 |
The History of The *McKellican, McKillican, McKilligan & McKilligin Families A Sept of the MacIntosh Clan |
| I would Love to hear from anybody with connection's to the McKellican, McKillican, McKilligan or McKilligin Family's I have a large Data Base of about 4, 500 Names of which about 3, 000 are the Above. Maureen McKillican WebMistress |
 |
 |
| to go to the McKillican Birth Index |
 |
| Scots Origins Records for Scotland |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| FAVORITE LINKS |
|
| Searchable , Archived , Indexed , Newspapers ! |
 |
| My Guardian Angels JUDY WEIKUM CHAD YARROW 1949 - 2002 1974 - 2002 Friend Nephew |
 |
 |
|
The Followers of St.Fillan by R.W.G.Mckilligin |
This is a brief account of the History of the * McKellican, McKillican, McKilligan and McKilligin Families, whose members are proud to be adherents of the Clan MacKintosh and The Clan Chattan. Those familiar with the Gaelic tongue, and I gather that they are far and few between, will recognize that our Family Name is simply the Gaelic one, MacGill' Fhaolagain, the son of the devotee of Fhaolagain , normally given in English as St. Fillian. Saint Fillian was a Saint of the early Celtic Church who died about 703 AD and was probably the brother of Fercher Fada King of Argyl from whom the Clan Chattan claim descent. The Origins of our Family are shrouded in the mists of antiquity. The earliest record we have is of Vilzem McGillichin in Tullich and Elrig near Loch Ruthven in Upper Strathnairn, who in 1547 witnessed a sasine (a legal record of transfer of property) on the 15th of February. The Tullich and Elrig lands as late as 1583 had been in possesion of the Clan McPherson, which lends creedance to the Family Legend that our Sept in olden times adhered to that Clan and formed part of the old Clan Chattan before the McIntosh Chiefs took over. By about 1600 however the Family had left the Tullich and Elrig area and had become followers of William MacKintosh of Borlum, some in Inverness but mainly in Petty and Ardersier Parishes. The records of the Privy Council show that in 1613, 1619 and 1621 Andrew and John McGilligan in Ardersier, followers of Borlum, were wanted for slaughter, robbery, cattle stealing, arson and other crimes. In Inverness in 1561 and 1565 Thomas McKelegan was in trouble with the Town Council for laming his Master's horse, and for unruly behavior. Donald McCulligane was one of the Clan Chattan party of forty under William Mackintosh of Cantray who were sent to hunt down and capture the notorious outlaw Sheumus-na-Duim in 1630 and was later granted the King's pardon for his part in the affair. More respectable the record that in 1610 William McGillichin in Easter Urchal was one of four guarantors of a mortgage in respect of lands at Culloden for the deceased Lachlan Mor Mackintosh. Once it becomes possible to consult the Parish records, the earliest in our area being Inverness from 1604 and Petty from 1633, it is possible to trace the Descendant of some of these early members of the Family with a fair degree of certainty and we find even John and Andrew, the Riotous followers of Borlum, to have settled down in the Ardersier areas, respectively, a Tanner and a Farmer. In Invernes Parish around 1600 there were four separate Families established. Two of them were Shoemakers; one of them, Andrew, gave a bond to William Mackintosh of Elrig (probably William the 3rd of Borlum) in 1678, and in 1688 had a writ of Lawburrows taken out against him to keep the peace. Findlay McKilican was a Farmer in the Culloden area and his descendants can be traced for five generations before the Family died out, moved out of the area or survived only in the female line. It was in an area covering Ardersier Parish and the northern part of the adjoining Parish of Petty that the Sept became best established some time prior to 1600. Starting from a date towards the end of the seventeenth century it is possible from the Parish records to identify no less than eight separate Families, many of them apparently descended from the Andrew McGilligan mentioned above. Three of the Families died out, at least in the male line, after a number of Generations and of the five with representatives alive today, the Family Name died out in one more at the end of the last Century. A brief outline of the five Families follows in numbered sequence: 1. Of the descendants of John McKilligan ( b. circa 1690 ) from Balnagowan farm, Charles ( 1804-1896 ) emigrated to Canada in 1831. He took up Land in Southern Ontario where some of his descendants are to be found Farming to this day. 2. Of the descendants of William McKilican from Connage ( b. circa 1696 ), two of his great grandsons emigrated to Canada; William ( 1776-1849 ) in 1816 and Donald ( 1772-1831 ) in 1829. William McKillican was an apprentice weaver in Huntly when in 1795 joined the Congregationalists under George Cowie. On completion of his apprenticeship in 1799 he attended the Congregationalist seminary in Glasgow and eventually took over a flock in the Breadalbane district around Loch Tay. When the Crop failures between 1810 and 1815 forced many of his Congregation to emigrate to Canada, he followed them and took up land in Eastern Ontario in an area that the settlers had named Breadalbane after their home in Scotland. The Rev. William McKillican must have been a man of tremendous energy and religious zeal. He hewed space for Farming out of the forest and built a log home for his wife and family. On Sundays he traveled immense distances, initially on foot but later on horseback, through the forest and swamp to minister to the scattered groups of mainly Gaelic speaking settlers. A round trip of thirty miles or more he took in his stride. He founded a number of Congregationalist Churches in the region and the Log Cabin Church that he built at St.Elmo in 1835 is preserved to this day as a monument to his devotion to the Congregationalist cause. One of his sons became the Rev. John McKillican, who after succeeding his Father at St. Elmo joined the Canada Sunday Union and made a name for himself as a Evangelist, founding the Sunday Schools across the breadth of Canada. The rest of Rev. William's family were Farmers or Missionaries and are scattered all over Canada and the United States. Donald McKillican ( 1772-1831 ) left the Crook of Ardersier in 1829 to join his brother the Rev.William McKillican in Canada, where two of his sons Robert (1792-1881) and Benjamin (1794- 1875) later joined him. Donald raised a large Family of Farmers and Blacksmiths whose descendants today number some 150 and are spread mainly across Canada but also into the United States. 3. Another of the Ardersier Families was that of William McKilicane ( b.circa 1675 ) some of whose descendants spell their name McKillican and some McKilligan. His son William ( c. 1700-1764 ) farmed at Balcroy and a number of his descendants emigrated. Pryce McKilligan ( 1839-1870 ) bought himself out of the Royal Artillery in Quebec in 1863, and married and settled there. Donald McKillican ( 1839-1926 ) emigrated to Ontario about 1859 and Farmed. James McKillican ( 1840-1916 ) went to the United States under contract to the Government and became involved in the Civil War. George McKilligan ( c. 1860-1960 ) went to Buenos Aries, Argentina as a young man. Robert Falconer McKillican ( 1889-1960 ) went to Australia at the end of the first war. John McKillican ( 1882-1943 ) emigrated to Michigan, U.S.A. in 1912. Their descendants are to be found in these various Countries to this day. Not all of William McKilicanes descendants emigrated however. His Grandson John McKillican ( b.1724 ) took up the Tack ( i.e. lease ) of Piper Hill Farm in Cawdor Parish, which continued to be worked by this Family for several Generations. William McKillican ( b. 1737 ) farmed at Tomhomie in Ardersier Parish, a number of his descendants are still to be found in the North East of Scotland. They include Hector James McKilligan who won the DSC as the only surviving Officer who brought in the oil tanker "Ohio " in the famous Malta convoy of 1942. 4. William McKilicane ( b.c. 1705 ) is first recorded at Calders Brackley farm in Petty Parish and was probably a itinerant farm worker, His grandson James McKilligan ( 1754-1844 ) joined the Army as did James' son William (b.1820, Sgt. Major - Royal Artillery ) and two of James' grandsons, William ( 1886-1951 ) and Charles ( 1887-1931 ) , who were respectively a Sergeant Major and a Band Sergeant in the Argyl and Sutherland Highlanders. The Military tradition carries on in this Family to the present day. 5. In the only other one of the Petty and Ardersier Families that can be traced to the present day, that of Thomas Mckilicane ( b.c.1688 ) from Ardersier Parish , the Family Name died out at the end last century when John McKilligan ( 1807-1864 ) , who emigrated to Canada about 1840 , fathered a Family of nine Daughter's and no Sons! This is Probably the right place to introduce John McKilligen ( c. 1630-1689 ) the Progenitor of those who now spell their name McKilligin and MacKilligin. He was certainly the best known of the early members of our Sept and enjoyed some Fame as a Covenanting Minister in the NorthEast where the Covenanters were not particularly well represented. John was born at Alves , just to the west of Elgin, But his Family most certainly originated in the Petty-Ardersier area. The Story of his life is well documented in Various Religious works of the Period; notably in Robert Woodrow's book entitled "History of the Suffering of the Church of Scotland "published in 1721. To do justice to him and his Martyrdom to his beliefs would be to distort this brief account of our Sept, but may justify counting in later issue. Two of Johns sons, Daniel ( c.1660-1724 ) and John ( c. 1662-1725 ), followed their Father into the Kirk and are best remembered for recovering substantial damages through the courts when their property at Alness was ravaged by a party of Mackenzies when Lord Seaforths men occupied the place during the rising of 1715. George McKilligan ( c.1675-1754 ) who became a well respected Surgeon and Apothecary in Inverness was probably another son of the Covenanter. It appears George was on good terms with his Chief Lachlan Mackintosh (d. 1731 ) was a witness at the Baptisms of some of his Children. One of John the Covenanter's Grandson's also named George ( 1728-1798 ) , moved to Banff where he established himself as a Sea Captain and Ship owner. He was bailie of the town and served as Provost from 1793 to 1796. One of George's sons James, ( 1764-1837 ), entered the Military Service of the Honorable East India Company ( HEIC ) as a cadet and took part in the Capture Saringapatam. On his return from India he transferred to the Regular Army as Captain Paymaster and served in Gilbraltar with General hay of Mountblairey's regiment. On retiring from the Army in 1803 he settled with his Family in Banff ; became a Partner in the Family Firm, held the position of Provost from 1831 -1834 and Commanded the First Battalion of the Banffshire Volunteer's with the Rank of Major. James' brother George ( 1765- 1861 ) took over the Family Firm of " McKilligan and Robertson " in Banff and extended the Coastal and European Trade to chartering vessels to the HEIC, himself skippering them to the Far East. Later he opened up trade with the West Indies. George ( 1765-1861 ) had a Family of some 20 Children but only 2 of his sons survived into long maturity. John (1803-1896 ) managed the Park Estate at Cornhill south of Portsoy for the Duff Family and his descendants are to be found farming all over Banffshire and North Aberdeenshire to this day. The elder son William ( 1800-1852 ) became purser of the "Indiaman" of the HEIC and later acquired considerable property in Ceylon. He amassed a small fortune and purchased the Relguas Estate on the Finhorn where he lived until his death. After his death his widow moved to London. Subsequent generations have spent most of their lives overseas in the Victorian Colonial Tradition, returning home only on leave, retirement and to fight in two World Wars. The three McKilligins that fought in the first World War and the four in the Second were awarded between them four Military Crosses, an AFC, an OBE, an MBE, a Croix de Guerre and several mentions in dispatches. One was killed in Action. Finally , in 1700 six Families of our name were established in Croy and Cawdor parishes, the result most probably of young men from the Petty and Ardersier area's having migrated eastwards at an earlier date in search of work in the "Newlands" that were gradually being opened up. In most of them the Name survived for a century or more before dying out. In one, however, that of John McGiligon ( b.c. 1695 ) whose descendants spell there name MacKillican, there are numerous survivor's living for the most part in the London area. Henry MacKillican (1909 - 1965 ) of this Family joined the Royal Naval Reserve and distinguished himself in Command of Corvettes during the Second World War and was twice awarded the DSC. We have never been a Large Sept. The present number born with our name in its various forms is about three hundred and this number has shown only a modest increase over the last two centuries. Relatively few of us remain in Scotland, the majority having become a part of what is perhaps the country's greatest export, namely Scotsmen and Scotswomen. * The Name McKellican has been proven to belong to the McKillican Branches of the Family and due to a transcriber error back in the 1700's The Name McKillican became McKellican and we Welcome this new Branch with open arms to our Family Tree. |
 |