I am nearing completion, after way too long, of my 2nd edition of Metes & Bounds I: Dugal McQueen, Ancestors & Descendants. The first edition was published in 1992, 32 years ago, and with more information having come to light, it was time for an update.
This has been a project long in the making. Literally. But, once it is done, it will complete my Metes & Bounds Series of three books on the McQueen and Crews families. A few years back, I put the second book in the series, David Crews, Ancestors & Descendants, into a second edition after having published the first edition in 1993. I finally, a few years ago, put the third book, John McQueen and Nancy Crews, Children & Grandchildren, into print.
And now, both the Crews book and the John McQueen book already have information not included. Such is genealogy.
As for this blog, a while back I entered into a discussion about the early origins of the McQueens as Norseman, and so I said I would post my research.
First, let's discuss the McQueen name. The word mac means son, so the McQueen name translates to son of queen. However, this does not necessarily imply the McQueens were of royal descent or were aligned with a royal house of sorts. More than likely, the mac is no different than in other Scottish names, such as McPherson and McGillivary, which also translates to son of Pherson and son of Gillivary.
In fact, there are a number of sources indicating the McQueen name originally may have been Sweyn, Macsweyn, Sveinn, MacSwann, or any number of variations, and that they had the same line of descent as Clan Donald and descended from the High Kings of Ireland.
The Sweyns, the earliest variation of the surname, were likely of Viking or Norse origins. During the 9th and 10th centuries, after conquering Ireland, England, and Scotland, Norseman took occupation of the Hebrides and west coast of Scotland. The Sweyns settled on the northeast corner of the Isle of Skye at Garafad. For many years the family held these lands on the condition they gave a certain number of salmon yearly at a fixed price to the proprietor. After getting into debt due to rent troubles, they lost their lands.
It may have been these rent troubles that precipitated Chief Revan Macmulmor MacSweyn to move his family to the mainland of Scotland and to Moidart about 1410 with Clan McDonald and Clanranald.
About 1420, a marriage was contracted between Moira MacDonald, daughter of Allen MacDonald, and Malcolm “Beg” Mackintosh, 10th Chief of Clan Mackintosh. The young bride subsequently took several of her kinsmen with her, including Revan-Mac-Mulmor Mac-Angus McQueen, to her new home. Another source lists his name, seemingly a bit more archaic, as Roderici Dhu Recan MacSweyen or Macqueen.
The following year, in 1411, Revan McQueen fought under Mackintosh of Mackintosh in the Battle of Harlaw,[1] and either because of his duty to the young bride of Mackintosh or his service in the war, or both, he was granted lands in Inverness near the Findhorn River and near the burn of Bruch, a few miles from Loch Moy. [2]
While there are a smattering of McQueens in the Mackintosh Muniments and other records, including a Dugal McQueen who kidnapped a rich widow in 1524, our exact attachment to Chief Revan Macmulmor MacSweyn is unclear. It is known that the McQueen clan chiefs settled in and near Corryborough, and that other family groups spread outward.
The branch that settled about 1520 at Pollochaig, a mere four miles from the clan seat at Corryborough, was the branch from which Dugal McQueen, the Jacobite banished to the Maryland colony after The Rising of '15, descended. The earliest we can trace Dugal's line is to a Dugal McQueen, his grandfather. Undoubtedly, this line originated in Corryborough, but the exact connection is not known at this time.
Sources & Notes:
[1] The Battle of Harlaw was a Scottish clan battle between Clan McDonald and Clan Stewart. Fought on 24 July 1411 just north of Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, the conflict was actually a series of battles fought during the Middle Ages between the barons of northeast Scotland and the west coast.
[2] It should also be noted that descendants of Dugal McQueen, if his mother was Anne Mackintosh, can claim descent to Allen MacDonald through daughter, Moira, and her husband, Malcom “Beg” Mackintosh.
A life-long educator and writer, Donna has always had stories in her head. When they were not swirling and gnawing, she had her head in a history book - both fiction and non-fiction. While in junior college, her grandfather gave her a family notebook with McQueen documents and family group sheets. Thus, her love of genealogy was born, and she has not stopped hunting down all the ancestors she can. She graduated from Texas A & M University with a teaching degree, and has since published five historical novels based on her family history, five books on her genealogy, and a few smallish books. Donna teaches middle-school English Language Arts and tutors privately. She dreams of life in a log cabin the woods, even as she is addicted to antique and thrift shopping.
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