Country: USA
EMail: mwcm@yahoo.com
Clan Associations: Macdonald, Campbell
Entry:
One of the most famous feuds in the history of Scotland was
a bloody feud between the Campbell's and Macdonald's. I've met many
Scottish people who have read about or heard about it. It was
reportedly begun when a group of Campbell's were paid by the King of
England at that time, to kill a group Macdonald's "trouble makers for
the kind", the Macdonald's of Clanranald. This group of
Campbell's allegedly went as guests to visit these Macdonald's, and after
eating drinking their wine, snuck up in the middle of the night and slit
their throats.
That was the start of a famous bloody feud which lasted generations
between two of Scotland's largest clans.
At some point while the feud was going on, a man from the Macdonald clan
fell in love with a woman from the Campbell clan. (This is true, I'm
not making it up!) Because the clans would have never permitted them
to get married, they ran away to a different part of Scotland and changed
their name.
He changed his name from Isaac Macdonald to Donald MacIsaac. They
gave the first son the middle name Campbell from his mom's side which has
been passed all the way down, from my grandfathers father, to my
grandfather, to my father, and to me.
The MacIsaac clan, being relatively new, never got very large. Right
now there are very few MacIsaac's in the USA. My ancestors, as well
as most MacIsaac's who came to North America moved to Nova Scotia a long
time back. My ancestors came through there and then to the USA.
I've heard that even today the last name MacIsaac is one of the most
common among folks in certain areas in and around Nova Scotia. There
is a musician who is very famous in Canada, who plays Celtic songs on his
fiddle and blends it with modern music, he's from Nova Scotia, and always
wears a kilt when he plays concerts. It's always great for me to
visit Canada and know that people know how to spell my last name there!
Scotland and Nova Scotia here I come!
Michael MacIsaac
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