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Shaw


The origin of the Shaws, at one time a most important clan of the Chattan confederation, has been already referred to in connection with the Mackintoshes. The tradition of the Mackintoshes and Shaws is "unvaried", says the Rev. W G Shaw of Forfar, that at least from and after 1396, a race of Shaws existed in Rothiemurchus, whose great progenitor was the Shaw Mor who commanded the section of the clan represented by the Mackintoshes on the Inch. The tradition of the Shaws is, that he was Shaw, the son of James, the son or descendant of Farquhar; the tradition of the Macintoshes - that he was Shaw-mac-Gilchrist-mac-Ian-mac-Angus-mac-Farquhar - Farquhar being the ancestor according to both traditions, from whom he took the name (according to Wyntoun) of Sha Farquharis Son. The tradition of a James Shaw who 'had bloody contests with the Comyns', which tradition is forfeited by that of the Comyns, may very likely refer to the James, who, according to the genealogies both of the Shaws and Mackintoshes, was the son of Shaw Mor.

Mr Shaw of Forfar, who is well entitled to speak with authority on the subject, maintains "that prior to 1396, the clan now represented by the Mackintoshes, had been (as was common amongst the clans) sometimes designated as the clan Shaw, after the successive chiefs of that name, especially the first, and sometimes as the clan of the Mac-an-Toisheach, i.e., of the Thane's son. Thus, from its first founder, the great clan of the Isles was originally called the clan Cuin, or race of Constantine. Afterwards, it was called the clan Colla, from his son Coll, and latterly the clan Donald, after one of his descendants of that name. So the Macleans are often called clan Gilleon after their founder and first chief; and the Macphersons, the clan Muirich, after one of the most distinguished in their line of chiefs. The Farquharsons are called clan Fhiunla, after their great ancestor, Finlay Mor. There is nothing more probable, therefore - I should say more certain - than that the race in after times known as Mackintoshes, should at first have been as frequently designated as Na Si'aich, 'The Shaws', after the Christian name of their first chief, as Mackintoshes after his appellative description or designation. It is worthy of remark, that the race of Shaws is never spoken of in Gaelic as the 'clan Shaw', but as 'Na Si'aich' - The Shaws, or as we would say Shawites. We never hear of Mac-Shaws - sons of Shaw, but of 'Na Si'aich - The Shaws'. Hence prior to 1396, when a Shaw so distinguished himself as to found a family, under the wing of his chief, the undivided race, so to speak, would sometimes be called 'Mackintoshes', or followers of the Thane's sons, sometimes the clan Chattan, the generic name of the race, sometimes 'clan Dhugaill', (Quehele) after Dougall-Dall, and sometimes 'Na Si'aich', the Shaws or Shawites, after the numerous chiefs who more the name of Shaw in the line of descent. Hence the claim of both Shaws and Mackintoshes to the occupancy of Rothiemurchus. After 1396, the term Na Si'aich was restricted, as all are agreed, to the clan developed out of the other, through the prowess of Shaw Mor".

Shaw "Mor" Mackintosh, who fought at Perth in 1396, was succeeded by his son James, who fell at Harlaw in 1411. Both Shaw and James had held Rothiemurchus only as tenants of the chief of Mackintosh, but James's son and successor, Alister "Ciar" (i.e., brown), obtained from Duncan, 11th of Mackintosh, in 1463-4, his right of possession and tack. In the deed by which David Stuart, Bishop of Moray, superior of the lands, confirms this disposition of Duncan, and gives Alister the fen, Alister is called "Allister Kier Mackintosh". This deed is dated 24th September 1464. Allthe deeds in which Alister is mentioned call him Mackintosh, not Shaw, thus showing the descent of the Shaws from the Mackintoshes, and that they did not acquire their name of Shaw until after Alister's time.

Alister's grandson, Alan, in 1539, disposed his right to Rothiemurchus to Edom Gordon, reserving only his son's liferest. Alan's grandson of the same name was outlawed for the murder of his stepfather, some fifty years later, and compelled to leave the country. Numerous Shaws are, however, still to be found in the neighbourhood of Rothiemurchus, or who can trace their descent from Alister Kier.

Besides the Shaws of Rothiemurchus, the Shaws of Tordarroch in Strathnairn, descended from Adam, younger brother of Alister Kier, were a considerable family; but, like their cousins, they no longer occupy their original patrimony. Tordarroch was held in wadset of the chiefs of Mackintosh, and was given up to Sir AEneas Mackintosh in the end of last century by its holder at the time, Colonel Alexander Shaw, seventh in descent from Adam.

Argus MacBean vic Robert of Tordarroch signed the Bond of 1609 already mentioned. His great-grandsons, Robert and AEneas, took part during their father's life in the rebellion of 1715; both were taken prisoners at Preston, and were confined in Newgate, the elder brother dying during his imprisonment. The younger AEneas, succeeded his father, and in consideration of his taking no part in the '45, was made a magistrate, and received commissions for his three sons, the second of whom, AEneas, rose to the rank of major-general in the army. Margaret, daughter of AEneas of Tordarroch, was wife of Farquhar Macgillivray of Dalcrombie, one of the three officers of the Mackintosh regiment who escaped from Culloden.

AUneas was succeeded by his eldest son, Colonet Alexander Shaw, lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man under the crown. He gave up the wadset of Tordarroch to Sir AEneas Mackintosh, and died in 1811.

From the four younger sons of Alister Kier descended respectively the Shaws of Dell (the family of the historian of Moray, the Rev Laclan Shaw); of Dalnivert, the representation of it devolved in the last century on a female, who married - Clark; the Farquharsons, who in time acquired more importance than the Shaws; and the Shaws of Harris, who still retain a tradition of their ancestor, Iver MacAlister Ciar.

Another Account of the Clan

BADGE: Lus nam braoileag (Vaccinium vitis idaea) red whortle berry.

ShawTHE Rev. Lachlan Shaw, historian of Moray, declared that he saw no reason to doubt that all persons of the name, in the south country as well as the north, were members of this clan. There is reason to believe, however, that many Shaws in the south take their name from some ancestor’s residence near a "shaw " or thicket, this being a common local place-name either alone or with some qualification, as in Pollokshaws, near Glasgow. The Gaelic name, Na Si’aich, on the other hand, means "Son of the Tempest" or "Son of the Snow." The same author, and the Rev. W. G. Shaw, following him, in his Memorials of Clan Shaw, quote unvaried tradition for the statement that the Shaws held Rothiemurcus from the Bishops of Moray in undisturbed possession for a long period prior to 1350. In that year, these writers declare, the Comyns of Strathdallas obtained a wadset or lease of the lands, and on the Shaws refusing to give them up, a combat took place in which James Shaw, the chief, fell. By his wife, a daughter of Ferguson, a baron of Atholl, this chief, say these writers, was father of a son who, on coming of age, attacked and defeated the Comyns and killed their leader at a place since called Laggan na Chuiminaich. He then purchased the freehold of Rothiemurcus and Baile an Easpuig, and so stopped further dispute.

Still another statement was made, in a Genealogie of the Farquharsons, written about the year 1700. The writer of that document derived his clan and that of the Shaws from Shaw, third son of Macduff, who, he says, "took his proper name for his surname, came north, and possessed himself of Rothiemurcus, which was a part of his father’s inheritance."

All these writers appear to have been misled by the occurrence of the Christian name Seth or Scayth in early documents. As a matter of fact, down to the seventeenth century the owners of Rothiemurcus were known as Mackintoshes, and only then took the Christian name of their doughty ancestor Shaw Mackintosh for a family name. The entire matter is clearly discussed and set forth in The Machintoshes and Clan Chattan, by Mr. A. M. Mackintosh.

The Mackintoshes themselves claim descent from Shaw Macduff, son of the Earl of Fife, in 1163. The early chiefs of the Mackintoshes in the thirteenth century were alternately named Shaw and Ferquhard, and according to the Kinrara MS., Shaw the fourth chief obtained in 1236 from Andrew, Bishop of Moray, founder of Elgin Cathedral, a lease of Rothiemurcus in Strathspey. Angus, sixth Mackintosh chief, in 1291 married Eva, only daughter and heiress of the head of the "old " Clan Chattan, and he and his descendants became on that account Captains of Clan Chattan. According to the Kinrara MS., the founder of the family afterwards known as Shaws was a great-grandson of this pair. In modern tradition he is called Shaw Mor, or "the Great "; by Bower and Major he is designated Shaw Beg, or "Little," probably from his stature; and otherwise he is known as Shaw Sgorfhiaclach or Coriaclich, the Buck-toothed. The Mackintosh tradition is that his father’s name was Gilchrist, but that of the Shaws runs that his father was James. The latter tradition seems the more likely, as Shaw Mor’s son was named James, probably so called in Scottish fashion, after his grandfather. In this latter case the tradition would agree with the account already mentioned of the fall of James, an ancestor of the Shaws, in the struggle with the Comyns for possession of Rothiemurcus, and Shaw Mor would be the son who, on coming of age, avenged his father’s death at Laggan na Chuiminaich. A little later he was to appear as a leader in a more extended warfare.

When Duncan, natural son of the Wolf of Badenoch, following his father’s lawless and evil ways, swept down upon the lowland district of Angus in 1391, destroying and murdering with reckless cruelty, and overthrowing the royal forces under Ogilvie, Sheriff of Angus, at the bloody battle of Gasklune, near the Water of Isla, the Mackintoshes were led by Shaw Mor. Among the persons put to the horn for that raid of Angus the Act of Parliament of the time mentions "Slurach and the haill Clan Qwhevil." The "Slurach" is obviously a mistranscription of Sheach, or Shaw, while the Qwhevil of the Act is, of course, the Clan Qwhewyl mentioned in Wyntoun’s Chronicle as taking part five years later in the famous combat of the " threttie against threttie " on the North Inch of Perth. Rothiemurcus was at the time under the overlordship of the lawless son of Robert II., and a good deal of interesting matter regarding Shaw Mor is to be found in Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s romance, The Wolf of Badenoch.

It was probably by reason of the reputation he had gained in these affairs that Shaw Mor was chosen by his chief, Mackintosh, as captain of the picked warriors of the clan who took part in the battle on the North Inch in 1396. On a Monday morning, the day before Michaelmas, in the September of that year, a mighty multitude gathered to see that fight to the death within the barriers on the river side. King Robert III. was there, with his queen, Annabella Drummond, and his crafty brother, the Duke of Albany, in the Gilten Arbour specially built for the occasion, as well as many of the nobles of Scotland and even visitors from France. All the world is familiar with the scene, as depicted in Sir Walter Scott’s Fair Maid of Perth. At the last moment Clan Quhele was found to be a man short. His place was filled by an armourer of Perth, Hal o’ the Wynd, otherwise the Gow Crom, or bandy-legged smith, who for his hire was to have a piece of silver and maintenance for life if he survived. Tradition runs that no sooner was the signal given than this doughty individual drew his bow and shot an enemy dead. He seemed disposed to make no further effort, and, on his captain demanding why, declared he had earned his day’s wage. " Fight on," cried Shaw, "and your wage shall not be stinted." At this the smith rushed again into the battle, and by his fierce valour did much to win the fight. When all was over, and the only survivor of their opponents had plunged into the Tay and escaped, there were only eleven of Clan Quhele left, and all except the smith were wounded. According to the Kinrara MS., the stout armourer went home with the clan he had supported, and became the ancestor of the Gows or Smiths, who are counted a sept of Clan Chattan. At the same time, according to the same authority, the captain of the victorious party was handsomely rewarded by the Mackintosh chief: "Lachlan gave to Shaw possession of the lands of Rothiemurcus for the valour he showed that day against his enemies." In the quiet graveyard which surrounds the little kirk of Rothiemurcus the grave of Shaw Mor may still be seen. For centuries it was marked by a grey stone on which were laid five roughly rounded smaller stones. But about 1870 an American individual of the name of Shaw, who claimed to be a grand-nephew of Farquhar Shaw, shot as a deserter from the Black Watch in 1743, laid on the grave a modern slab in which the deeds of Shaw Mor are attributed to a Farquhar Shaw!

James, the son and successor of Shaw Mor, took part in another and yet more important conflict. When Donald, Lord of the Isles, was being ousted by his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany, from his claim to the Earldom of Ross, and set out on his great raid across Scotland, he was followed, among other vassals, by Malcolm, tenth chief of the Mackintoshes, and his clan. They played their part valiantly in the great battle of Harlaw, fought on 24th July, 1411, and among those who fell in the struggle, both the ancient ballad and the historian Boece enumerate the Mackintosh chief. There is evidence, however, in the Kinraira MS., in charters and in the MS. History of the Macdonalds, that the chief survived till 1457. The leader who really fell was James of Rothiemurcus. The fact that he was called Mackintosh in the ballad and by Boece merely shows that the Rothiemurcus family were still known by that name.

James left two infant sons, Alexander Keir (ciar, brown) and Ai or Adam, ancestor of the Shaws of Tordarroch. At that time the Comyns, who had once been lords of Badenoch and of vast territories elsewhere in Scotland, were still numerous in the region, and they seem to have taken advantage of the infancy of the holders to take possession of Rothiemurcus. On coming of age, however, Alexander Ciar gathered his friends, surprised and destroyed these Comyn enemies, and cleared his territory. His father and grandfather had merely held the lands as duchas, but Alexander secured the permanent rights. According to the Kinrara MS., the eleventh Mackintosh chief, Duncan, disponed his right of possession and tack of Rothiemurcus to his cousin, Alister Keir Mackintosh, alias Shaw, and the conveyance was confirmed by the Bishop of Moray, feudal superior of the lands, who in 1464 gave "Alexander Keyr Mackintosy" a feu charter. The bishop was to receive an annual rent of twenty-four merks till Alister or his heirs should infeft him in lands of ten pounds annual value nearer Elgin, after which the payment for Rothiemurcus was to be a fir cone annually, if demanded. Some trouble took place with the Mackintosh chief over this charter, but in the end Alister Ciar secured possession, and so became feudally independent of Mackintosh. From that time onward he seems to have acted as an independent chief, to have given bands of manrent direct to the Earls of Errol and Huntly, and to have been recognised as the equal of the thanes of Cawdor and the lairds of Kilravock.

While John, his eldest son, succeeded him in Rothiemurcus, Alexander Ciar’s younger sons became the ancestors of the Shaws of Dell, the Shaws of Dalnavert, the Farquharsons of Deeside, and the Maclvers of Harris and the Western Isles.

John’s son Alan succeeded in 1521. Three years later Lachlan, chief of the Mackintoshes, was murdered while hunting at Raigmore on the Findhorn. Shortly afterwards the murderers were captured, and kept in chains in the stronghold of Loch-an-Eilan in Rothiemurcus till 1531, when they were tried by the Earl of Moray, and duly executed. At the same period when Clan Chattan was bringing trouble upon itself by raiding and slaughtering on the lands of the Earl of Moray, who had assumed the guardianship of his nephew, their infant chief, and by supporting the Earl of Angus in his too close guardianship of his stepson, the boy king, James V., "Allan Keir" is found concerned. So serious was the trouble that a mandate of extermination was issued against Clan Chattan. Among others, Grant of Freuchie was commissioned to pursue the offenders.

These acts seem to have undermined the fortunes of the house of Rothiemurcus. In 1539 Alan disposed of the property to George Gordon, governor of Ruthven Castle. and son of the Earl of Huntly. From the Gordons the lands passed to the Grants in 1567. This alienation of the lands was a bitter regret to the Mackintosh chief. He appealed to Grant’s generosity to let him have his "own native country of Rothiemurcus " for the price he had paid for it. But Grant was adamant, and a feud began in consequence, which continued till 1586. Some of the popular stories of that feud are recounted in Memoirs of a Highland Lady, one of the Grants of Rothiemurcus. The authoress describes how the new owner repaired the ruins on Loch-an-Eilan in case of mishap, and destroyed the old fort of the Shaws on the Doune Hill, " leaving his malediction on any of his successors who should rebuild it." One rather gruesome story is of the slaying of one of the leaders of the Shaws. His followers "had to bury him, and no grave would suit them but one in the kirk-yard of Rothiemurcus beside his fathers. With such array as their fallen fortunes permitted of, they brought their dead, and laid him unmolested in that dust to which we must all return. But, oh, what horrid times! His widow next morning, on opening the door of her house at Dalnavert, caught in her arms the corpse, which had been raised in the night and carried back to her. It was buried again, and again it was raised, more times than I care to say, till Laird James announced he was tired of the play. The corpse was raised, but carried home no more. It was buried deep down within the kirk, beneath the laird’s own seat, and every Sunday when he went to pray he stamped his feet upon the heavy stone he had laid over the remains of his enemy."

Alan, who sold the estate, reserved possession to himself during his lifetime, and his son James and James’s son Alan continued in the district after him. In 1620 appears the first instance of the use of Shaw as a family name, when Alexander Shaw in Dalnavert witnesses a Mackintosh sasine, but by 1640 the name was in full use. In 1645, the time of Montrose and the Civil War, the chief, as Alan Shaw, witnessed a bond of defence against the king’s enemies.

According to tradition, Alan was outlawed for the slaughter of his stepfather, Dallas of Cantray, and having been seized and imprisoned in Castle Grant, died there soon afterwards.

The Rev. Lachlan Shaw, in his History of Moray, states that Alan’s brother and associates "exiled into the Western Isles and Ireland," the main line of the family thus becoming extinct in the country. To the present day there are many Shaws in Skye and Jura, who may be descendants of these "exiles." The Rev. W. G. Shaw, however, in his Memorials of Clan Shaw, quotes the tradition of an Alasdair Ruaidh Shaw who resisted all the attempts of the Grants to eject him from his tenancy of Achnahaitnich, laughing at legal processes, and resisting with sword and gun. This Alasdair he makes out to have been Alan’s brother, and to have continued the main line of the family at Crathinard in Braemar and Crandard in Glenisla. But the evidence seems doubtful. Sir Robert Sibbald in 1680 described Rothiemurcus as formerly belonging to "the Schaws, who still possess (i.e., occupy) the parish, Alexander Schaw of Dell being head of the tribe."


Another account of the clan...

The origin of the name Shaw is uncertain but it may derive from the old Gaelic personal name Sithech, that is first recorded about the 12th century. The Clan Shaw were one of the principal clans of the confederation of Clan Chattan and a sept of the Mackintoshes. The home of Clan Shaw was Rothiemurchus, part of the Mackintosh patrimony and according to tradition was bestowed upon Farquhart Shaw, Shaw "Mor", great-grandson of Angus, 6th Chief of Mackintosh and Eva of Clan Chattan, who lead Clan Chattan to battle on the North Inch Perth in 1396. However, there is also the possibility that these lands may have been received earlier from the Bishop of Moray in 1226. James Shaw of Rothiemurchus was killed at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, his son Alasdair "Ciar" succeeded him and recovered their lands from the Comyns. His brother, Adam (Ay) was the founder of Clan Ay, and his sons, Alexander, was ancestor of the Shaws of Dell, James of the Shaws of Dalnavert, Farquhar, progenitor of Clan Farquharson and the fifth was ancestor of the Shaws of Harris and the Isles. Although the Shaws were still a significant element of Clan Chattan, by the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 they had lost hold of Rothiemurchus to the Grants long before, when they were forfeited by the Crown following the murder of the stepfather of the Chief of Shaw by the Chief himself. Although Clan Chattan tried to regain their lands, Rothiemurchus has remained with the Grants ever since. The Lowland Shaws originate from the place name of the south-west, with a William de Shaw appearing on the Ragman Rolls of 1296. The Shaws of Sauchie and Greenock are important branches of the family. The 21st Chief of Clan Shaw, John Shaw of Torrdarroch was matriculated in 1970 by the Lyon Court after a vacancy of 400 years.


Sent in by William G. A. Shaw, Seannachaidh of the Clan

THE CLAN SHAW :

Meaning of Name: First, Foremost, or Leader. Possibly Tempest, Storm or the Wolf.
Gaelic of Name: Na Si’each, or Mhic Sheaghd.
Family Slogan: Fide et Fortitudine. (By Faith and by Fortitude. We force nae friend, we fear nae foe.)
Clansfolk’s Crest Badge: A Dexter Arm, the hand holding the dagger, pale, proper (The crest of the personal Arms of John Shaw of Tordarroch)
Plant Badge: Red Whortleberry or Boxwood (By old tradition, also a sprig of fir.)
Pipe Music: The Rothiemurchus Rant, The Shaws March.
Areas of Influence: Rothiemurchus, Strathnairn, Upper Glengairn, Deeside, Nr. Crathie, Glenshee and Glenisla, Harris and Jura.

My Personal Mission:

During the past two thousand years of Gaeldom, it has been the task of the Seannachaidh (tribal historian/genealogist, bard, poet and storyteller) to do many things to augment the cohesiveness of the clan and tribe.

As the Seannachaidh of the Chief and the worldwide clan family, my personal mission is to globally facilitate a greater extending of the collective knowledge, understanding and preservation of our rich Celtic and Gaelic clan ethos, customs, traditions, language and (oral and written) history.

It is also part of my mission to help foster a modern version of the very ancient and evergreen links to our Clan Shaw tribal enclaves and lands of old . . . connecting us through time as it were, with the deep love and sacred symbiotic relationship toward the land and its seasonal rhythms that our ancestors entwined within them.

…I will bring them in from every nation, gather them in from other lands,

and lead them home to their own soil.   

- Ezekiel, ch. 34, vs 13

…Every man of the Children of Israel shall pitch his tent, each under his own Standard,

with the Ensigns of his father’s House.    

- Numbers, ch. 2, vs 2

Fide et Fortitudine  ~ Suas Na Si'each!
Yours aye,

Bill

William G.A. Shaw of Easter Lair
Seannachaidh and Bard to John Shaw of Tordarroch
US Member of Council – Clan Chattan Association, Scotland.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW:

From Our Common Background within the Clan Mackintosh and the gre at Clan Chattan Confederation of tribes, the never-ending Clan Shaw family story begins at the ancient hill-fort at The Doune in Rothiemurchus Forest in the late fourteenth century. The early Mackintosh Shaws, or "Ciars" (nickname for swarthy or brown) soon sprouted a vigorous northern branch or sept in Strathnairn in 1468 called Clan Ay. A generation later, the main chiefly stem family established other vigorous and powerful septs in Rothiemurchus at Dell and Dal navert.

and established a branch in the Western Isles on Skye, called the Clan Mhic Iver. This sept quickly spread to Harris and Jura. During this time of consolidation, a branch was also started over the Cairngorms in Deeside, settling eventually at Invercauld. This eastern branch of the family quickly became a powerful and independent clan in their own right, the Clan Fhionnlaigh, later called Clan Farquharson.

Because Of Tribal And National Geopolitics, by the close of the sixteenth century, the main Mackintosh Shaw chiefly family at the Doune of Rothiemurchus had lost its position of eminence and hegemony. Eventually, the second and now senior branch of the Clan Shaw up north at Tordarroch began to act as Heads of the Shaws within the Clan Chattan Confederacy. By 1629, our Clan Farquharson cousins were joined by a scion of the Shaw of Dell Chieftains. This Shaw established a new branch of the clan at Crathienaird in Deeside under the territorial hegemony of the Chief of Clan Farquharson. This semi-independent sept, called Clan Seumas also spread north of Crathienaird to Glengairn and south to lovely Glenshee and Glenisla.

From These And Many Other septs, branches and families, the Clan Shaw has spread throughout Scotland Eire and England, scattering during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 'to all the Airts' throughout the world. This is your story!

HISTORICAL SUMMARY

Parting The Mists Of Time ~ Our Earliest Roots

The Bloodline of the ancient and honorable Highland Family and Name of Shaw reaches back beyond the turn of the first millennia. Entwined via the Chiefs of Mackintosh and the Mac Duff Earls of Fife to the Kings of Moray and Fife, it descends from the crown of Scotland back to the Kings of DalRiada to the ancient High Kings of Eire and to the blood royale of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of the Cruitne-tuath, or the Picts.

At that time, Alba or Albany (later called Scotland) was divided into seven kingdoms: Moray, Ath-fhotla, or Atholl, Fife, Cirech, Ce, Fortrenn and Strath-Cluaidh. The Ard-Righ na Alba, or High Kingship of Alba alternately revolved between two of the strongest and most prestigious royal houses of these kingdoms, of Atholl and Moray. Although closely related, these two houses were also rivals for the throne.

The Thanes Of Fife

Our earliest ancestor was Aethelred, the first Earl of Fife. Aethelred, or in Gaelic: Aedh was the eldest son of Malcolm (III) Mac Duncan (also known as "Malcolm Ceann-Mhor"), High King of Alba. Aedh's royal sire was of the line of Kenneth Mac Alpin (died 858), the Dal Riadic King of Albany, who through his grandmother was also a claimant to the High Kingship of the ancient Cruithne, earlier called Picts by the invading Romans. Now Aedh Mac Malcolm was made hereditary Abbot of Dunkeld, and because of his important ecclesiastical position, was barred from the throne (His younger brothers were Kings Alexander I and David I). In the Celtic "Culdee" Church, (a gentle blend of Christian and Druidic tradition) priests were allowed to marry and pass on their religious duties down to through their family lines. A leading personage in the kingdom, Aedh married the sister and heiress of Mael Snectai, the King of Moray. Mael Snectai was also the Chief of Clan Duff as grandson of Queen Gruoch (Gruoch was also the wife the good King Mac Beth, who was both the rightful king of Celtic Scotland, and one of the country's better monarchs), herself heiress of the line of King Duff, which was apanaged in the ancient 'Kingdom of Fife.' Aedh's father Malcolm III (who was raised in England since he was nine and later with English military assistance usurped Mac Beth's crown) was swayed by his own ambition and by the Norman and feudal influence of his new wife Margaret, herself a Saxon Princess in exile. "Ceann Mhor" altered the system of revolving kingship in Alba and (illegally) decreed that the High kingship would forever stay with his line, the House of Atholl. This is in opposition to the ancient Celtic laws Tanistry: whereby succession or election of the next king or chief is chosen from the best or most able person from within the derb-fine, or chiefly family. Queen Margaret also influenced her husband to encourage various 'reforms' at court: Norman French over Gaelic, the abandonment of the ancient and noble Celtic Brehonic Laws – the oldest codified legal system in Europe.  Margaret also forced the country's elite to begin to adopt the tenets of feudalism over tribalism. These personal, cultural and geopolitical moves did much to alienate the independent clans and tribes of Moray (formerly part of the Pictish Northern kingdom) against the central government. Aedh's son Duff Mac Aedh, predeceased his father, but not before having children of his own, Ghillemicheal and Constantine Mac Duff. After Aedh's death in 1128, the kingdom of Moray rose in several rebellions to rightly establish these two grandsons to the High Kingship of Scotland. Ghillemichael's son Duncan, 5th Toiseach (Gealic for Thane, Saxonised as Earl) or Earl of Fife was Regent of Scotland in 1153. The Mackintoshes and Shaws t race descent from Duncan's second son, Shaw Mac Duff. A scion of the royal derb-fine line of the King of Scots, the loyal Shaw Mac Duff rode north in 1160 with his cousin and friend Malcolm IV to calm the rising emotions and military gatherings of his rebellion minded tribal cousins in Moray. The Moraymen, unhappy with the gradual loss of their little kingdom's independence were calling for yet another rising against the King of Scots. Shaw Mac Duff ‘the Thane’ (an Toiseach) was made the Keeper of the Royal Castle at Inverness. Who better to settle down the local tribes of Moray than a grandson and great nephew of the men they once wanted as kings? His progeny, later called ‘Mhic an Toiseach’, grew in size and power, receiving possession of the lands of Petty and Breachley with the forest of Strathdearn in the valley of the Findhorn. Despite their remoteness, the Mackintoshes continued to loyally support the royal government down south.

The Land Of The Wildcat

Shaw Mac Duff's grandson, Shaw Mac William acquired the strategically important lands of Rothiemurchus from the Bishopric of Moray in 1236. Rothiemurchus was part of the ancient Caledonian Forest. Part of it also consisted of the oft-flooded and very fertile Strathspey farmlands. Neighbored by the belligerent Clan Comyn, Shaw Mac William's son Ferquhard allied his little clan with the powerful Mac Donald Kings of the Isles. Streng thening this northwestern alliance, he married Mora, daughter of Angus Mhor, the Lord of Islay (the Lord or King of the Isles). During their son Angus's minority, the Mackintosh castles of Meickle Geddes and Rait were seized and held by Clan Comyn. In 1291, Angus Mac Ferquhard married Eva, daughter of Dougall Dall, 6th Chief of Clan Chattan, or "Clan of the Cats". The Chiefs of Clan Chattan descend from Ghillechattan Mhor (ca 1075), the Great Servant or Devotee of Saint Cattan, a descendant of the ancient Dal Riadic Kings of Lorne. Also loosely allied with the Mac Donald Kings of the Isles, 'old' Clan Chattan's original country was at Glenloy and Loch Arkaig, with its main tribal center at Torcastle. With this marriage, t he Clan Chattan and Clan Mackintosh were intertwined into an even stronger and larger tribal Confederation, now Captained by the Chief of Mackintosh. Because of their feud with the Comyns over Rait and Meickle Geddes, Clan Chattan backed the Earl of Carrick, Robert the Bruce in his fierce dynastic struggles with the Red Comyn. Angus Mac Ferquhard was one of the Earl of Moray's chief officers at Bannockburn in 1314. He also raised a contingent of Clan Chattan confederation for the Scottish invasions of England in 1318 and 1319.

The Children Of The Pine Forest

Clan Shaw, or the Children of Shaw stem from Shaw Mac Ghillechrist Mhic Iain, a great grandson of Angus a nd Eva. Also known as Sheagh Bheagh, or Little Shaw’, and Coriacalich, or ‘Buck-tooth’, Shaw was raised with his chiefly cousins at the Mackintosh seat at Moigh. During Shaw's youth, the encroaching power of the Clan Cameron was felt when their Mac Millan, Mac Gillonie or Mac Martin septs took the old Mackintosh lands of Torcastle by the sword. This long feud resulted in the seesaw skirmish and eventual Mackintosh victory at Invernahavon in 1370 or 1386, which Shaw and his father Ghillechrist would have taken part. Shaw, (latterly called Shaw Mhor), was elected Captain of Clan Chattan in the legendary Raid of Angus in 1391. Le d by the Wolf of Badenoch (a bastard son of Robert II) Shaw and Clan Chattan joined an army of rowdy Highlandmen who descended from the Cairngorm Mountains to raid, loot and plunder the fertile plains of Angus. Just for fun, to make a point on a long-simmering side-feud (over a woman) with the Bishop of Moray, they also took a swipe at the town of Elgin, putting the Cathedral to the torch on their way home! This wild raiding party routed the forces of the Sheriff of Angus and David Lindsay of Glenesk.

Despite the earlier Mackintosh victory at Invernahavon, the long-standing feud with the tribes of Clan Cameron continued. This feud so threatened the fragile stability of the Highlands that the Earl of Moray and Lindsay of Glenesk decreed that a trial by combat settle the matter. On behalf of the Chief of Mackintosh, Shaw again led Clan Chattan in the Battle of the Clans on 28, September 1396 at the North Inch near Perth. Shaw and his 29 warriors battled 30 Camerons in front of wooden bleachers packed with local citizenry, Scottish nobility, King Robert III and even the Dauphin of France. When the slaughter was over, Shaw and 10 of his men stood over 29 slain Camerons. As a reward for his courage, leadership and fighting abilities, his grateful cousin and Chief, Lachlan Mackintosh gave Shaw the lease of the lands of Rothiemurchus. Our main tribal seat was at the ancient and strategic timber hill fort at the Doune.  Shaw died approx. ten years later and was succeeded by his son Seumas, or James.

In 1411, the Chief of Mackintosh raised Clan Chattan to back the Mac Donald Lord of the Isle's claim to the Earldom of Ross. His chief officer was Shaw's son James Mackintosh. As this large army, consisting primarily of Clan Donald and its supporters and allies, plundered its way into Aberdeen shire, they were met by the Earl of Mar and his well equipped forces at "Red" Harlaw on 24, July. In the ensuing battle, James was killed.

The Struggles

With our fourth Chief's untimely death, various scattered branches of Comyns, probably from their local lair at Altyre, invaded Rothiemurchus and took it by fire and sword. They burned the timber and earthwork fort at the Doune and refortified the old island keep at Loch an Eilean. During this time of strife, James's two young sons were taken away to safety: The eldest son Alasdair to his mother's family in the south central Highlands at Strathardle, and young Aedh up north to his cousin's castle at Moigh. After over ten years of dominance, at last the power of the Comyns began to wane. Many Comyns were drowned as their own floodgates were sabotaged as they attempted to flood the besieged Moigh Castle. While treacherously luring the Clan Chattan Chieftains to slaughter at a conciliatory feast at Rait, at the sign of the t oken black bull's head, the Comyns were themselves killed by the forewarned men of Clan Chattan.

When James's sons Alasdair and Aedh grew to manhood, they gathered their Mackintosh relations and Clan Chattan friends and avenged their father in a wild ambush and skirmish at Lag na Cuimenach at Loch Pityloulish, ten miles no rth of Loch an Eilean. In light of his success at clearing the area of treacherous Cuimenach, Duncan, the 11th Chief of Mackintosh gave to Alasdair ‘Ciar’ ( A Gaelic family nick-name for swarthy or brown) the temporary lease of Rothiemurchus. The Bishop of Moray however, granted Alasdair the permanent ownership of the land on 4, September 1464. This ownership of the important timber and Speyside farmlands was opposed by the Mackintosh, and caused a ten year rift in relations between the two Chiefs. This family dispute was finally settled by the direction of James III in 1475. Their territorial differences resolved, and holding Rothiemurchus direct from the crown, Alasdair Ciar, now Thane of Rothiemurchus, acted on several occasions to represent his cousin the Chief of Mackintosh on many important matters legal, feudal, and of security within and without Clan Chattan.

After helping his brother retake the tribal lands of Rothiemurchus from the usurping Comyns, Aedh Mackintosh settled near his boyhood home of Moigh leasing Tordarroch in Strathnairn from the Mackintosh in 1468. Occupying a pivotal, strategic site above the ford of the river Nairn, this northern branch of the Mackintosh Shaw family soon became a powerful little tribe in their own right, acting prim arily as a cadet family of the Mackintosh, and later as representatives of the entire Shaw branch of the Mackintosh family. The Shaws of Tordarroch became known as the Clan Aedh, or Ay.

Expansion

While Alasdair Ciar's eldest son Iain or John ‘Ciar’ Mackintosh continued the Chiefly line of Thanes of Rothiemurchus, Iain's younger brother Alasdair ‘Og’ was the progenitor of another branch of the family at nearby Dell. This active branch of the Rothiemurchus family soon became a powerful tribe in their own right, soon having their own septs at nearby Guislich and Kinrara na Choille. Alasdair Ciar's third son, James, established another branch of the family at Dalnavert, north of Glenfeshie. Led by the main Chiefly line at the Doune, these branches were quite influent ial in local and family affairs. Their younger brother Farquhar emigrated over the gloomy pass of Lairig Ghrue, settling with his "considerable possessions" in upper Deeside. The Earldom of Mar having been earlier annexed to the Crown in 1435, Farquhar was eventually made Chamberlain of Mar. His progeny were later called Clan Fhionnlaigh, after the 5th Chief, Finlay Mhor, who died at the Battle of Pinkie, carrying the Royal Standard in 1547. Clan Farquharson remained in close alliance with their Mackintosh Shaw cousins just over the mountains in Rothiemurchus, and remained a part of the great Clan Chattan Confederation. The Clan Farquharson was soon a power to be reckoned with in Aberdeen shire. Iver, Alasdair Ciar's youngest son, immi grated to the Isle of Skye. His progeny, called Clan Mhic Iomhair, later spread to Harris, Jura, Islay and Mull in the Western Isles.

While the Clan Shaw families were consolidating in Rothiemurchus, Strathnairn and beyond, in 1524 the Chief of Mackintosh wa s murdered while hunting on the Findhorn, leaving his infant son William as Chief. To the outrage of the Clan Chattan Chieftains, the Earl of Moray forcefully acted as "custodial guardian" of little William. During the young Chief's captivity, his cousin Hector Mackintosh captained Clan Chattan. Our 7th Chief, Alan Ciar Mac Iain Mackintosh, was a very close friend and associate of Hectors. With his Mackintosh Shaws of Rothiemurchus, he and his kinsmen joined in Hectors retaliatory raids on the Earl of Moray's lands. In 1528, Hector and Alan Ciar supported the Earl of Angus, infamous captor of the boy-king James V. Because of these raids, and of the support of Angus, Alan Ciar was fined quite heavily for his "Treasonable Acts". Foiled in his attempts to capture the wily Hector, in 1531, the Earl of Moray raided Clan Chattan country, and summarily tried and hung 18 Mackintoshes from the rafters of the Tithe Barn at Tordarroch. Because of his fines, in 1539, Alan Ciar was forced to sell the feu of Rothiemurchus to George Gordon, son to the Earl of Huntly. Alan though, retained the life rent of the farm and lands of the Doune, which were passed to his young son James at Alan's death in 1542.

On 22, May 1543, a Clan Chattan Band was signed at Inverness by most of the tribes of Cla n Chattan. As Chieftain of Clan Ay, the senior sept of the Mackintosh Shaws, Angus Mac Robert of Tordarroch signed on behalf of his southern cousin, then an infant Chieftain in Rothiemurchus. Meanwhile, from their castle at Freuchie, the powerful Chiefs of Clan Grant had long coveted and plotted to gain the rich Rothiemurchus timber and fertile Speyside farmlands to the south. On 14, July 1567, Iain Grant of Freuchie purchased the Deed of Rothiemurchus from the Earl of Huntly. In February two years later, Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh wrote to the Chief of Grant that he wanted to repurchase his "own native country of Rothiemurchus for which sums of money as he gave for same". His entreaties to Grant ignored, the Mackintosh then threatened to raise the ten tribes of Clan Chattan against him, but to no avail. Indeed, the Mackintosh Shaws, greater Clan Mackintosh, and all of Clan Chattan did much to make life quite difficult for the Grants in Rothiemurchus and elsewhere for nearly twenty years. As the Grants harried and evicted the Shaws with sword and legal writ, the Shaws and Mackintoshes gleefully countered with retaliatory cattle lifting, the occasional assault and roof, grainery and crop burning.

Consolidation

Although the Mackintosh Shaws of Doune remained an important local family, and still acted in a prominent role in family affairs on occasion, after 1543, the Tordarroch and Dell bra nches of the clan had gained additional power and influence within and without Clan Mackintosh and Clan Chattan. On 4, April 1609, as the senior Chieftain within the family, Ay or Adam Mac Bean Mac Robert signed for Clan Ay and on behalf of the Rothiemurchus tribes in the Great Clan Chattan confederation Band of Union and Manrent at Termit.

Off our west coast, John Shaw of Trumpan in Skye, 4th Chieftain of Clan Mhic Iomhair and 40 armed friends and kinsmen captured a merchant vessel off the Isle of Lewis . In 1616 he was briefly imprisoned for said piracy, murder and robbery. Later, John of Trumpan and his brother Donald Shaw of Harlosh signed a Band of Maintenance with John Farquharson of Cloak (a.k.a. the powerful Farquharson of Invercauld) acknowledging common Mackintosh Shaw tribal kinship, allegiance and mutual protection. In 1628, James Mackintosh, 8th of Doune died, leaving a young son Alan. That same year, James Mackintosh ‘alias Shaw’, a descendant of the chiefly line of Shaws of Dell lived firstly at Kinveachie in Rothiemurchus, and then at Tullochgrue, just north of Loch an Eilean. An important man in Rothiemurchus, James of Tullochgrue married a daughter of his kinsman Robert Farquharson of Invercauld. Because of pressures from the Grants increasing their hold on the area, their son, James ‘Og’ Shaw left Rothiemurchus and emigrated over the Lairig Ghrue to upper Deeside, settling in with his mothers family and Farquharson cousins. By 1 633, James ‘Og’ lived at Crathienaird near Balmoral, his progeny later called Clan Seumas. Allied with their cousins the Farquharson Chiefs, this pithy little branch of Clan Shaw eventually generated a power base of its own and soon spread north to Glengairn and Glen Avon and later south to Glenshee and Glenisla.

As late as 1645, the last of the Chiefly line of Rothiemurchus, Alan Shaw, 9th of Doune signed a Bond between Grant of Freuchie and many powerful Badenoch Chiefs. As evidence of his local familial stature, Alan signed below Mac Pherson of Cluny and two important Mackintosh Chieftains and above the Sha w Chieftains of Dell and Dalnavert. Sometime later, in a fit of hot-blooded anger, Alan beheaded his cruel stepfather Dallas of Cantray, who legend has it killed Alan's dog. Alan then hurled Dallas's head at his mother's feet. As Dallas was quite unpopular, although now outlawed, local feeling was in Alan's favor. He quickly gathered many kinsmen and friends who enjoyed robbing, raiding and plundering his enemies, primarily of Clan Grant. Eventually, Alan was captured and taken to Castle Grant for ‘trial’ where he mysteriously died as he was being "civilly entertained". To this day, the Grants (still in Rothiemurchus) protest their innocence . . . (We know better! -WSEL.) Up north in Clan Ay country, Robert Shaw of Tordarroch had built a sturdy tower or fortalice on a st rategic knoll just west of Tordarroch House. He also surrounded it by a stone wall. A Jacobite supporter of the Marquis of Montrose, Robert and his kinsmen and Strathnairn friends defiantly resisted with bow, pistol and firelock the Cameronians who regularly attempted to capture the fort. By 1691, over the Lairig - in Deeside, Captain Duncan "Riem Aon" Shaw, 2nd of Crathienaird was Chamberlain to the Earl of Mar and Factor to his cousin the Farquharson of Invercauld. Ever a busy man, Duncan also raised, armed and commanded a local "Watch" of 20 men, charged to protect the neighborhood from cattle raiding caterans who descended from their lairs in Glenavon. Duncan later leased Crandard Castle in Glenisla, while his eldest son James lived at Crathienaird. James later lived at Daldownie in Glengairn. Duncan's other sons and grandsons soon settled comfortably throughout upper Glenshee and Glenisla. On 19, May 1711, Alexander Shaw of Tordarroch, Duncan Shaw of Crathienaird and John Shaw of Guislich at Culloden witness a Band and Tack between Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh and James Shaw of Dell.

The Fifteen Rising

Under the command of William Mackintosh of Borlum, the tribes of Clan Chattan rose for the exiled King James VIII on 15, September 1715 near Tordarroch at Farr. Led by Robert Shaw, Younger of Tordarroch, with his brother Angus as Lieutenant, the Shaw contingent of Clan Chattan was often noted for being the most resolute, the best armed, equipped and composed in the Earl of Mar's army. After the collapse of the rising at Preston, both Robert and Angus were cruelly abused at the infamous Newgate Prison. Because of the severe tortures inflicted on him, Robert Shaw died soon after his release in 1718. Angus Shaw was transported to Virginia Colony where he lived and worked as an "indentured servant" or slave until he was ransomed by several Clan Chattan gentlemen and pardoned in 1722. On his return to the Highlands, he was forced to sign an oath of loyal ty never to raise arms against the Hanoverian government again. Angus Shaw spent much of his adult life enlarging and improving Tordarroch.

The Forty-Five ~ The Last Rising Of The Clans

At the commencement of the Rising of 1745, Angus Shaw of Tordarroch never forgot the harsh suffering he and his brother had undergone in prison after 'the Fifteen. Long did he remember the agonies of transportation and servitude in the Americas. Although sorely tempted, he forbid Clan Ay from taking up arms against the Government. Following Tordarroch's example, the elderly James Shaw of Dell remain ed at peace as well. As late as 1750, it was reported that …the Shaws have two Chieftains of equal degree, Shaw of Tordarroch in Strathnairn and Shaw of Dell in Rothiemurchus, neither of whom were in arms, but some of their men were sent out under command of some gentlemen who had nothing to lose*". Over in Deeside however, the Farquharson of Invercauld's nephew, Francis Farquharson of Monaltrie ignored his uncle and Chief's wishes and raised over 300 Farquharsons as a semi-independent battalion of Ogilvie of Airlie's Deeside Regiment. Monaltrie's neighbors, cousins and friend, *James Shaw of Crathienaird and his sons John and Duncan Shaw acted as Captains in the Farquharson battalion. James's you nger brothers from Glenshee and Glenisla, John and Donald served as Ensigns in the Farquharson unit while the youngest brother William acted as Captain in Ogilvy of Airlie's 2nd battalion. A tiny branch of the Crathienaird sept, the proud and war-like Shaws of Inchrory, also took up arms for Prince Charles.

As the Rising progressed, Lady Anne Mackintosh, Invercauld's daughter (therefore of the blood line of the Clan Shaw Chiefs herself), raised the Clan Chattan confederation for Prince Charles in defiance of her husband the Chief of Mackintosh's loyalties and bidding (In fairness, The Mackintosh of Mackintosh was an officer in Lord Louden’ Regiment and held his to his oath and word as an officer and as a Highland Gentleman). Two of Lady Anne’s trusted Lieutenants were James and John Shaw of Kinrara. In early April 1746, as the two opposing forces marched into Clan Chattan country, Angus Shaw of Tordarroch's sworn oath of loyalty to the Hanoverian government was near the breaking point. On the bitter morning of the 16th, with the two armies nearby at Culloden, Angus was prevented from fighting under the yellow banner of Clan Chattan only by the courage and common sense of his wife Isabel,who hid his weaponry, accoutrements and clothing and locked and bolted him in a sturdily secured closet.

Together forming the centre and right of Prince Charles' force at Culloden, both Clan Chattan and Clan Farquharson charged as one through murderous English grapeshot to briefly inflict a wild desperate melee of claymore, dirk and pistol upon the English regiments before dying on bayonets of the second line. Seriously wounded, both James and John Shaw of Kinrara retreated with what was left of the shattered Clan Chattan. James died that day. Found wounded in a nearby hut, John was summarily executed three days later. Charging with Clan Farquharson, the six Shaw of Crathienaird officers from Glenshee were able to escape in the smoke filled confusion after the battle. After several dangerous adventures they spent several harrowing months "lurking" in the country near their homes in Glengairn, Glenshee and Glenisla.

Diaspora

When the smoke cleared after the battle of Culloden, the Hanoverian Government undertook efforts to wipe out the Celtic/Gaelic tribal culture and language from the Highlands forever. After burning many Highlanders ' homes and farms and driving most of the cattle and sheep south to the Lowlands and England, whatever tribal or military spirit the people had left was broken by a combination of hunger, pistol shot, rifle butt, and the threat and carrying out of rape, prison, transportation, hanging or worse. The power of the now scattered Chiefs and Chieftains was put to an end by military piquet and with harsh legislation from London. Another aspect of this cultural destruction was the eradication of the traditional Highland dress. It was punishable by death or imprisonment to wear arms, or even the tartan, kilt, plaid or hose. School children were forced to learn English. The clan system was eradicated with a finality that only the Romans or Normans could admire. This repression was carried out on an economic scale into the Industrial Age with the hated Clearances. To survive, many were soon forced to immigrate to the Lowlands, to Canada, America, India, and Australia and beyond.

Ancestral Memory Awakened

Although scattered thousands of miles from our sacred tribal tuaths, we of Clan Shaw always knew from whence we came. Much of this memory the modern day clan owes to the Bards, historians and storytellers of old - the Seannachaidhean. Throughout the late 1700's and 1800's they gathered and cherished our genealogies, histories and fostered our Gaelic language and culture.While doing so they told and remembered us to our beloved lands of old . . . Rothiemurchus, Strathnairn, the Western Isles, Deeside and Glenshee. Drawing the Shaws together from around the world, their oral and published works also acted as bright fires of tribal warmth, comfort and family togetherness.  In a swiftly changing world. Long will their names be honored: the Rev William G. Shaw, Alasdair Mackintosh Shaw Mackintosh, Norman Rhymer Shaw, our late Chief, Major "Iain" C.J. Shaw of Tordarroch and his ever-talented Seannachaidh Edward John Redshaw, and more recently the late St.Clair Shaw.

We Gather Again

In 1970, the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms for Scotland recognized the late Major "Iain" Charles John Shaw of Tordarroch, the 16th Chieftain of Clan Ay as the 21st Chief of the Highland Clan, Family and Name of Shaw. On his death in 1978, Iain was succeeded by his son, our 22nd Chief, John Shaw of Tordarroch. The headquarters of the clan is at Newhall on the Black Isle in Ross, near Inverness. Our Chief, John Shaw of Tordarroch lives with lovely and gracious Lady Silvia in Majorca . Their son and Tanist, Iain Shaw, Younger of Tordarroch lives in Norway.

The late William Iain Gordon Shaw of Easter Lair (1915-1997), the senior armoral Representer/chieftain of the Shaws of Crathienaird and Glenshee was succeeded on his death by his Tanist, this writer who achieved a Grant of Arms in the Court of Lord Lyon King of Arms for Scotland on Beltaine, 2002.

Present Armigers of the Highland Clan Shaw:

John Charles Shaw of Tordarroch - 13th Chieftain of Clan Ay, 22nd Chief of Clan Shaw : Newhall, Ross-shire, Scotland.  Tanist is Iain Shaw, Younger of Tordarroch.

Thomas Donald MacKay Shaw, 3rd Baron Craigmyle – London and Knoydart, Inverness-shire, Scotland.  Tanist is Thomas Columba Shaw, Younger of Craigmyle.

William Shaw of Easter Lair - 12th Representer of the Territorial House of Shaw of Easter Lair. (The Senior armiger of the Shaw of Crathienaird sept) : Wester Crathienaird, Squak Mountain, Issaquah, WA.  USA.  Tanist is Liam David Shaw, Younger of Easter Lair.

Iain Farqhuar Shaw - Mount Blair, Glenshee, Perthshire, Scotland. A younger line of the Crathieniard sept in Glenshee, Mr. Shaw Inherited Arms and lands as Tanist/heir of his uncles: MacKenzie Smith Shaw of Achenleish and Little Forter, WS (who matriculated Arms in Lyon Court in March 1930) and William Thomas Shaw of Tenandry nr. Killiecrankie, WS (who matriculated Arms in Lyon Court in March 1927).  Tanist is William James Shaw.  Both men line at Mount Blair, Glenshee, Perthshire.

Robert James Shaw - Tintenbar, New South Wales, Australia.

Nota Bene:

Per the Court of the Lord Lyon, HM King of Arms for Scotland, all Arms are the personal heritable property of the above persons and are not to be used by anyone else in any form.  The appropriate form for a clansman or clanswoman is to bear the crest of the Chief of Chieftain within a strap and buckle.

All written content copyrighted by William G.A. Shaw of Easter Lair ~ May 2000/March 2008.
No part of this website can be used in entirety or in part or in reference or in paraphrase without proper credit to the author, or if republished in print or on other web sites, without prior permission of the author.  Tapadh Leit.  WSEL


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