Clan Fergusson
Encyclopedia
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Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
which has multiple geographic origins across Scotland. Consequently the Fergussons may be viewed as both a Highland and a Lowland clan.
"Sons of Fergus" the world over have gained distinction in nonmilitary activities, e.g. in the law, the church, government, the arts and sciences, medicine, education, agriculture and in business and industry. Mention can only be made of Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson
Adam Ferguson FRSE, also known as Ferguson of Raith was a Scottish philosopher, social scientist and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment...
the philosopher (1724–1816) and Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson followed an essentially bohemian life course in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intellectual and cultural ferment as part of the Scottish enlightenment...
(1750–1774) the poet and mentor of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
. And in the realm of romance, the heroine of the song Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on poem by William Douglas of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.-William Douglas:...
was married to Alexander Ferguson of Craigdarroch
Craigdarroch
Craigdarroch is the name of a house near Moniaive, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was the seat of the Chief of the Dumfriesshire Fergussons for 600 years.Built by William Adam in 1729 over the old house dating from the earliest records ....
.
Origins
Before the 18th century, at least five groups of Fergusons possessed lands and lived in the style of a clan under their respective chiefs in Argyll, PerthshirePerthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, and Carrick
Carrick, Scotland
Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...
. Today, the Kilkerran Fergusons in Ayrshire and the family of Fergusson of Baledmund and the Fergusons of Balquhidder, both in Perthshire, are still owners of extensive lands.
Fergussons from both Galloway and Carrick alike claim descent from Fergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway was King, or Lord, of Galloway from an unknown date , until his death in 1161. He was the founder of that "sub-kingdom," the resurrector of the Bishopric of Whithorn, the patron of new abbeys , and much else besides...
. The grandfather of Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick
Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick
Donnchadh was a Gall-Gaidhil prince and Scottish magnate in what is now south-western Scotland, whose career stretched from the last quarter of the 12th century until his death in 1250...
and in turn great-great-grandfather to Robert Bruce, Fergus, restored the see of Whithorn and founded Dundrennan Abbey
Dundrennan Abbey
Dundrennan Abbey, in Dundrennan, Scotland, near to Kirkcudbright, was a Cistercian monastery in the Romanesque architectural style, established in 1142 by Fergus of Galloway, King David I of Scotland , and monks from Rievaulx Abbey....
during the reign of David I and Malcolm IV. He died as a monk at Holyrood in 1161. Through Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
passes the line of the Royal Family of Britain. It was the 1st Earl of Carrick's signature that might suggest the origins of the Fergusson surname, Duncan, son of Gilbert, the son of Fergus, hence MacFhearguis.
It is known with certainty that by the 13th century there were men in widely separated districts of Scotland which called themselves "sons of Fergus". It is recorded in the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
there was in 1216 a day of disaster to the Cenel-Ferghusa at the hand of the Mormaer of Lennox's son, Muireadhach. Through the passing of the ages however the particulars of the story have been lost.
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
granted certain lands in Ayrshire to Fergus MacFergus, and in 1466 John Ferguson resigned a portion of his estate to Fergus Ferguson (of Kilkerran), his son, and Janet Kennedy, his wife. From this line stems Sir Charles Fergusson, 9th Baronet, and Baron of Kilkerran who holds the undifferenced arms as Chief of the Name.
The name is also common in Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
where there have been several landed families, some claiming to have been planted there from Ayrshire in the 17th century. Others of the name in Antrim and nearby counties descend from people who did not migrate to Dalriada
Dalriada
Dalriada can refer to:* Dál Riata, a Gaelic kingdom in western Scotland and north-east Ireland in the Early Middle Ages* Dalriada School, a co-educational, voluntary grammar school in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland* Dalriada , Hungarian folk metal band...
in the 5th century.
The Anglicised "Fergusson" was widely used by the reign of James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. The shortened form of the name with the single "s" was initiated by record clerks before the 17th century. The common spelling of the day was "Fergussoun" and by the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, "Fergussone".
17th century and Civil War
The dispersed Clan Fergusson has not blazed the battlefield with glories won by the sword. However, "Sons of Fergus" fought with Clan BruceClan Bruce
Clan Bruce is a Scottish clan from Kincardine in Scotland. It was a Royal House in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland.-Origins of the Clan:...
in the Scottish Civil War
Scottish Civil War
Between 1644 and 1651 Scotland was involved the Wars of the Three Kingdoms during a period when a series of civil wars that were fought in Scotland, England and in Ireland...
and the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Some Perthshire Fergusons fought alongside James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
in 1644.
18th century and Jacobite uprisings
The oldest soldier in Prince Charles Edward's Army at the Battle of PrestonpansBattle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
in the '45 was an 80-year-old Fergusson.
In the 18th century the head of the Kilkerran family came gradually to be regarded as the chief of all the Fergus(s)ons. This family has produced notable statesmen, military leaders, lawyers, writers and agricultural improvers. The present Chief is Sir Charles Ferguson of Kilkerran, 9th Baronet, who lives in the ancestral home near Maybole, Ayrshire.
World wars
In modern times and during World Wars I and II many Fergus(s)ons from Scotland and abroad were distinguished military leaders. Clan Ferguson has been termed a "gentle force" that gained respected prominence from live and let live. Recently, however, a clansman, after looking at McIan's depiction of "The Ferguson" as a barefooted, Claymore-wielding, helmeted warrior wearing the ancient Lein-croich, or saffron colored shirt of the Celts, remarked that "if Clan Ferguson is a "gentle force" he was glad the warrior was one of us and not a foeman!"Clan Chief
- Clan Chief: Sir Charles Fergusson of Kilkerran, 9th BT, Chief of the Name and Arms of Fergusson.
- Clan Chief's ArmsCoat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
: A buckle Argent between three boars' heads couped.