Sage Gunn History continues; lots of Chief genealogy; Thomas Sinclair ‘Clan Gunn History Supplement’ 33, 11 August 1903
REVIEW
Some nice early mainstream history and a lot on William Beag’s line and general Gunn Chief issues; a useful read.
KEY ISSUES / PEOPLE / PLACES / PHRASES
· Successors of the original M’Hamish coroner’s son continue to John Gunn of Navidale... Mackay’s tradition seems to ‘condescend’ with John Gunn the M’Hamish prior to the second...
· ‘Annals of Sutherland’ Donald Mackay 1542 invaded Sutherland... Hugh Kennedy, married to Johanna, Countess of Sutherland ... John Murray of Abercross... Gilbert Gordon’s party and M’Hamish party pursued Donald Mackay and his party who carried a great booty of cattle away from Knockartille and Pitfeuir... They fought and worsted the Mackays
· This mackeamish, though no proper name is affixed... became the second M’Hamish, or the coroner’s grandson
· Ross says ... ‘John, the son of the M’Hamish, chief of the Clan Gunn’... Altinabeist ...
· ‘Tradition, however, concurs that this M’Hamish the second had two sons by his marriages, called both William.. The heir and son of the first marriage was denominated Big William, and of the second Little William. Nothing memorable is related regarding Big William or M’Hamish the third, but that from him is descended John Gunn of Navidale, who is the fourth M’Hamish. From him is descended Alexander the fifth M’Hamish, of Navidale and Killearnan, also George.
· Of the fifth ... 1555 he assisted with Tarrel of Doll, Clyne of Clyne in pursuing and overtaking Big John Mackay, bastard son of John Mackay of Farr after his plundering the east coast or part of Sutherland, burning the Church of Loth, St Ninian’s chapel at Navidale and stealing cattle... attacked by the Sutherlanders at the foot of Morven, near the Water of Garvery...this was the last abd severest battle between Sutherlanders and the Mackays ... Ross provides support...
· From Alexander Gunn of Navidale and Killearnan, the fifth M’Hamish, were descended Donald and George Gunn, the former of whom was the sixth M’Hamish laird of Killearnan. ... epithet M’Hamish Crottach ... hump-backed and long-legged... The charters of the land of the lands... request was granted... M’Hamish resolved to defend himself with 250 men... Lord Sutherland relented and gabe the Gunns Badenloch, in place of Killearnan ... The affair was amicably ended by Captain Sutherland of Torbo, his father-in-law, who, after strongly reasoning on the cruelty of ruining his son-in-law Killearnan, declared that if anything should befall him he would begin by setting fire to the Little Rock, Craig Ameril and proceed forward (!)... Donald Gunn got Badinloch and Kilgower Killearnan...
· IMPORTANTLY ‘Donald Gunn of Killearnan, before this alteration, got his family which he had by Torbo’s daughter removed to his relatives in Caithness, to prevent their being taken as hostages in ratification of the treay. By her he had Alexander, George, William and two daughters. The eldest daughter married Donald Mackay of Skerray and the other John Gunn of Kinbrace, of the branch of Little William.
· Alexander Gunn of Navidale and Killearnan married the daughter of Lord Reay (1st of that title) Donald Duaghal
· Last M’Hamish (7th) was Donald Gunn’s eldest son Alexander...high authority.. Captain of the Militia 1745 and 1746... He married a daughter of of Mackay of Kirtomy by whom he had a numerous family namely, Alexander who died an officer in the Dutch service, a daughter who married to Major Mackay of Rearchar, and several other children whose names cannot be recollected. After the death of Mrs Gunn .. widower ... then married a daughter of Mr Ross, Minister of Loth by whom he had William and Morrison (the last generally agreed Chiefs)
· The 2nd branch of the coroner... M’Rob M’Coroner; Robson Gunns...more on them later
· of Navidale were accidentally burnt in KIlearnan (house on fire)... Gordon of Kilgower nastily applied to the family of Sutherland to get a lease
· Little William tribe. George Georgesons; second the M’Horishes, third Little William tribe...Little William Gunn was 2nd son of a M’Hamish ... Chief residence was in the heights of Sutherland in the Parish of Kildonan, and they were commonly termed the family of Kinbrace...succeeded by Little William’s people. Little William Gunn of Kinbrace who wadsetted it for 500 marks scots ... had so numerous a posterity that the Kinbracians became two separate familes or divisions, the Mulbuies and the Achanakins. From Donald ‘the man of letters’ who was William Gunn’s son, were the Gunns of Mulbuie and the younger branch of the Achanakins.
Robert Gunn of Achanakin ... is the principal seanachie... He traces up seven generations of each branch. Thus Rev. William and Rev. Robert Gunn, ministers of the gospel, were the sons of Adam, son of William, son of Adam, son of William, son of Adam son of Donald the Scholar of Mulbuie, Kinbrace Gunns or Little William’s race. The second are Robert, son of William, son of Robert, son of William, son of Donald,, son of William, son of Donald the Scholar of Achanakin, , the Kinbrace Gunns of Little William’s race. The wadset of Kinbrace ... terminated with the third William, little William’s great-grandson... wadset terminated by umbrage taken at Donald Gunn of Achanakin, Kinbrace’s brother, after his decease by Mrs Gunn, widow and second wife ... Kinbrace had a son by his former wife, his apparent and real heir, whom she wanted to denude the rights of succession to the wadset... so she rode with the deeds to Gordon of Embo a factor for Lord Sutherland and delivered up the lease to him... Donald Gunn of Achanakin arrived very soon after... Entered Embo’s house .. and demanded the restoration of his brother’s charter... The laird and factor refused... he got his way and got the deeds of Kinbrace but had to pay a 100 merks.. (There are question marks all over this story; Donald the scholar’s children are known of ‘Mulbuie and Achanakin’, not Kinbrace; the Kinbrace line seems to be Donald the Scholar’s younger brother who also has a John in the right place to be John of Kinbrace.... Donald Gunn of Achanakin does nort sem to have brother, but the Mubuie Gunns do as do descendants of William of Kinbrace, Donald the Scholar’s brother)Lots more on this line in the 1868/1870 tree sections...
· The Widow soon after married William Sutherland of Ousdale... got a tack lease of Kinbrace... famine... which meant he had subset his tack to the M’Hamish of Badinloch and return to Ousdale... the Gunn heir fell in soon to the wadset .. married a daughter of Sutherland of Langwell... Embo the factor .. William Gunn then squeezed out of his inheritance...
A lot of the Kinbrace material is very questionable when one looks at the original documents...
Some nice early mainstream history and a lot on William Beag’s line and general Gunn Chief issues; a useful read.
KEY ISSUES / PEOPLE / PLACES / PHRASES
· Successors of the original M’Hamish coroner’s son continue to John Gunn of Navidale... Mackay’s tradition seems to ‘condescend’ with John Gunn the M’Hamish prior to the second...
· ‘Annals of Sutherland’ Donald Mackay 1542 invaded Sutherland... Hugh Kennedy, married to Johanna, Countess of Sutherland ... John Murray of Abercross... Gilbert Gordon’s party and M’Hamish party pursued Donald Mackay and his party who carried a great booty of cattle away from Knockartille and Pitfeuir... They fought and worsted the Mackays
· This mackeamish, though no proper name is affixed... became the second M’Hamish, or the coroner’s grandson
· Ross says ... ‘John, the son of the M’Hamish, chief of the Clan Gunn’... Altinabeist ...
· ‘Tradition, however, concurs that this M’Hamish the second had two sons by his marriages, called both William.. The heir and son of the first marriage was denominated Big William, and of the second Little William. Nothing memorable is related regarding Big William or M’Hamish the third, but that from him is descended John Gunn of Navidale, who is the fourth M’Hamish. From him is descended Alexander the fifth M’Hamish, of Navidale and Killearnan, also George.
· Of the fifth ... 1555 he assisted with Tarrel of Doll, Clyne of Clyne in pursuing and overtaking Big John Mackay, bastard son of John Mackay of Farr after his plundering the east coast or part of Sutherland, burning the Church of Loth, St Ninian’s chapel at Navidale and stealing cattle... attacked by the Sutherlanders at the foot of Morven, near the Water of Garvery...this was the last abd severest battle between Sutherlanders and the Mackays ... Ross provides support...
· From Alexander Gunn of Navidale and Killearnan, the fifth M’Hamish, were descended Donald and George Gunn, the former of whom was the sixth M’Hamish laird of Killearnan. ... epithet M’Hamish Crottach ... hump-backed and long-legged... The charters of the land of the lands... request was granted... M’Hamish resolved to defend himself with 250 men... Lord Sutherland relented and gabe the Gunns Badenloch, in place of Killearnan ... The affair was amicably ended by Captain Sutherland of Torbo, his father-in-law, who, after strongly reasoning on the cruelty of ruining his son-in-law Killearnan, declared that if anything should befall him he would begin by setting fire to the Little Rock, Craig Ameril and proceed forward (!)... Donald Gunn got Badinloch and Kilgower Killearnan...
· IMPORTANTLY ‘Donald Gunn of Killearnan, before this alteration, got his family which he had by Torbo’s daughter removed to his relatives in Caithness, to prevent their being taken as hostages in ratification of the treay. By her he had Alexander, George, William and two daughters. The eldest daughter married Donald Mackay of Skerray and the other John Gunn of Kinbrace, of the branch of Little William.
· Alexander Gunn of Navidale and Killearnan married the daughter of Lord Reay (1st of that title) Donald Duaghal
· Last M’Hamish (7th) was Donald Gunn’s eldest son Alexander...high authority.. Captain of the Militia 1745 and 1746... He married a daughter of of Mackay of Kirtomy by whom he had a numerous family namely, Alexander who died an officer in the Dutch service, a daughter who married to Major Mackay of Rearchar, and several other children whose names cannot be recollected. After the death of Mrs Gunn .. widower ... then married a daughter of Mr Ross, Minister of Loth by whom he had William and Morrison (the last generally agreed Chiefs)
· The 2nd branch of the coroner... M’Rob M’Coroner; Robson Gunns...more on them later
· of Navidale were accidentally burnt in KIlearnan (house on fire)... Gordon of Kilgower nastily applied to the family of Sutherland to get a lease
· Little William tribe. George Georgesons; second the M’Horishes, third Little William tribe...Little William Gunn was 2nd son of a M’Hamish ... Chief residence was in the heights of Sutherland in the Parish of Kildonan, and they were commonly termed the family of Kinbrace...succeeded by Little William’s people. Little William Gunn of Kinbrace who wadsetted it for 500 marks scots ... had so numerous a posterity that the Kinbracians became two separate familes or divisions, the Mulbuies and the Achanakins. From Donald ‘the man of letters’ who was William Gunn’s son, were the Gunns of Mulbuie and the younger branch of the Achanakins.
Robert Gunn of Achanakin ... is the principal seanachie... He traces up seven generations of each branch. Thus Rev. William and Rev. Robert Gunn, ministers of the gospel, were the sons of Adam, son of William, son of Adam, son of William, son of Adam son of Donald the Scholar of Mulbuie, Kinbrace Gunns or Little William’s race. The second are Robert, son of William, son of Robert, son of William, son of Donald,, son of William, son of Donald the Scholar of Achanakin, , the Kinbrace Gunns of Little William’s race. The wadset of Kinbrace ... terminated with the third William, little William’s great-grandson... wadset terminated by umbrage taken at Donald Gunn of Achanakin, Kinbrace’s brother, after his decease by Mrs Gunn, widow and second wife ... Kinbrace had a son by his former wife, his apparent and real heir, whom she wanted to denude the rights of succession to the wadset... so she rode with the deeds to Gordon of Embo a factor for Lord Sutherland and delivered up the lease to him... Donald Gunn of Achanakin arrived very soon after... Entered Embo’s house .. and demanded the restoration of his brother’s charter... The laird and factor refused... he got his way and got the deeds of Kinbrace but had to pay a 100 merks.. (There are question marks all over this story; Donald the scholar’s children are known of ‘Mulbuie and Achanakin’, not Kinbrace; the Kinbrace line seems to be Donald the Scholar’s younger brother who also has a John in the right place to be John of Kinbrace.... Donald Gunn of Achanakin does nort sem to have brother, but the Mubuie Gunns do as do descendants of William of Kinbrace, Donald the Scholar’s brother)Lots more on this line in the 1868/1870 tree sections...
· The Widow soon after married William Sutherland of Ousdale... got a tack lease of Kinbrace... famine... which meant he had subset his tack to the M’Hamish of Badinloch and return to Ousdale... the Gunn heir fell in soon to the wadset .. married a daughter of Sutherland of Langwell... Embo the factor .. William Gunn then squeezed out of his inheritance...
A lot of the Kinbrace material is very questionable when one looks at the original documents...