, at most, a twelve year period for John to be ‘of Killernan’ but no paperwork of the time yet known refers to him as ‘of Killernan’. The ‘of Killernan’ for John has to have the word ‘perhaps’ added.
I question John’s assumed marriage to Catherine Sinclair (MR Gunn page 167); it is far more likely that she married John MacHamish Gunn of the next generation – this next generation John is basically written out of Gunn mythic history - as this John and Catherine were about of the same age. This John MacHamish Gunn was the eldest son of the above Alexander who married Dame Mary Margaret Foulis. A lot more on him is to come …
John MacHamish in Navidale, perhaps of Killernan, was an unappealing character but part of real Gunn history.
And I am related to him.
John was never a son of William Mhor as William Mhor’s mother Barbara Mackay had to be born about 1570. This means William Mhor had to be born around 1595. But the below paragraph shows John MacHamish ‘in Navidale’ was a criminal thug in 1624. There was no time for William Mhor, born around 1595 to have adult criminal children by 1624 so there was no way that William Mhor had John in Navidale as his child. John and William Mhor were brothers. There is more evidence to support this idea, but that’s another entry.
There is a record of complaint – see Thomas Sinclair pages 151-153 - against John MacHamish and his brother Alexander MacHamish in 14 June 1624 – the complaint says that ‘John M’Keymes in Navidale, and … Alest M’Keymes his brother ... took and led me captive as their bond slave, and abused myself…John MacHamish and Alexander MacHamish (also) … took away most wrongfully the whole of my property’. So note two people held the ‘title’ MacHamish in this complaint, again proof that MacHamish was not a title held by a single person although Gunn myth has it otherwise. The term MacHamish was a way to indicate a family of Gunns, nothing more and it was not a special term. Note MacRob Gunns are a way of indicating a family just like the MacHamish Gunns…
Secondly John was ‘in’ Navidale - but never ‘of’ Navidale. There is a major Scottish difference between these two terms. ‘In’ means you worked there / lived there; ‘of’ means you in effect owned it. Sir Alexander Gordon – part of the family who owned the whole huge Sutherland Estate – was of Navidale until at least August 1631 when he left to live in Ireland but he was still referred to as of Navidale in 1637. DM Rose – see page 167 Mark Rugg Gunn – says Alexander MacHamish Gunn (John’s brother) got Navidale in 1636. That makes sense as Alexander married well; he married Dame Mary Margaret Foulis sometime after 1635. So the year after Alexander’s marriage he bought Navidale, presumably with his wife’s money – and became ‘of Navidale’. And there was no time gap – Sir Alexander Gordon ‘owned’ the estate until Alexander bought it from him.
Was John even ‘of Killernan’? William Mhor has paperwork of the time indicating he was ‘of Killernan’ until at least 1623. Alexander has paperwork of the time indicating he was ‘of Killernan’ by 1636. That leaves, at most, a twelve year period for John to be ‘of Killernan’ but no paperwork of the time yet known refers to him as ‘of Killernan’. The ‘of Killernan’ for John has to have the word ‘perhaps’ added.
I question John’s assumed marriage to Catherine Sinclair (MR Gunn page 167); it is far more likely that she married John MacHamish Gunn of the next generation – this next generation John is basically written out of Gunn mythic history - as this John and Catherine were about of the same age. This John MacHamish Gunn was the eldest son of the above Alexander who married Dame Mary Margaret Foulis. A lot more on him is to come …
John MacHamish in Navidale, perhaps of Killernan, was an unappealing character but part of real Gunn history.
And I am related to him.