McMullan Scottish Royalty and Some of Their Castles

In January 2020, while building an entirely new McMullan family tree, I discovered that descendants of John Patrick McMullan are directly related to Robert the 1st (Robert the Bruce), King of Scotland and to James the 1st Stewart, King of Scotland!

From John Patrick McMullan there are 14 generations to Robert the Bruce making him John's 12th Great Grandfather. From James the 1st to John there are 10 generations making James, John's 8th Great Grandfather.

All of this information is on RelativeFinder.org which was developed at Brigham Young University. It takes your family tree from FamilySearch.com. The more of your family that you put into FamilySearch, the more RelativeFinder is able to find relatives. Many times RelativeFinder will have people who are very distant relatives. For example, in my line, J.E.B. Stuart, the famous Confederate War general is my 4th cousin, 4x removed. Andy Griffith, Lucille Ball and Johnny Carson are all 10th cousins. James Stewart and Robert the Bruce though, are direct great grandparents of anyone who is a great grandchild of John Patrick McMullan. The line continues into the past through John’s mother, Mary Sinclair. Eventually, if you go far enough with the cousins and the times removed, we are all related to everyone because we all go back through Noah and to Adam.

To see my pedigree up to James Stewart (King James I of Scotland) Click Here. Who was King James I of Scotland (He was not the King James of the King James Version of the Bible. Click Here.

To see the pedigree from James Stewart (King James I of Scotland) to Robert the 1st “The Bruce” King of Scotland Click Here.

CASTLES

Ruins of Turnberry Castle where Robert I, “The Bruce”, King of Scotland was born.

Turnberry Castle is a fragmentary ruin on the coast of Kirkoswald parish, near Maybole in Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated at the extremity of the lower peninsula within the parish, it was the seat of the Earls of Carrick. Turnberry Castle is adjacent to Turnberry Golf Course.

Wikipedia Article about Turnberry Castle

Google Map Showing the Location of Turnberry Castle

We have a lot of royalty in our family both in Scotland and Ireland. Some of our Scottish relatives were born in and/or lived in castles, most of them still standing or remains of them standing. Below is a list of some of them.

The following are other castles that your direct great grandparents lived in, in Scotland.

Castle Sween where Erca MacNeil, wife of Alexander of the Cross MacMillan was born and lived.

Alexander of the Cross MacMillan’s wife Erca MacNeil was born in and when they were married, lived in Castle Sween, Knapdale, Scotland. Alexander 5th of Knap, 12th chief of Clan MacMillan has left two memorials: a round tower and a Celtic cross. One of the oldest fortresses in Scotland is Castle Sween and chief Alexander MacMillan married the heiress to the castle, Erca, daughter of Hector MacNeil. Alexander probably built the round tower on the castle which has always been known as MacMillan's Tower. The Celtic cross was erected in churchyard at Kilmory and it shows the chief himself hunting deer.”

Wikipedia Article about Castle Sween

Google Map Showing the Location of Castle Sween

Alexander Forbes and his wife Beatrice Abernathy lived in Pitsligo Castle, Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Pitsligo Castle is a ruined castle half a mile east of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.
It originated as a 15th-century keep. There is an arched gateway in the west wall of the outer court, with the date 1656 and the arms of the Forbeses and Erskines. In the inner court the date is shown as 1663. At the north-east angle of the courtyard there is a tall flanking drum-tower. The main tower had three vaulted stories, but almost all above the lowest has disappeared. There is a stair tower at the north-east corner which is better preserved. There are panels dated 1577 over the courtyard doorway.

It is listed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.

Wikipedia Article about Pitsligo Castle

Google Map Showing the Location of Pitsligo Castle

Lady Isabelle Ergadia MacDougall wife of John Stewart lived in Rosyth Castle, Lorn, Argyll, Scotland.

Rosyth Castle is a fifteenth-century ruined tower house on the perimeter of Rosyth Naval Dockyard, Fife, Scotland.

It originally stood on a small island in the Firth of Forth accessible only at low tide, and dates from around 1450, built as a secure residence by Sir David Stewart, who had been granted the Barony of Rosyth in 1428.

The original tower house (58 feet high) was enlarged and extended in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

In 1572 it was attacked by men from Blackness Castle on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and it was occupied in 1651 by Oliver Cromwell's army after the Battle of Inverkeithing.

It remained a Stewart residence until it was sold in the late seventeenth century to David Drummond of Invermay. It ultimately ended up in the possession of the Earl of Hopetoun and from the eighteenth century onward remained unoccupied. During this and later periods large parts of the stonework were re-used in other structures, and the later courtyard buildings were almost razed to the ground, leaving only the tower and north courtyard wall remaining significantly above ground-floor level.

It became Admiralty property in 1903 and as the result of land reclamation lost its waterfront position, becoming marooned within the dockyard. Although plans were made to restore and use the building, they came to nothing and the structure was made safe in its current condition. It passed into private hands when large tracts of the surrounding dockyard were sold.

About half a mile north of the castle is a well-preserved sixteenth-century dovecot, with a crow-stepped gable roof, with carved heads at two corners. Internally it has a barrel vaulted ceiling.

Wikipedia Article about Rosyth Castle

An Article about Rosyth Castle

Google Map Showing the Location of Rosyth Castle

Sir Ewen MacDougall 5th of Lorn and 7th of Dunollie was born in Dunollie Castle, Oban, Argyll, Scotland.

There was a fortification on this high promontory in the Early Middle Ages, when Dunollie was the royal centre of the Cenél Loairn within the kingdom of Dál Riata. The Irish annals record that "Dun Ollaigh" was attacked or burned down three times, in 686, 698, and in 701. It was subsequently rebuilt in 714 by Selbach mac Ferchair (died 730), the King of Dál Riata credited with destroying the site in 701. Excavations in the 1970s suggest that this early fortification was abandoned some time in the 10th century.

The area around Dunollie subsequently became part of the semi-independent Kingdom of the Isles, ruled over by Somerled in the 12th century. On his death the MacDougalls became Lords of Lorne. Dougall, Somerled’s son, held most of Argyll and also the islands of Mull, Lismore, Jura, Tiree, Coll and many others in the 12th century.

Excavations show that Dunollie was refortified with an earthwork castle in the 13th century or potentially the late 12th century. The builder may have been Dougall, or his son Duncan. Ewan MacDougall, great-grandson of Somerled and the third chief of the MacDougalls, switched the clan's allegiance in the mid 13th century: initially allied with Haakon IV of Norway, from the 1250s Ewan remained loyal to the kings of Scotland.

In the 14th century Ewan's grandson John MacDougall, along with his kinsmen the Comyns, sided with the Balliols against the interests of Robert the Bruce. John MacDougall's army defeated the Bruce at the Battle of Dalrigh in 1306, but Bruce returned in 1308 and crushed the MacDougalls at the Battle of the Pass of Brander. The MacDougall lands of Lorne were subsequently forfeit and were given to the Campbells, though Dunollie and other estates were regained later in the 14th century.

The existing castle ruins date largely from the 15th century.

The Marquis of Argyll captured the castle in 1644, but it was returned to the MacDougalls in 1661. In 1746, the MacDougalls abandoned Dunollie Castle and built Dunollie House just downhill from the castle ruins.

In recent years, a charitable trust was formed titled The MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust, who are responsible for the care of the historic buildings and collections held in this an ancestral site. Today, the Dunollie Preservation Trust operates Dunollie Museum, Castle & Grounds - a visitor attractions and social enterprise. Through the running of this organisation, all funds raised contribute to ongoing conservation and development efforts as well as education and learning. Remains of a historical herb garden have recently been discovered in the castle grounds.

Wikipedia Article about Donollie Castle

Google Map Showing the Location of Dunollie Castle

Lady Isabelle Ergadia MacDougall grew up in Dunstaffnage Castle, Lorne, Argyll and Bute, Scotland and married
Sir John Stewart.

Dunstaffnage Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) N.N.E. of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loch Etive, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea.

The castle dates back to the 13th century, making it one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in a local group which includes Castle Sween and Castle Tioram. Guarding a strategic location, it was built by the MacDougall lords of Lorn, and has been held since the 15th century by the Clan Campbell. To this day there is a hereditary Captain of Dunstaffnage, although they no longer reside at the castle. dunstaffnage is maintained by Historic Scotland, and is open to the public, although the 16th century gatehouse is retained as the private property of the Captain. The prefix dun in the name means "fort" in Gaelic, while the rest of the name derives from Norse stafr-nis, "headland of the staff".

Wikipedia Article about Dunstaffnage Castle

Google Map Showing the Location of Dunstaffnage Castle

SCOTTISH TARTANS

McMullans are part of The Clan MacMillan. Below are a couple of examples of our Scottish Tartans. There are others for The Clan MacMillan which you can see by clicking the link below.

MacMillan Hunting Modern
MacMillan Ancient Modern

These are only a couple. To see more about The MacMillan Clan’s Scottish Tartans Click Here.

I was in Franklin, North Carolina a couple of years ago at The Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center where I picked up swatches of The Clan MacMillan’s tartans for my children and nephews. They even have bolts of material in most of the major tartan’s for those of you who sew!

 

 

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