|
Dear Alastair,
Firstly, I must thank you for making
available such a vast amount of interesting information at "electricscotland.com."
In both breadth of scope and depth of detail it is unequalled.
As you will be more than aware, there are numerous
Scottish Clan and their Septs web sites. Almost all list the
Kellas family as a Sept of the Farquharsons, including the "List
of Clan Septs and Dependents" provided by "electricscotland.com".
But the list supplied by George Way of Plein, Secretary to the
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, which can also be accessed at
"electricscotland.com" does not include "Kellas"
as a Sept of the Farquharson's, or any other Clan. Several other
web sites which provide Clan information which they claim to be
"Approved by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs"
also do not include "Kellas" as a Farquharson Associated
Family. From this I conclude that the present chief, Captain Alwyne
Farquharson of Invercauld and the Court of the Lord Lyon do not
recognise the Kellas Family to be a Sept of the Farquharsons. I
am therefore wondering what is the basis for so many
Farquharson Sept listings including "Kellas" as
an associated family. My own research indicates that
Kellas' were tenant farmers on mainly Gordon lands in the Parishes of
Strathdon and Cabrach (*) in Aberdeenshire for over 250 years,
but there is no suggestion of them being a Sept of the Gordons, or of
the Grants through intermarriage. [(*) I am a descendant of the
Cabrach line of the Kellas'.]
A tradition retained by several branches
of the Kellas' has it that 3 brothers, who may have been Irish and who
may have originally been named MacDonnell, escaped a massacre and were
granted refuge at the lands of Kellas (now the village of Kellas) in
Morayshire, but then had to move suddenly to Strathdon where they
adopted "Kellas/Kelles/Kellis" [depending on the vagaries of
the phonetic spelling of Parish Clerks and other officials] as their
name. The most probable timing that might cover such a circumstance
would be after the Battle of Philiphaugh and after Montrose disbanded
his army at Rattray near Blairgowrie on 30 July 1646, following which
most of his few surviving Irish troops entered the service
of George Gordon, the Marquis of Huntly which ultimately led to the
execution [by General David Leslie] of [almost?] all of them
without trial in early 1647... [as also mentioned in your sites
"General History of the Highlands 1645-1649 (Part 2)"]. I
have found evidence that at that time, the "lands of Kellas"
in Moray were owned by "William Farquharsone of Kellas".
His Grandfather (or Great-grandfather) was granted the "lands of
Kelles" by the Bishop of Moray in 1562. The ancestor was
also called William Farquharson but had originally been named Cumming,
but after a dispute with the Chief of that Clan, changed his name
to Farquharson as he could claim descent, presumably through his
mother, from "Fearquhard, son of Alexander, sixth laird of
Altyre." (||) This is also mentioned on page 5 of your
sites "History of Clan Farquharson" which begs the
question, did the Farquharsons of Aberdeenshire ever recognise (#) the
Farquharsons of Moray and Banff as members of Clan Farquharson, and
were the Kellas' ever a recognised Sept of the Farquharsons of Moray? [
please note that again "Kellas" is not included
in the Septs of Clan Farquharson listed on page 5.]
[(||) Altyre is about 10 miles West
of Kellas in Morayshire] [(#) William Farquharson was an Elder in
the Parish of Dallas so he may have been a Covenanter supporter. In
1625, "Archibald Dunbar, son of Dunbar of Bothe married
Merione Farquhar, daughter of William Farquhar of Kelles". At the
Battle of Auldearn on 9 May 1645, which took place about 15 miles
North-West of Kellas, Montrose's Royalists consisted mainly of the Irish
Regiments under Alastair MacColla MacDonnell, the Farquharsons,
and the Grant and Gordon Cavalary. The Covenanter army under Hurry,
was made up by regular infantry regiments, Loudoun's and Lothian's,
and Lawer's and Buchanan's plus cavalry, to which were added
Covenanter levies from Moray, led by the Inneses, Dunbars, Cummings
and Roses. William Farquharson's sympathies may have been with the
Dunbars but after the crushing defeat of the Covenanter Army, he may
have been one of those who willingingly or otherwise, were required to
provide care for the wounded Royalists in the area around Elgin. What
ever his true affiliations, he may still have been viewed with
suspicion by the Deeside Farquharsons. William Farquharson had no male
heir and the line "of Farquharson Killess now extinct", his
lands became the property of the Earl of Fife in about 1700.]
Please also see page 6 of your sites
"History of Clan Comyn, Cumming" which provides the same
information as in my third paragraph above, but adds "It is
from them that the Farquharsons of Balthog, Haughton and others in the
county of Aberdeenshire derive their descent". [This may be the
source of the claim made by "Clan Farquharson USA" at http://members.tripod.com/~StiabhanMor/Kellas.html
that "The Farquharsons of Haughton held Kellas". I did
ask Clan Farquharson USA for further details but have never
received a reply.] I have been unable to find Balthog on any detailed
modern survey map or Gazetteer of Aberdeenshire, and though the
Haughton Estate near Alford was owned by Farquharsons until the
1920's, I have yet to find any connection to the Kellas'. I also note
that Haughton is not included as a Branch of
Clan Farquharson on the list approved by the Standing Council of
Scottish Chiefs, but does appear in other listings of the Clan.
If you can direct me to any authoritive
source that can provide further information about the Clan Farquharson,
Haughton, Kellas Family connection, I will be most appreciative.
Best regards, and thanks again for such an
informative web site,
Melbourne
Australia.
|
