I saw this posting on the Children Of The Mist Message Board and thought the
Sinclair reference might prove of interest ??
Joe Greigg
Richard McGregor
Up north
Mon Feb 28 14:01:35 2000
I wrote this for another list:
Don't forget that McGregors had to change their names because of
proscription - some ministers and session clerks were more fussy about
recording the alias than others. Also it's clear that in the lowland areas
of Scotland - right round the coast from Inverness down the east side
Highlanders let alone McGregors were largely unwelcome, or viewed with
suspicion. Undoubtedly many McGregors who went to the Lowlands with a
changed name never changed back. The same would be true of cities.
However in the Highland areas there was more likelihood of the McGregor
name actually being kept.
Early in the 17th century Mcgregors clearly fled north or were moved north
by landowners - thus McGregors in Caithness in the 17th century were
brought up by Sinclair to 'assist' him in dealing with troublemakers.
Likewise in 1624 the Earl of Moray took McGregors to Morayshire for the
same reason. The McGregors had strong ties with the Grants from way back
and there are McGregors in Strathspey from at least the 1580s.
Richard McGregor
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