By Jared L. Olar
February 2019
The Scottish surname of Grant is best known for the Scottish Highland clan of that name, whose present Chief is the Rt. Hon. Sir James Patrick Trevor Grant of Grant, 6th Lord Strathspey, Baronet of Nova Scotia, 33rd. Chief of Clan Grant. The Grants later were allied with the famous Clan MacGregor, traditionally sharing a common origin with them (though the old story of the Siol Alpin is but a fancy, and DNA shows the common male ancestor of Grant and MacGregor likely lived before the time of Christ). The surname of Grant first appears in England and Scotland in the 1200s -- the first Scottish Grants held the lands of Stratherrick, but the fact that from the start their name is always given in Latin as de Grant ("of Grant") shows that the Scottish Grants had a toponymic surname, meaning "Grant" was a location. Clan tradition says that location was Sliabh Grianais (today called Granish, probably meaning "gravelly mountain" or "gravelly upland"), the moorland above Aviemore, traditionally the first land in Scotland held by Clan Grant, and there is no compelling reason to doubt that is the origin of the clan's surname. Traditionally the clan is of noble Norwegian Viking stock, and modern DNA testing indicates that the male line of the chiefs likely was either Viking or Norman (the Normans themselves being of Viking descent). There are, however, a number of other Scottish Grant families who are genetically distinct from the chiefly line and from each other -- most likely these families were feudal dependents of the clan chiefs who adopted their laird's surname, thus becoming members of Clan Grant by affiliation and allegiance rather than by genealogical descent. Among those affiliated families, some lived in Aberdeenshire, where the Grant name is common. Aberdeenshire happens to be where our own Grant ancestors came from (specifically Cruden Parish). We do not know the y-DNA (male) signature of our Grants, so at this time we cannot tell if our Grants came from a cadet of the chiefly tribe or rather (as seems probable) descended from a feudal subject of the Chief of Clan Grant.
1. [ALEXANDER? JOHN?] GRANT, probably born circa 1700, was probably a farmer or crofter of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, perhaps of the parishes of Cruden or Slains. He is known to have had at least one son and one daughter who are known to have lived and worked in Cruden and Slains parishes in the 1700s. The names of both himself and his wife are unknown, but judging from the fact that his son's two oldest sons were named Alexander and John, one of those names was probably his Christian name. By the same token, since his son's eldest daughter was named MARGARET, that was probably his wife's Christian name.
2. ALEXANDER GRANT, born circa 1730 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- ANN GRANT, born circa 1735 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1796 in Cruden or Slains Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married Robert Bowman.
2. ALEXANDER GRANT, son of (Alexander? John?) Grant, born circa 1730 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Alexander was a crofter of Slains Parish and of Ward and Auquharney in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. On 18 Feb. 1761 in Slains Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Alexander married MARY SHARP, born circa 1738 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died March 1798 in Auquharney, Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Mary's parentage is unknown, but she is known to have had siblings named Patrick/Peter, George, John and Elizabeth.
Alexander and Mary had two daughters and four sons, all born and baptised in Cruden Parish. The old Cruden Parish Register records the baptisms of their children as follows:
Novr 29th [1760] Alexander Grant in [Ward?] had a Child baptized in face of the Congregation named Margaret
January [1762] Alexander Grant in Ward had a Child baptized named Alexander Witnefses John Sharp & James Grant
April 24th [1763] Alexander Grant had a Child named John baptized before the Congregation.
June 9th [1765] Alexander Grant in Aquharny had a Child named James baptized before the Congregation.
May 7th [1767] Alexander Grant had a Child baptized named Peter Witnefses John Grant & Robert Bowman
Novr 15th [1768] Alexander Grant in Aquharny had a Child baptized named Mary Witnefses Alexander Laurenson & Robert Bowman
The 29 Nov. 1760 baptismal record of Alexander Grant's eldest child Margaret, from the old parish register of either Slains or Cruden in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Of the named baptismal witnesses (i.e. sponsors or godparents), John Sharp was a brother of Alexander's wife Mary, and James Grant was likely a brother or uncle of Alexander. Robert Bowan of Slains was the husband of Alexander's sister Ann, whom Robert married 3 July 1757 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Robert and Ann both died in 1796 in Cruden or Slains Parish.
The date and place of Alexander's death are unknown, but a March 1798 gravedigger's record shows "Mary Sharp, Auchquharnie, wife of Alexander Grant."
The known children of Alexander and Mary were:
-- MARGARET GRANT, baptised 29 Nov. 1760 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- ALEXANDER GRANT, baptised Jan. 1762 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- JOHN GRANT, baptised 24 April 1763 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- JAMES GRANT, baptised 9 June 1765 in Auquharney, Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 7 Jan. 1856, Auquharney, Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married Mary Shand.
3. PETER GRANT, baptised 7 May 1767 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- MARY GRANT, baptised 15 Nov. 1768 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
3. PETER GRANT, son of Alexander and Mary Grant, born in April or early May 1767 and baptised 7 May 1767 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Peter was a crofter of Cruden Parish. On 20 Nov. 1796 in Cruden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Peter married ISABEL PENNY, born circa 1775 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Peter and Isabel had five sons and five daughters, whose baptisms are recorded in the old parish register of Cruden Parish.
The 20 Nov. 1796 marriage record of Peter Grant and Isabel Penny, from the old parish register of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Peter's date and place of death are unknown. Several online family trees confuse our Peter Grant with Peter Grant (1777-1857) of Oyne Parish, Aberdeenshire. They are clearly different, however -- our Peter was born in 1767, marrying when he was 29 as was normal for a Scotsman who was a poor crofter, but Peter Grant of Oyne was born in 1777, making him far too young to have married Isabel Penny in 1796. Furthermore, they had different parents -- our Peter was the son of Alexander Grant and Mary Sharp, but Peter Grant of Oyne, died 6 Dec. 1857 in Mains of Gillyfour, was the son of Peter Grant and Elspet Davidson. The correct identification of our Peter's parentage is confirmed onomastically: our Peter was the son of an Alexander and named his eldest son Alexander, but Peter of Oyne was the son of Peter and it was his own son Peter who reported his death in 1857.
Although a death record for our Peter Grant has not yet been located in Aberdeenshire, FamilySearch's "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949" index shows a Peter Grant, born 1767 in Scotland, died 29 Jan. 1852 in Manhattan, New York. There is nothing besides the name and birth to indicate this might be our Peter, but if it is him, it would explain the lack of a death record in Aberdeenshire.
The known children of Peter and Christian were:
-- ALEXANDER GRANT, baptised 8 Oct. 1797 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- MARY GRANT, baptised 1 Nov. 1798 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- ISABEL GRANT, baptised 4 March 1801 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 16 June 1874 in Longside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married William Mitchell.
-- JOHN GRANT, baptised 17 June 1802 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- PETER GRANT, baptised 10 July 1803 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- ARCHIBALD GRANT, baptised 12 Jan. 1805 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
4. CHRISTIAN GRANT ("Christina"), baptised 18 Aug. 1806 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- MARGARET GRANT, baptised 25 June 1808 in Cruden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- JAMES GRANT, baptised 21 April 1810 in Cruden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- JEAN GRANT, baptised 4 April 1812 in Cruden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 9 Aug. 1904 in Hillhead of Dens, Longside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married Alexander Ironside.
4. CHRISTIAN GRANT ("Christina"), daughter of Peter and Isabel Grant, born Aug. 1806 and baptised 18 Aug. 1806 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1877 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Christian's name is given as "Christina" in James Robert Mutch's 1929 Genealogy of the Mutch Family, but in the old Cruden Parish register she is often called "Christan." On 7 Jan. 1832 in Cruden Parish, Christian married ALEXANDER MUTCH, born 1803 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 16 Aug. 1875 at Woodside of Auquharney, Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, son of James and Elspet Mutch. Alexander was a crofter of Earlseat and Woodside of Auquharney in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire. The Aberdeenshire Ordnance Survey Name Books 1865-1871, Vol. 22 (OS1/1/22/51), page 51, records "Mr. A. Mutch Tenant" as the crofter of Woodside, which the Name Book describes as "A small croft with dwelling-house offices, garden &c. attached the property of Mr. Yeats Auquharney House." William Yeats was the tacksman of Auquharney who had subleased Woodside to Alexander Mutch. Alexander and Christian had four daughters and five sons. Alexander's death record says he died at the age of 72 of "ulceration of bowel." His death was reported by his neighbor James Miller -- by the time of his death, most of his children were no longer living in the vicinity, and some had emigrated to North America.
Alexander Mutch's death record showing his death from 'ulceration of bowel' on 16 Aug. 1875 at Woodside of Auquharney in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
James Robert Mutch's 1929 Genealogy of the Mutch Family, page 52, offers these remarks on Alexander and his family:
"Alexander Mutch lived at Woodside, Mains of Auquharney, Cruden, Aberdeen. The only surviving descendants he has in Scotland are his daughter Mrs. Henderson, his grandson William May and five grandchildren (families of William and late James May) all of whom live in Edinburgh. All of the other descendants, which are numerous, live in the United States. His croft is now a part of Mains of Auquharney and occupied by a James Murray. Mrs. Mitchell had no family. Mrs. May had a family viz. -- Alexander, 1868-1877, James 1870-1899, George 1872-1903, William, 1874-L., Alexander 1877-1895. Mrs. Henderson has no family."
At left is Woodside of Auquharney in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the croft of Alexander Mutch, where he died in 1875 and where his father James had died in 1863, situated a mile or two south of Earlseat. The Ordnance Survey shows that the "wood" that gives Woodside its name formerly was much more extensive than it is today. Shown at right is Mains of Auquharney, a croft located a short distance north of Woodside. By 1929 the croft of Woodside was a part of the croft of Mains of Auquharney.
The children of Alexander and Christian were:
-- JEAN MUTCH, born 13 April 1832 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1868, married William Mitchell, no issue.
-- ALEXANDER MUTCH, born 23 Dec. 1833 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
-- ELSPET MUTCH, born 1835 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married Alexander May.
-- JAMES MUTCH, born 27 Sept. 1837 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1916, married Mary Gray.
-- MARY MUTCH, born 3 April 1839 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, married George Henderson.
-- THOMAS MUTCH, born 31 Oct. 1840 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1868.
-- PETER MUTCH, born 29 Dec. 1844 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 4 April 1912, married Mary Morrison.
-- ISABELLA MUTCH, born 29 Oct. 1846 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 1881.
-- WILLIAM MUTCH, born 6 April 1848 in Cruden Parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 29 May 1920 in San Francisco, California, married three times.
Grant Genealogy Resources:
Official Clan Grant Society Website Clan Grant History Grant DNA Project Old Scottish Genealogy and History: Cruden Records GEN-UK-I: Cruden/Invercruden A Brief History Of Cruden Parish Church