Sir Alexander Ramsay successfully defended Dalhousie Castle against King Henry IV of England in 1400 and, in 1513, another Alexander Ramsay died at the Battle of Flodden. His son, Nicolas, supported Mary Queen of Scots and also King James VI. John Ramsay (a grandson of Nicolas) killed the Earl of Gowrie when they appeared to be attempting to kidnap King James VI in what became known as the "Gowrie Conspiracy" in 1600. As a result of this service, John was created Earl of Holderness. His son, who was created Earl of Dalhousie, fought at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644 during the Civil War.

In the 18th century, Allan Ramsay, originally a wig maker in Edinburgh, established what was probably the first lending library in Britain. He became a poet and collector and publisher of early Scottish poetry and built a house on Castle Hill which is now part of Ramsay Gardens, overlooking Princes Street in Edinburgh. The illustration here shows the statue to the poet standing in Princes Street Gardens, below Edinburgh Castle. His son, also Allan, became a famous portrait painter.

In the 19th century, the 9th Earl of Dalhousie was Governor General of Canada from 1819 to 1828 (and, later, commander-in-chief of India). His son was Governor General of India from 1847 to 1856. Sir William Ramsay was a distinguished chemist and discovered several new gases and was awarded the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1904. Dalhousie Castle is now a hotel and the seat of the Ramsay chief is Brechin Castle in Angus.

The Ramsay clan motto is "Ora et Labora" which means "Pray and Work".

MacGregor

The clan claims descent from Griogar, a son of Alpin, king of Dalriada but some genealogists question this. The first chief was probably "Gregor of the golden bridles" and his son, Iain Camm, succeeded as 2nd chief before 1390. Robert the Bruce granted the barony of Loch Awe to the Campbells and this covered much of the land occupied by the MacGregors. As a result, the clan were confined to Glenstrae.

In 1519 Iain of Glenstrae died without direct heirs and the Campbells supported the succession of Eian MacGregor (who was married to the daughter of Colin Campbell of Glenorchy). Eian's son, Alistair, fought at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 but, following his death, Colin Campbell refused to acknowledge the claim to the land by Gregor Roy MacGregor. Gregor was forced to wage a guerilla war for ten years but was captured and killed by the Campbells in 1570.

MacGregors were involved in the killing of John Drummond, the king's forester (after Drummond had hung some MacGregors for poaching) in 1589 and MacGregors took part in the Conflict of Glenfruin in 1603. With encouragement from the Campbells, King James VI and the Privy Council issued an edict banning the use of the name MacGregor. The clan chief was hanged at Edinburgh's Mercat Cross in 1604. Many adopted the name Murray, Graham, Stewart, Grant and even Campbell. The surname was not fully restored until 1774.

In the 18th century there were disputes over the chieftainship but eventually John Murray (later MacGregor) of Lanrick was recognised. The MacGregors of Glengyle disputed this but eventually, following a petition signed by 800 MacGregors, the Lord Lyon recognised him as chief in 1775.

Rob Roy MacGregor (he was forced to use his mother's maiden name Campbell due to the proscription of the MacGregor name) was a younger son of MacGregor of Glengyle. He took part in the first Jacobite Uprising in 1715. Afterwards, his raids on Lowland farms and his prowess with the sword earned him a reputation which was considerably enhanced by Sir Walter Scott's romantic tales. Rob Roy died peacefully in 1734 and is buried with his family in the churchyard at Balquhidder. A 20th century addition to his grave is defiantly inscribed "MacGregor Despite Them"!

The MacGregor chief, Sir Evan MacGregor, played a prominent part in the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and he and his clansmen guarded the honours of Scotland (changed days from their former role as outlaws). And it was Sir Evan who had the honour of proposing the toast to the "chief of chiefs" King George, at the royal banquet in Edinburgh.

The MacGregor clan motto is "'S rioghal mo dhream" which means "My race is royal" and refers to the claim that they are descended from Griogar, a son of Alpin, king of Dalriada.

Despite its persecution and proscription, MacGregor is found frequently in Scotland. It was the 82nd most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995.

The inclusion of the above information will become clearer now. Achnabobane was built in 1893 by the Great Uncle of Alistair MacGregor, the owner of all the farm land that surrounds us. The farmhouse itself, was sold to us in January 2004 by Alistair and Lorna MacGregor.

The name 'Achnabobane' means the place of the white cow. Legend has it that white cows were unlucky and were disposed off swiftly. But for reasons best known to the Clan MacGregor, white cows were considered very lucky indeed.