Review
There is much history of our family that predates Hugh of Sleat, and much history that pertains specifically to him, but since we are on the subject of the origin of the name on the Isle of Skye at Castle Dunscaith, I will tell a little of John Makhuchone, the very first known member of our family, bearing a version of our name. I will also give a quick sketch of other early McUisdeans and our origination on Skye.
John Makhuchone and Family
The first son of Hugh of Sleat, and therefore the VERY FIRST known McUisdean or "son of Uisdean" was mentioned, by a contemporary English historian, as John Makhuchone, in 1494.
Branches of our family still pronounce the name very similar to its original Mic Oosh-dn or Makhuchone. Some McCuistions from North Carolina use the pronunciation of Mic Hughs-chone which is very similar phoenetically to the earliest forms of the name. Our name, so prone to mis-spelling or mis-pronunciation, has retained its basic form for over 500 years.
At this point we can be certain that the old family legend of our descent from Hugh of Sleat, who ruled from Dunscaith Castle, is correct. In addition to our many years of family tradition; to Clan Donald acceptance of our name as a sept of Hugh; and to many newly discovered documents that serve as circumstantial evidence, we now have DNA research which tells us that we have Scotland as our land of origin and that we are related genetically to Hugh of Sleat.
Hugh was the son of Alexander, Lord of the Isles, Earl of Ross and Justiciar (judge or sheriff) of the Highlands. Hugh's brother, John, was the last Lord of the Isles, Earl of Ross, but he eventually gave up his titles. Afterward, Hugh was invested in the lands of Skye, including Dunscaith, and was made the first official Chief of Clan Donald.
His branch of the larger Clan Donald became known as Clan Uisdean (or the children of Uisdean) and this name specified those McDonalds, principally from Skye, who made up Clan Donald North.
Certainly Hugh qualified as a man worthy of having a clan named for him, and in fact he did. Clan Uisdean is mentioned dozens if not hundreds of times in old Scottish Highland and Island records, and even in McDonnell of Antrim, Northern Ireland records. It is always given as a clan developing from Hugh of Sleat, or Uisdean McDonald.
Hugh was known to have six sons by six different wives. These would have been the very first McUisdeans, or sons of Uisdean. He is also known to have had at least one daughter. She married the Chief of Clan MacLean. Our best guess is that she was a daughter from Hugh's first marriage and, since her mother's named was Fynvola, perhaps her name was Fynvola McUisdean. This is the best we have, so far, in identifying the first female of our name. Still that's pretty good since she lived about 550 years ago.
Hugh's first son was John. He is mentioned many times and there is a curious story about how he gave up his inheritance. One reason often given for this is that, since he had no children of his own, he decided to keep any of his half-brothers from inheriting the land when he died.
Now this could have been half true. If he knew he had no one to leave the land to, he may have felt that it was his right to unload bits and pieces of it to maintain his lifestyle. Nothing really wrong with that.
One book conjectures that, even though he held some of this land by deed, he did not actually control it, and selling it to those who did was an easy way to gain a little profit and avoid a big war. Nothing wrong with that either.
Clan Donald records, in fact, say, "(John's) actions may be interpreted as a practical approach to the facts and rights of actual possession".
There may have been another reason he was anxious to unload his inheritance. He lived in a very volatile time. Not only were some of his half-brothers interested in his land, but the king of Scotland, himself, was making trips to the Highlands and Islands to gain the submissions of the chiefs of that region. John died in 1505. 1502 is also given but that is proven wrong as there is a deed transfer in 1505 with his name on it.
In 1505, the king, busy elsewhere, sent a contingent into John's area to force submission of those few holdout clans still resisting domination. Some of John's cousins had made their own attempts to reclaim the Lord of the Isles title and the king was not happy with any of the McDonalds by this point.
Since there is no explanation as to how John died, and he seems to have died reasonably young, it is quite possible that he died at the hands of this band of thugs sent by King James.
John Makhuchone, as he is referred to, in 1494, would have probably been born around 1458 or 59, making him less than 50 years old when he died. At that age he could well have died of old age too, considering the times. Hugh lived to approximately 60 years old and seems to have died of old age at Paisley Abbey. Hugh may also have died of the plague of 1498, or from a 1498 fire at the Abbey. We are unsure of how he passed away, only the year and where he was buried.
Regardless, John died in 1505. He is mentioned as John Makhuchone, in 1494, and as John Huchosoun, in 1497. He is also mentioned as John Hucheonsoun in a record dated August 23, 1505 which proves he was still alive at this time. This record was no doubt the land transfer of Sleat and Castle Dunscaith.
In 1505 he sold Dunscaith to Ranald Ban (Alansoun), of Clanranald, a wing of Clan Donald. Perhaps if he knew he would die soon, he may have sold the land to the next most legitimate heir (at least in his mind).
This deed contains the first or oldest Scottish record of the name Dunscaith Castle in existence when it is called "castro et fortalicio de Dunskahay". It is often mentioned in old Irish Celtic lore and must have been called by another name and then later translated as Dunscaith, as Clan Donald records say John's record was the first mention of the name as Dunscaith. Finding a copy of this deed or land transfer would be a wonderful thing as it may even include his signature, or at least his "X".
I believe I have found a reason John Makhuchone might have given up his land, castle and title.
The King of Scotland at the time of John was James IV. He was the first to establish a royal navy. In 1498, the year of Hugh's death, James made a personal trip to the Islands. On August 3rd, of that year he issued a charter to Ranald MacAlan, Chief of Clanranald, the same man John Makhuchone had relinquished land to just shortly before this, and apparently just shortly after his own father's death. Ranald was working for the king and the land charter was given "for services rendered". We can only imagine what those treacherous services were.
The official charter to Ranald was to confirm what John had already turned over to him. Very likely there was considerable pressure on John, since his father had just died, and he was faced with the forces of the King of Scotland.
By 1505, the same year John dies, he is found giving up a charter to Dunscaith Castle, held by his father since 1469.
Just two years before, Donald Dubh, a descendant of another John, last Lord of the Isles, finally escaped 40 years of captivity and was heralded as the new leader of Clan Donald, probably usurping any claim John Makhuchone may have had to the title.
Donald Dubh raised an army and ranged over the old territory of the lords. He was finally defeated and in 1505, King James prepared to take the Islands, once and for all, BY SEA!
I have always wondered why so many castles were in a terrible state of ruin in the Islands. They are everywhere lying crumbled near the shore. Only a few aren't in this shape - Caisteal Uisdean, EileanDonan, and Armadale Castle, which, although in a state of ruin, is not so totally decimated as the others.
The obvious reason, I believe, is that these other castles were bombarded from the sea. They were built to withstand arrows and spears, not cannon shot.
Caisteal Uisdean was built much later - about 1601, and although it is in ruins, it is not crumbled down like so many others. Its walls actually stand pretty straight.
Armadale is too far from the water to be hit with cannon shot. EileanDonan would be a likely candidate for bombardment and has been rebuilt some, but I found, in Clan Donald records, where the King's man "asked for ships and artillery to reduce the strong fortresses of Strome and EileanDonan. This aid does not seem to have been forthcoming".
This passage tells us that, indeed, ships and artillery were intended to be used to bombard Island castles, and that EileanDonan just seems to have escaped this fate.
The records speak of James' attempt at "Daunting the Isles" - "by sea" - with a "massive expedition". All of this in 1505, the year John relinquished the castle and the same year he died.
It would seem pretty obvious that he could not compete with a massive lowland force under sail with fire power and so he likely relinquished the castle in lieu of coming under bombardment. He may have, in fact, been killed at the castle, since no record exists of where he died, only that it was after August 23, 1505, the day he signed it over.
There are few records of the expedition, itself, although Clan Donald says, "he (King James) saw that an attack by sea was the best way to make progress against the Islemen, and a naval force was dispatched under Sir Andrew Wood and Robert Largo. Few details of this campaign exist, but it was obviously a success".
That success, it seems, most likely involved John Makhuchone relinquishing his land, castle and title, and dying shortly thereafter.
The idea put forth that John simply gave up all he had to keep his brothers from gaining it, pales in comparison to the story of a man faced with an incredibly larger force, wielding ship's cannon, and hell-bent on destroying the fortresses of the Isles.
It may be that the very first person of our name, John Makhuchone, was in fact a hero, who gave up his inheritance to save his people, himself, and the castle from destruction.
Some or all of the land that John Makhuchone deeded back to the Chief of Clanranald actually once belonged to that branch of the clan. The original Ranald (otherwise called Reginald) was the father of Donald for whom Clan Donald is named and he was the son of Somerled. Somerled had divided up his kingdom and Randall received most of the lands that somehow made their way into the possession of John Makhuchone in 1498, through the death of his father, Hugh of Sleat. So John was actually returning these lands to the original owner's descendants.
The principal seat of Clanranald was Strome Castle, mentioned in the bombardment section of this story. It is located in Wester Ross which is reasonably close to the coastline across from Skye and not too distant from EileanDonan. It is also very close to Applecross, the home of Hugh's mother's family. It is noted that Hugh's father had married a lady that allowed him to claim the lands of Lochalsh where Strome was located.
Lochalsh came under the rule of Hugh's brother, Celestine. When Celestine died, John McDonald, last Lord of the Isles, invested Hugh in the lands of Sleat, and may have also given him control of Lochalsh. Celestine's son was known as Alexander of Lochalsh and he once made a failed attempt at claiming the Lord of the Isles title.
Sir Ian, current Chief of Clan Uisdean and descended from Hugh of Sleat, when matched with the current Chief of Clanranald, is only one DNA marker off!
Even though John Makhuchone gave his castle and land away to Clanranald, Donald Gallach, his half-brother, took over the castle and the title Chief of Clan Uisdean upon the death of John. He was supported by the clan councils as head of the clan. He lasted only one year when he was killed by his half-brother, Archibald.
Now Archibald also had no children, so at least two of the legitimate sons of Hugh had no sons to carry on the name. The other three sons are described as "illegitimate even by the lax standards of the time" by Clan Donald records. Only one is known to have had a son. Donald Hearach had a son, who would later turn his hand against Archibald, who had killed not only Donald Gallach, but also Donald Hearach. This son was later killed by bounty hunters sent by the daughter-in-law of Donald Gallach. He had killed some of her family and she took retribution on him. He is not on record as having any sons.
It really comes down to Donald Gallach as being the only possible man next in line after Hugh, in our family. This is accepted by Clan Donald and the records seem to bear this out.
Donald is typically known as Donald Gallach as he was raised by his mother's family in Caithness (Gallach referring to the Viking heritage of Caithness), where Hugh had met Donald's mother. She was Elizabeth Gunn and she raised Donald and his son Alexander Gallach.
The port in Thurso, where Hugh would have landed on his way from the Orkney Islands to Caithness is Thurso, and we find a very early record of one Donald VickHuiston at Thurso. This is likely to be Donald Gallach and Vick meant Mc so this name is really McHuiston, only one letter off from a few modern spellings of our name.
Donald is also known as "Donald Hutchonsoun of the Ilis . . otherwayis called Gauldlauche"" in the record of his death. So here we have both John and Donald being known as some form of Hutchinson. But we also have Archibald as "Archibald Auchonchoune of the Ilys" being charged with the crime. So we have the first three sons of Hugh bearing a form of Hutchinson, and two of them bearing some form of McUisdean, with only one of these three bearing any children, that being Donald Gallach.
Before these men there is no record of any name like McUisdean or Hutchinson in Highland, Island or lowland histories. There is no record found so far in any other country in the world. So it would seem that we can be absolutely sure that the name started here at the end of the 1400's.
This link of the McUisdean name and the Hutchinson name carries on down to John Hutchinson, executor to the treasure will of Alexander McCuistion, and to Elizabeth Hutchinson, mother of Andrew Jackson.
Two of Donald Gallach's sons help continue the McUisdean legacy. His heir to the title, Chief of Clan Uisdean, is mentioned as Donald McAuchin. This Donald had one son who followed him as Chief and carried on the McDonald line as it is still recorded today. The other son, Alexander, died without issue. So this seems to eliminate Donald Grumach's line as the one carrying our name. Also, someone must have had a name that worked into names like Houston, the Hutchinson line, the Hughes and Huttons, etc. Only in Ireland and lowland Scotland do we see the modern name of McUisdean developing.
Donald Gallach's other son, Alexander, is known to have gone to Ireland in 1565. He is mentioned as Alexander McHugh Galta, but is identified as the son of Donald Gallach. Since Gallach was translated as Galta in English, it is fair to assume that McUisdean was translated as McHugh. Alexander is listed as a leader of 100 Gallowglass Warriors, all of whom were slain in a single battle.
Alexander came to Ireland to fight in an earlier battle on May 2, 1565. According to Clan Donald of Skye records, he is listed as the second son of Donald Gallach, "Alexander, whose sons fought in Ireland on the side of their kinsman, Sorley Buy".
According to Clan McDonnell of Antrim records speaking of Alexander, "His son, Donald Gorm McDonnell, after his liberation . . . (was) a leader of Scots under Sorley Boy ".
That Alexander named his son Donald Gorm and this was also the name of a later chief of Clan Uisdean, might explain a curious instance where, about 1597, Chief Donald Gorm was rumored to have offered to cause trouble for Queen Elizabeth's enemies in Scotland (ie: King James) when he had just made a generous deal with King James. Perhaps it was another Donald Gorm McUisdean Gallach who wrote Elizabeth offering to harrass the old enemy of his family.
In the same battle where Alexander and his 100 men died, a man named M'MickHugh Duff also died with 100 of his men. Where he fits in we don't yet know. In 1601, another Gallowglass leader dies for the Antrim power. His name is given as Uistian McDonald, and his father is said to be James McDonnell of Antrim, and yet we know by looking at the descendants of James McDonnell, that he has no son named Uistain. It is at least possible that this man was actually Donald McUistian, son of Alexander, who was a known leader of Gallowglass.
All these men were fighting for the leaders of Antrim and by about 1620 we find James McQui-ton in the service of the same family.
The McQuistons in Wigton, Scotland claim their family came from Ireland, not from the Highlands. One of these early men is named John and he lists James as his father.
This time period is a little gray but it certainly seems that James McQui-ton was descended from Alexander McHugh and/or his son Donald Gorm, and that John, and others of our name in lowland Scotland and Ireland were sons of James McQui-ton.
It will take much more research to nail down the actual lines in Scotland and Ireland but just a few years ago we didn't know much at all of what we now know, let alone have DNA research to back it up. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!?
We are extremely blessed to have such a vivid picture of the first members of our family, and with the DNA research, with all the past documentation, and with a lack of any other theories anywhere else in the world, I believe we can honestly and completely accept this history as belonging to all of us.