Descendants of Sir William M'Clellan of Bombie
and
John B. McClelland of Antrim, Ulster, North Ireland
INTRODUCTION.
When I first began the research on my mother�s McClellan family, I hardly knew where to begin. The Internet, though, has really opened up the field of genealogy and with the help of my husband, Cliff, who knows quite a lot about genealogy research, my first tentative inquiries blossomed into the most amazing family tree.
My McClellan ancestors originally came from Scotland and were one of the ancient Pictish noble families. They were successors of the ancient Mormaers of Strathern. The Pictish title of Marmaer, a dignity second only to that of King, was changed to that of Earl in the 10th Century. They enjoyed great power in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries in the area of Galloway in southern Scotland. They were loyal supporters of the Scottish Kings and were so numerous at one time there were as many as fourteen Knights of the surname.
A Sir John M�Clellan of Bomby (sometimes spelled Bombie), in 1298, fought with William Wallace, of the movie fame "Braveheart", at the ill-fated Battle of Falkirk. Afterwards he sailed with Wallace to France to seek the aid of King Philip IV against Edward I of England.
A feud between the M�Clellan Clan and the Douglas Clan lasted 100 years after Earl Douglas, a bloodthirsty tyrant, had Sir Patrick M�Clellan beheaded at Threave Castle in 1452. His murder was avenged by his uncle Sir Patrick Gray and a young King James when they killed the Earl on the 13th of February 1452 at Stirling Castle, where the Earl Douglas had been lured by an invitation of the King to attend a banquet.
Sir William M�Clellan of Bomby, a nephew of the murdered Sir Patrick M�Clellan, at the request of King James II, in 1488, gathered his followers and defeated "Black Morrow" of Ireland and his band of marauders, who were terrorizing the neighborhood of Galloway. Sir William carried the head of Black Morrow on the end of his sword to King James to prove the success of the mission, and bade the King "Think On!" after he had forgotten his proclamation to award the Barony of Kirkcudbright to the M�Clellans. William was Knighted, the borough of Kirkcudbright was made a Royal Burgh, and Sir William M�Clellan its first Provost.The motto of Clan MacLellan has since been "Think On!"
The name McClellan has many different spellings, including that of MacLellan, MacClelland, M�Clellan, and many others, but all are of the Clan MacLellan and proudly wear the MacLellan Tartan.
Sir Thomas M�Clellan of Bomby (1520-1547) built a castle at Kircudbright, in southern Scotland in 1582, the ruins of which still stand today.
His son, Sir Robert M�Clellan of Bomby, had a daughter, Margaret, who married Sir Robert Maxwell. They were part of the Clan who migrated to Ulster in Northern Ireland. At that time many Scots settled in Northern Ireland in an area called "The Settlement." These Scots and their descendents became known as the Ulster-Scots. Sir Robert M�Clellan became one of the most successful planters in the Irish lands, and eventually was made Lord Kirkcudbright.
My ancestors are from this line of M�Clellans in Scotland and the Ulster-Scots of Ireland. I have followed the lines, sometimes, through the grandmothers; therefore the record reflects not only the name McClelland, McClellan, and M�Clellan, but others as well.
My great-great-great-great grandfather, Alexander McClelland married Catherine Dungan/Courson. Her line is traced back through Ireland, when Robert St. Lawrence, the 15th Baron of Howth married Joan Beaufort, the great grand-daughter of John of Gaunt, who was the son of King Edward III of England. It seems we are descended from John of Gaunt, and his third wife, Katherine Swynford, governess to his children by his second wife. Upon her death, he married Katherine, legitimized his children by her, and gave them the last name of �Beaufort�. John married Katherine, and their story is one of the most romantic in English history. Some of the descendants of Robert St. Lawrence, eventually moved to America, and Catherine Courson was born there.
This information alone was exciting enough, but as I continued to search, more was forthcoming. Once you can link into a noble historical line, the lineage is well documented. Edward III of the Plantagenet family can be traced back to William I, the Conqueror, King of England (1027-87 A.D.). His grand daughter, Matilda, married Geoffrey Plantagenet. Geoffrey�s line goes all the way back to Charlemagne, (742-814 A.D.), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Now, for what it is worth, and depending on whether you put any stock in the history of the Bible, sometime in the 1930�s the Mormon Church published research on Charlemagne�s line tracing it all the way back to Adam and Eve! Sounds astounding, I know, for it was to me, when I first discovered it.
I have always loved history, and what a lot of fun I have had in researching my own family genealogy, and discovering the glorious and exciting history it contains.
This McClelland line is a grand and illustrious line, peopled with Kings and Knights, explorers and pioneers, soldiers and heroes, and a lot of ordinary folk like you and me. In doing the research, compiling the data, and writing the narratives, I have become acquainted with my ancestors, and almost feel like I know them. I am a part of all of them and they are a part of me. Their blood flows in my veins, and I am what I am because of them ~ the good, the bad and the ugly (no, no not the ugly!). My relatives are all quite a good-looking bunch of McClellands actually.
I want to thank my husband, Cliff, for all the help he has given me on this project. He knows his way confidently through the maze of dusty records, microfilm and computer programs that are a necessary part of genealogical research. Together we have spent many hours searching libraries, gazing at computer screens, pasting up charts, and copying documents. We are intimately acquainted with our local Kinkos store.
My resources for the information that follows is based upon information found in the book "The Record of the House of Kirkcudbright," the book "The McClellans of Galloway" by D. Richard Torrence, census records, and various Internet websites.
I hope you enjoy reading the story of my ancestors as much as I have enjoyed researching and writing it.
Carole Ries Woolman, October 29, 2009
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