The McGhee family is an ancient lowland

Scottish Lowlands

The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....

 family of Scotland, established as Lords of Balmaghie

Balmaghie

Balmaghie , from the Scottish Gaelic Baile Mac Aoidh, is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and was the seat of the McGhee family. It is bordered by the River Dee to the north and east...

 in Galloway

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

 since the 10th century. Both the Clan Donald

Clan Donald

Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...

 and the Clan Mackay

Clan MacKay

Clan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...

 claim it as a sept. Historically, however, the Mackays are in fact an offshoot of this family rather than vice versa. Its ancient origins are uncertain: some claim it was founded by an Irish chieftain of the 10th century, others that it is an offshoot of the royal MacEths, descended from Malcolm III. Its extensive property in the Borders was acquired during the reign of the Stuarts

House of Stuart

The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

. The family has always been self-consciously lowland and, almost uniquely among prominent Scottish families, remained entirely indifferent to the Clan system, as historians have noted:

"With such a variety of spellings many held lands, bore personal arms and sometimes held important positions and yet none, other than the Chief of Mackay, has been recognised in the chiefship of the kindred."

Gilbert M'Gy is the first to be recorded as Lord of Balmaghie (1370–1426), though the name is first found transliterated from Gaelic with a 'G' in 1296, referring to his ancestor, Gille Michel MacGethe. The family acquired progressively more influence and importance, especially during the reign of the Stuarts, and (having won favour with and then spurned the Stuarts at the right times) by the eighteenth century was a major force in Scottish and London society. However, its prominence was lost with the sale of its estates and an extremely severe lack of male heirs; by the early 18th century the families of Balmaghie, Airie and Airds, and Castlehill were practically extinct. John McGhie, last of Castlehill, had six daughters, the eldest of whom had six sons who all died childless. Because this decline occurred before the romantic revival of interest in the clans, the family never acquired its own tartan. McGhees may therefore choose to show allegiance to either the MacDonalds or the Mackays in their choice of tartan. The Balmaghie Estate itself, consisting of about 4000 acres (16.2 km²) of agricultural and sporting land (best known for its roe deer stalking) is now owned by the Bond family.

The coat of arms of the Balmaghie McGhees is given as "sable, three leopards' heads erased

Erasure (heraldry)

Erasure, in the language of heraldry, is the tearing off of part of a charge, leaving a jagged edge of it remaining. In blazons the concept is usually met with in the form of the adjective erased....

 argent." Its motto is "Quae Sursum Volo" ("I desire heavenly things"). Early records of the arms show slight variation, however:

• Maogee of Balmagy - Sable, three human faces Argent tongues extended Gules. ~ Slains Armorial, 1565

• Macghie - Sable, three leopards' heads erased Argent. ~ Mackenzie's Scotland's Herauldrie, 1680

• MacGie - Sable, three leopards' heads Argent. ~ Nisbet's A System of Heraldry, 1722

• MacGie of Balmaghie - Sable, three leopards' heads Or. ~ Nisbet's A System of Heraldry, 1722

• Magee [Ireland] - Crest, a lion, sejant, collared. ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

• Macgee - Gules, three martlets Or. ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

• McGee, or McGhee [West India] - Sable, a fesse between three leopards' faces Argent. Motto, "Fac et Spera". ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

• MacGhie [Balmagie, Scotland] - Sable, three leopards' heads Or. (Another, Argent). ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

• McGhie [England] - Sable, a fesse between three leopards' faces Argent. Crest: an ostrich Argent, in the beak a horse-shoe Azure. ~ Robson's The British Herald', 1830

• MacGie - Azure, three leopards' heads erased, Argent. ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

• McGie - Sable, a mullet arranged between three leopards' heads, erased guardant Or. Crest: a leopard's head, erased guardant Or, ducally gorged Gules. ~ Robson's The British Herald, 1830

The other prominent Galloway branches of the family were those of Airds and Castlehill. The name was also commonly interchangeable with Mackie and Mackay in Wigtownshire and Kintyre, and a branch of the family controlled the Rhinns of Islay for several centuries. Alexander M'Ghie inherited the Lairdship of Atrochie in Aberdeenshire from his father Hugo.

McGhee and its variants (e.g. McGee, McGie, McGhie, Magee, M'Gie etc.) is also a common surname in Ireland. Persons bearing this name are almost certainly inter-related, given the volume of migration across the Irish Sea, in both directions, particularly during the Galloglass and Plantation years. While both Catholic and Protestant McGhees can be found, the Balmaghie family were Presbyterian and the family's most notable churchmen were low Anglicans, as in the case of Archbishop Magee of Dublin and Archbishop Magee of York

William Connor Magee

William Connor Magee was an Irish clergyman of the Anglican church, Archbishop of York for a short period in 1891.-Life:...

. The Revd Nathaniel McGhie, a younger son of Balmaghie, was an eccentric and witty minister of Crossmichael who wrote the humorous self-parodying song "Nae dominies for me, laddie," about a young minister spurned by a young lady for a man with finer livery. A prominent exception is the current Bishop of Cloyne

John Magee (bishop)

John Magee, SPS was a Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland. He resigned his episcopal seat on 24 March 2010.-Early life:...

, a Traditionalist Catholic who was falsely accused of murdering Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I

John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...

. Odo MacIdh was Canon of Argyll in 1433.

The only peer with the surname is The Hon. Lord McGhie, Chairman of the Scottish Land Court and President of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.. Knights with this name include Sir John McGhie of Balmaghie (knighted by 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...

), and Sir Ian Magee (knighted by Elizabeth II). Robert Makgye was Court Jester to James II

James II of Scotland

James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...

 from 1441-50.

Chiefs

The McGhees were never a Scottish Clan

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...

, and therefore the title of "clan Chief

Scottish clan chief

The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...

" was never used. The undisputed head of those bearing the surname, however, was the head of the family at Balmaghie (given below), who bore the undifferenced arms of McGhie.

• Michael Macge (1339-13??)
• Gilbert M'Ghie, 1st Lord of Balmage (13??-1426)
• Gilbert M'Gy
  Gilbert M'Gy
  Gilbert M'Gy of that Ilk, 2nd Lord of Balmage, 3rd Chief of the Name and Arms of McGhie was a Scottish landowner and head of the powerful McGhie branch of the Clan Mackay, which, effectively operated independently, using its own coat of arms and seals and owning swathes of land in...
  
  , 2nd Lord of Balmage (1426–1471)
• William M'Gye of Balmage and Slogarrie (1471–1527), m. Blanch de Levenax
• Nicholas M'Ghie of Balmagee and Torris (1527-15??), m. Elizabeth Maxwell
• William Makgee (15?? - 1570)
• Alexander MakGee (1570–1611)
• Robert M'Ghie (1611–1637), m. Grissel Charteris
• Sir John M'Ghie (1637–1658), m. 1stly Barbara Anderson, 2ndly Elizabeth Levingstoune
• Alexander M'Ghie (1658–1690), m. 1stly Margaret M'Kee, 2ndly Elizabeth Stewart
• William M'Ghie (1690–1704), m. Anna Ballantyne or Fullerton
• John M'Ghie (1704–1732), m. Hon Isabel Gordon (daughter of Viscount Kenmure)
• Alexander M'Ghie (1732–1739), m. Grizzell Gordon (his cousin, granddaughter of the same Viscount Kenmure)
• John M'Ghie (1739–1761)
• William M'Ghie (1761-17??), m. Hon Eleonora McDouall (sister of the Earl of Dumfries
  Earl of Dumfries
  Earl of Dumfries is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was originally created for William Crichton, 9th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, in 1633, and stayed in the Crichton family until the death of the fourth earl in 1758, at which point the title passed to first the Dalrymple and then the McDouall...
  
  )

William (uncle of John) inherited Balmaghie unexpectedly, with John McGhie's son having predeceased him. He was a merchant in Edinburgh and sold all the estate in 1786 to the Gordon family, to which he was closely related. He was Secretary of the fashionable Honourable Society of Hunters (a racing club composed of the principle nobles and gentry of Scotland). The grand Hunters' Ball at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 was the highlight of the early nineteenth-century Scottish social season. He was also a friend of James Boswell

James Boswell

James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....

. Boswell described him as "a good-natured man, who has no aversion to be a butt, although he takes care to have a good premium for every arrow that he receives."

Another William M'Ghie was a doctor in London, one of Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...

's best friends, and a member of his Ivy Lane Club

Ivy Lane Club

The Ivy Lane Club was a literary and social club founded by Samuel Johnson in the 1740s. The club met in the King's Head, a beefsteak house in Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, near St Paul's Cathedral, London....

. He was also a poet

Physician writer

Physician writers are medical doctors who write creatively in fields outside their practice of medicine.The following is a partial list of physician-writers by historic epoch or century in which the author was born, arranged in alphabetical order...

 and friend of Tobias Smollett

Tobias Smollett

Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens.-Life:Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, now part of Renton,...

. He fought with the Government against the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 as Captain of the Edinburgh Company of Volunteers, and was taken prisoner by the rebels after the disastrous Battle of Falkirk

Battle of Falkirk (1746)

During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk Muir was the last noteworthy Jacobite success.-Background:...

. Other distinguished officers include Lt-Col John Macghie of the Scots brigade who was killed fighting for the Dutch in 179 and Captain James Maghie.

In 1709 John Macghie was appointed Physician to the King

Physician to the Queen

Physician to the King and Physician to the Queen are titles of the physician who is chief officer of the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom...

 by King George I

George I of Great Britain

George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....

 in return for his loyalty to the Hanoverian succession. Major-General John McGhie

John McGhie

Major-General John McGhie CB , was a Scottish-born leading Army psychiatrist, author, former Director of Army Psychiatry and President of the Ministry of Defence Army Medical Board.-Early life and career:...

 CB was an Honorary Physician to Queen Elizabeth II.

Historically, the family had a long association with St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

, while practically no-one with the surname has ever matriculated at Oxford.

The Balmaghie family and house are satirised very prominently in the works of Samuel Rutherford Crockett

Samuel Rutherford Crockett

Samuel Rutherford Crockett was a Scottish novelist, born at Duchrae, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, the illegitimate grandson of a farmer....

, including 'Sandy', Lochinvar', 'Kid McGhie', 'Fishers of Men' and 'The Men of the Moss Hags'.

Other Branches

The arms of the branch of the family (who spelled the name McGhie or McGee) which was seated in England by the early 19th century is given by Thomas Robson in "The British Herald" as sable a fesse between three leopards' faces argent. Their crest, however, bears no resemblance to the Balmaghie family's - it is quoted in Fairbairn's 'Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain' as "an ostrich argent, in the beak a horse-shoe azure." This is the crest of the Gell baronets

Gell Baronets

The Gell Baronetcy, of Hopton in the County of Derby, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 29 January 1642 for John Gell, Hopton Hall, Derbyshire, chief barmaster in the wapentake of Wirksworth from 1638–1644. The family gained importance and wealthy through their lead...

, to whom a connection may be supposed. Robert McGhie and his sons William and Willoughby McGhie lived at Upcott House, Bishop's Hull, Taunton. Another English Robert McGhie's estate was fought over in an extended Courts of Chancery case (McGhie v McGhie) in 1817.

A man bearing the name McGie matriculated the following arms in the early 19th century: "sable a mullet arranged between three leopards' heads erased guardant or." The crest was a leopard's head erased guardant or, ducally gorged gules." The significance of the ducal coronet is not known.

Robert McGhee had possession of the vast and controversial Greenside sugar estate in Jamaica in the late eighteenth century. Their arms and crest were identical to the English family's, but with the motto "Fac et Spera". Incidentally, it was a Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 missionary named the Revd William R F McGhie who designed the flag of Jamaica in the 1950s.

McGhee Place in Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

 is named after a branch which settled in Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

in the 20th century.

The Irish surname "Magee", while sharing ancient origins with the Scottish variants, is considered a separate family. Their crest is "a lion sejant collared," while their arms are not given in Robson.