Clan MacCulloch

Lowland Scottish clan

The origins of Clan MacCulloch are unknown, but there is a consensus that the family was one of the most ancient families of Galloway, Scotland, and a leading medieval family in that region. Despite the obscurity of the early history of the clan, the history and genealogies of the family are well documented in Walter Jameson McCulloch's History of the Galloway Families of McCulloch, which provides extensive footnotes for original Scottish charters, correspondence, and other primary source documentation. The latter provides family history for the following lines: Myretoun, Ardwell, Killasser, Torhouse, Drummorrell, Inshanks and Mule, Torhousekie, Cardiness, Barholm, Kirkclaugh, Auchengool, and Ardwall (Nether Ardwall). Clan MacCulloch is a Lowland Scottish clan. As it no longer has a clan chief, it is an armigerous clan.

The name McCulloch is of Celtic origin and is found mainly in Galloway and Wigtownshire. The name is in the format of a Gaelic patronym with "mac" meaning son followed by a name. However, the origin of that name is a subject of debate. The first record of the name McCulloch was a 1285 transaction with respect to a delivery of 320 cattle by Thomas McCulloch (rendered "MacUlauth") as payment to the estate of Sir John de Balliol according to the testament of Sir Alan Fitz Comte. (The latter appears to be Alan, son of Thomas of Galloway, the mormaer of Atholl). The second record of the name McCulloch (written as "MacUlagh") was an oath of fealty to Edward I of England in 1296 by Thomas, Michael and William McCulloch, on the Ragman Rolls. The seal of Thomas McCulloch was in the name of "S' Thome Maccvli" and bore an image of a squirrel. The latter Sir Thomas McCulloch, an English loyalist, was appointed Sheriff of Wigtownshire by 1305. Andrew McCulloch's history of Galloway: A Land Apart suggests that their prominence in Wigtownshire pinpoints the family as one of the kindreds who amassed power and land under Roland (or Lochlann), Lord of Galloway, having supported him in the brief civil conflict against his uncle Gille Brichte in the later 12th century. However, very little is known about the McCullochs or their status within Galloway prior to the rise of the Lords of Galloway. The McCulloch lineage held the lands of Torhouse, Myreton and Ardwell in Galloway until 1682.

In the History of the Land of Galloway and their Owners, P. H. McKerlie describes the McCullochs as "traitors" for not supporting King Robert the Bruce in his claims for the throne of the King of Scots and his eventual war for independence from England. To better understand why the McCullochs supported Kings John Balliol and Edward Balliol and their ally, King Edward I of England, some historical context is necessary. In earlier medieval times, regions like Galloway and the Isles, were semi independent lordships that generally supported the King of Scots. After the death of Alexander III, the McCullochs, like other Galloway families, supported the bid of John Balliol, son of Lady Dervorguila of Galloway, rather than De Brus. The McCullochs remained loyal to the Balliols even after King John was dethroned. Sir Patrick McCulloch even entered exile in England with Edward Balliol. When Edward Balliol pursued his claim to the Scottish throne, he did so with the support of several McCullochs, including Sir Patrick, and his sons (John and Patrick), William, Gilbert (and his son), among others. Sir Patrick also served Edward III in his campaigns in Brittany. Because of their support for Balliol and King Edward I, King Robert the Bruce stripped McCulloch's of their extensive land holdings in Galloway. Around 1364, Sir Patrick returned to Scotland and entered the king's peace at which time King David II restored a portion of the prior McCulloch lands.

The McCullochs of Myreton were a Scottish Lowland family who lived in Myreton, Ardwell, Rhins of Galloway, Wigtownshire overlooking Luce Bay near the Water of Luce. (see location on map on this page). Unlike other McCulloch families the McCullochs of Myreton were not septs of another clan but owned their own territory. They were later seated at Cardoness Castle. Myreton is in southwest Scotland along the coast in the Machars. Another McCulloch region related to Ardwell lies across the bay from Myreton. Between the later 14th and mid 15th centuries, they were strong allies of the earls of Douglas, who had now acquired the Galloway lordship, witnessing their charters, supplying soldiers and ships of war for their forces, and maintaining places on their council. According to Michael Brown's history of The Black Douglases, McCullochs were part of the Douglas muster roll that fought against the English armies at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402. John McCulloch was chancellor to the Countess of Douglas in the 1420s. Though the power of the Black Douglases fell away in the later fifteenth century, the McCullochs outlasted their erstwhile patrons, and with castles built at Myretoun, Cardoness and Barholm on the Galloway shoreline, the strength of the family became a central part of Scotland's maritime defence. Their influence rose to its height in the career of Sir Alexander McCulloch (d. 1523), a favourite of King James IV of Scotland whom he served as chief falconer, sheriff of Wigtown and captain of the Royal Palace of Linlithgow. Under his authority, the McCulloch family and their following supplied the bodyguard for the newly born Prince James in 1512, and were exempted from local legal and military duties in Wigtownshire while they resided at Linlithgow. In 1507, Sir Alexander ravaged the Isle of Man in revenge for an English raid on the town of Kirkcudbright. The power of the McCullochs on the national stage entered into decline after the reign of James IV. However, the family remained significant within Galloway, and a number of influential landholding branches had sprung off the main Myreton line. The McCulloch lairds of Ardwell and Killasser were among the leading Galloway supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots, summoned with the threat of a charge of treason to submit to the regency ruling after her deposition in 1569 and 1571. David, son of Thomas McCulloch of Nether Ardwall was in military service in the Thirty Years' War, and settled permanently on the continent; his sons Thomas and Anthony were officers in a British regiment in Spanish service during the War of Devolution (1667 8) against Louis XIV. A second David McCulloch of Nether Ardwall served in the armies of William of Orange before the 1688 Revolution, and then in the British forces in the Nine Years' War (1688–97). In 1715, he was offered but declined a commission in the Jacobite rebel army, commanded by his cousin William Gordon, 6th Viscount of Kenmure. The chief's son Captain John McCulloch left a flourishing career in the Grenadier Guards in 1691: probably returning from the continent to support a family cast into penury after flight from justice of the laird. The next chief, Sir Gilbert McCulloch was killed on military service in Flanders in 1704. The representation of the family then passed to the McCullochs of Ardwall, which name was eventually assumed by the descendants of Andrew Jameson, Lord Ardwall.

Another MacCulloch family, the MacCullochs of Plaids, established themselves in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands by the 14th century. They were first noted as followers of the Earl of Ross and Clan Ross, The MacCullochs intermarried with Clan Ross so frequently they were included in Ross genealogies. The family however, are believed to have originated outside the north east, and there are some unsubstantiated claims of an ancestral connection with the Galloway MacCullochs. According to historian R. W Munro, if the Ross shire MacCullochs had a Galloway origin then no details of it have been preserved, but it is possible that they came from some other part of Scotland. It is noteworthy, however, that the first record of a MacCulloch in Ross shire was a 1431 inquest signed by Alexander MacCulloch who attached a seal bearing a shield, fretty, and apparent ermines similar to the coat of arms of the Galloway families. Plaids was formerly spelt Pladis, Pladdis, and the Pladdis. It is on the flat land on the coast to the east of Tain, about three quarters of a mile from the centre of the burgh. The estate gave its name to the territorial designation of the chiefly MacCulloch family of the North, who are recorded as land owners by documentary evidence from 1436 to 1552. In some early charters, Skardy is the designation used before Plaids came into use for the estate and although now obsolete as a place name it has been equated with Hilton. What was known as Paul Mactire's Hill is near Plaids and was one of the 'court places' used by the Tain burgh. Several of the Ross shire MacCullochs became Canons Regular of the Premonstratensian Order at Fearn Abbey in Ross shire.

Alexander MacCulloch of Plaids is on record from 1436 to 1443. He was an important person under Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles. He received a charter dated January 6, 1436/7 at Dingwall Castle for the lands of Scardy, Pladds, Petnely, Petogarty, Balmaduthy, and Ballechory, and it was witnessed by Hugh Ross of Balnagown Castle and George Munro, 10th Baron of Foulis. This charter gave him the office of bailie of the immunity of Tain. He also witnessed charters by the same Earl at Inverness in 1437, 1439, 1440. Alexander MacCulloch's last appearance is as a witness with George Munro of Foulis for another charter by the Earl at Dingwall on October 24, 1443. A daughter of MacCulloch of Plaids, whose Christian names have not been recorded, was the second wife of George Munro of Foulis and from whom the later Munro chiefs are descended. Andrew MacCulloch of Tain, a merchant and sea captain who traded between Scotland and Sweden, was also involved in the Jacobite rebellion, as the leader of a French backed expedition that attempted the rescue of Prince Charles Edward in July 1746, after the Battle of Culloden. MacCulloch's vessel sailed between Mull and Skye, liaising with local Jacobites, but failed to locate the Prince, and returned to Gothenberg in April 1747.

The MacCullochs of Cadboll in Ross shire were closely associated with the MacCullochs of Plaids but no genealogical connection has been found between them. Catherine MacCulloch, wife of Farquhar Munro of Aldie, near Tain, and from whom she separated in 1605 due to his cruelty was the daughter of Walter or William MacCulloch of Cadboll. An 1845 salt paper photographic print of Sir Hugh MacCulloch's monument at Greyfriars Churchyard entitled the Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh, "The McCulloch Monument and the Martyr's Monument" is included in the University of Edinburgh Library prints collection. He left descendants. Descendants of these McCullochs who settled in County Antrim became prominent landowners and speculators in North Carolina. Eventually confederate brigadier generals Benjamin McCulloch and his brother Henry Eustace McCulloch descended from this line. Around 1609, James McCulloch, the elder, of Drummorrell was enlisted as an undertaker in the Ulster Plantation and granted 1,000 acres of land at Mullaveagh Manor in Donegal. He subsequently sold this property a few years later. It is unknown if any McCullochs settled in Donegal as a result of James McCulloch's temporary ownership of property there. According to Andrew McCulloch, "Although the original McCullochs of Myretoun disposed of their family estates in the 1620s, they left numerous descendants, all of whom live in the United States". McCulloch indicates that, apart from the McCullochs of Barholm, the families named McCulloch who remained in Galloway after this time may not have descended from the McCullochs of Myreton. Known descendants of the McCulloch of Myreton in the United States include John McCullough of Bohemia Manor (Maryland), a son of Sir Godfrey, and John McCulloch, Sir Godfrey's nephew who migrated to New Jersey by way of Ulster. The latter's descendants include Major John McColloch, the trailblazer of McCulloch's Trading Path, and the first High Sheriff of Ohio County, Virginia and his son, Major Samuel McCulloch, famous for McColloch's Leap. Other McCulloch immigrants from different lines also migrated to North America and beyond at this time and thereafter.

In Scottish Gaelic the name may be rendered as MacCullaich which is translated as son of a boar. and extant medieval or early modern records such as R. C. Reid's Wigtownshire Charters. This origin story is hard to square with the fact that the seal of Thomas McCulloch, Sheriff of Wigtown included an image of a squirrel and the earliest known family coats of arms featured wolves.

An alternative derivation has been suggested that the name comes from the Irish Gaelic MacCú'Uladh derived from "mac" and the Gaelic forename Cú'Uladh which means son of the Hound of Ulster. This name is anglicized as McCullough or MacCullagh.

According to Sir Andrew Agnew, author of the Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway, the McCullochs were an ancient Pictish people named for a 6th century chieftain named Gwallawc, also spelled "Uallauc." Gwallawc, featured in Welsh ballads, may have been a king of Elmet and may have conquered part of the Kingdom of Rheged in Galloway. "

A tradition relayed by US Supreme Court Justice James Iredell (a descendant of the McCullochs of Killasser who migrated to County Antrim) linked the origins of the family to Cullo O'Neill, believed to have been born in Ireland, a son of the family of O'Neills of Clandeboye. Cullo O'Neill served in the army of Edward Bruce, King of Ireland, brother of king Robert the Bruce of Scotland. In around 1316 he was chosen by Edward Bruce as Captain of horse in his army. He later became Sir Cullo O'Neill. In about 1317 king Robert the Bruce of Scotland knighted Captain Cullo og Neil (o’Neil) and chose him to be his standard bearer and Secretary of State. King Robert the Bruce granted Sir Cullo og Neil the lands of Achawan or Auchwane in Wigtownshire. In 1331 Sir Cullo Og Neil died and left his estate to his eldest son Sir Godfrey, who assumed the surname of MacCullog. (MacCullough / MacCullo’c). However, this origin story is dubious considering the McCulloch name was already in use prior to 1285.

Another origin myth speculates that the family descended from Ulgric, one of the leaders of the Gallovidian spearmen who fought and fell in the van of King David I's army at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.

As mentioned above, Sir Andrew Agnew described the McCullochs as Pictish, presumably because the family was known to be an ancient family of Galloway. Alternatively, it has also been suggested that the McCullochs descend from the Gall Goídil or Norse Gaelic kindreds who took root in western Galloway in the 11th century, moving in from Ireland and the Hebrides, and gradually extending their imprint eastwards to become the dominant cultural influence on the province. However, current Y DNA data available at the FamilyTreeDNA "McCollough Project" indicate documented McCulloch of Myreton descendants are haplogroup R1a (R BY32010). These unique Y DNA results cast doubt that the McCullochs of Myerton were paternal line descendants Picts, Gaels, or Norse Gaels and add to the mystery of the origins of Clan McCulloch.

There are several coats of arms registered with the Court of Lord Lyon by different McCulloch lines.

McCulloch of Myretoun. Ermine frette gules. McCulloch of Cardoness: Ermine frette gules of eight pieces, and on an escutcheon azure, three wolves heads erased argent. McCulloch of Ardwell: Ermine frette gules. Crest: A hand throwing a dart proper. (Granted to Sir Godfrey McCulloch of Myrtoun about 1672). McCulloch of Drummorrell. Bears ermine frettee gules a bordur ingrailed of the second, Above the Shield ane helmet befitting his degree mantle gules doubled argent. The motto in ane Escroll Verus et Sedulus. (Granted to Alexander McCulloch of Drummorrell in 1672). McCulloch of Barholm: Fret being engrailed, and the escutcheon azure, three wolves' heads erased argent; supporters, as heir male of the families of Muile, Myretown, and Cardoness —two men in armour, each holding a spear in his hand proper. (Granted to John McCulloch of Barholm, 1814)

McCulloch of Mule and Inshanks: Ermine frette gules, a bordure, indented of the second. McCulloch of Ardwall – Ermine fretty gules within Fretty a bordure of the last (1st and 4th quarters). (Granted to Andrew Jameson McCulloch of Ardwall, the younger, in 1899). McCullock of Kirkclaugh – Ermine fretty gules within a bordure engrailed of the last (1st and 4th quarters). (Granted to William Edward Cliff McCulloch, the younger, of Kircklaugh in 1899).

Cardoness Castle, which was built in the 1470s, was the seat of the McCullochs of Cardoness. Barholm Castle was the seat of a branch of the McCullochs of Myreton, who became known as the McCullochs of Barholm. Killasser Castle, another seat of the McCullochs of Myreton in Ardwell, known as McCullochs of Killasser, now in ruins. Myreton Castle was the seat of the McCullochs of Myreton which was built in the 16th century but was sold to the Clan Maxwell in 1685. The castle was built on the site of a 12th century motte. Today it lies in ruins.

The MacCullochs of Ross shire, as septs of the Clan Munro and Clan Ross, are permitted to wear either of those clans' tartans and the MacCullochs of Oban, as septs of the Clan MacDougall, may wear their tartan or even the District of Galloway tartan. However the MacCullochs themselves do not have a modern clan tartan as the last recognized clan Chief died before one could be created and authorized. The current tartan thought by some to be the MacCulloch clan tartan is actually a personal/name tartan for an individual.