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Clan
MacAlister
The
first record of Alistair is as a witness to a charter granted
by his brother, Angus, Lord of the Isles, to the Abbey of Paisley
c.1253. The earliest clan chief can be traced in 1366 when Ranald
led the clan whilst living on the lands of Kintyre. Charles
Macalister, the chief of the clan at the time, became constable
of the Castle of Tarbert and received a grant to lands in Kintyre.
The next chief was his son, John, who was commonly known as
'John of the Lowp'. The Macalisters took control of the estates
of John Montgomery of Skelmorlie and ravaged possessions that
were valued at nearly £12,000 Scots. The situation was
repeated two years later when Archibald Macalister gathered
the clans of north Kintyre to raid the Stewart island of Bute.
As the Macalisters grew they spread to new territories settling
in Stirlingshire during the 14th century. It was during this
time that their name became anglicised to its Lowland version,
Alexander. The 16th century saw the Macalisters settling on
the estates of Menstrie near Stirling Castle. William Alexander
of Menstrie was taken under the patronage of the Earl of Argyll
as a courtier and took an important role in the colonisation
of the new territories of Nova Scotia. The Earl of Stirling
was visited by Archibald Macalister of Tarbert in 1631. It was
during this visit from Archibald that William received an acknowledgement
that he was the Chief of Clan Macalister despite the fact that
he had no clear claim. The early part of the century saw the
chiefship being held by Charles Godfrey Somervill Macalister
who held the arms of Macalister and Somervill, being a descendant
of Charles Macalister who married the heiress of Somervill of
Kennox which passed to the family in 1765. The chiefly family
were eventually forced to sell their estates in Kintyre although
Glenbarr Abbey is the modern clan centre and holds artefacts
relating to the Macalisters. The clan is still represented on
the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
Septs of
Clans: Alastair, Alexander, Alison, Alistair, Allison, Alister,
MacAlasdair, MacAlaster, MacAlester,MacAlister, MacAllister,
MacAllister, McAlister, McAlester, McAllister, McCallister,
McCollister, McLister, Sanders, Saunders.
Gaelic Name:
MacAlasdair
Motto: Fortiter
(Boldly)
Badge: Heath
Lands: Kintyre,
Arran and Bute
Origin
of Name: Son of Alexander
Return
To Scottish Clans
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