A BRIEF HISTORY

New- Our fellow Clan members in the UK have added an excellent 'Davidsons in the Highlands' Trail to their

website at Clan Davidson Association (UK) at http://www.clandavidson.org.uk/ Be sure to check it out.

The following was primarily extracted from the book Clan Davidson compiled by Alan McNie.

 According to the Highland manuscript believed to be written by one MacLauchlan, bearing the date 1467, and containing an account of the genealogies of Highland clans down to about the year 1450, which was accepted as authoritative by Skene in his Celtic Scotland, and believed to embody the common tradition of its time, the origin of the Davidsons is attributed to a certain Gilliecattan Mhor, chief of Clan Chattan in the time of David I. This personage, it is stated, had two sons, Muirich Mhor and Dhai Dhu. From the former of these was descended Clan Mhuirich or Macpherson, and from the latter Clan Dhai or Davidson. Sir Aeneas Macpherson, the historian of the clan of that name, states that both the Macphersons and the Davidsons were descended from Muirich, parson of Kingussie in the twelfth century. Against this statement it has been urged that the Roman kirk had no parson at Kingussie at that time. But this fact need not militate against the existence of Muirich at that place. The Culdee church was still strong in the twelfth century, and, as its clergy were allowed to marry, there was nothing to hinder Muirich from being the father of two sons, the elder of whom might carry on his name, and originate Clan Macpherson, while the younger, David, became ancestor of the Davidsons. Still another account is given in the Kinrara MS. upon which Mr. A. M. Mackintosh, the historian of Clan Mackintosh, chiefly relies: This MS. names David Dubh as ancestor of the clan, but makes him of the fourteenth century, and declares him to be of the race of the Comyns. His mother, it says, was Slane, daughter of Angus, sixth chief of the Mackintoshes, and his residence was at Nuid in Badenoch. Upon the whole, it seems most reasonable to accept the earliest account, that contained in the MS. of 1467, which no doubt embodied the traditions considered most authentic in its time.

Click on names to jump to subject

The chiefs of the Davidsons are said to have been settled, in early times at Invernahaven, a small estate in Badenoch, at the junction of the Truim with the Spey, and when they emerge into history in 1370 or 1386 the holders of the name appear to have been of considerable number, and in close alliance with the Mackintoshes from whose forebears they claim descent.

To get an idea of what a Davidson ancestral home was like at Invernahaven click on the picture below.

In the late 13th century the Camerons invaded Arkaig which was Clan Chattan land. In 1370, a dispute broke out between the Camerons and Clan Chattan including Clans MacKintoshes, MacPhersons and Davidsons. This became known as the Battle of Invernahaven. The outcome of this battle was a bitter feud between Clan Chattan and the Camerons that would last until 1666.

The feud which started with the Battle of Invernahaven continued for some time and is reported to be the reason for the next famous encounter at Perth . This battle became known as the "Clan Battle of 1396" which took place on the North Inch of Perth in 1396.

MacIan, in his Costumes of the Clans of Scotland, is evidently seeking a pretext when he asserts that it was mortification at defeat on the North Inch which drove the Davidsons into obscurity, and finally induced the chief with some of his followers to remove further north, and settle in the county of Cromarty. It seems more likely that the decimation of their ranks at Invernahaven, and the losses caused by subsequent feuds, so reduced the numbers of the clan as to render it of small account during the succeeding century.

Lachlan Shaw in his MS. history of Moray states that early in the seventeenth century the Invernahaven family changed its name from Davidson to Macpherson, the individual who did so being James of Invernahaven, commonly called Seumas Lagach, great-grandfather of John of Invernahaven. But Mr. A. M. Mackintosh, the historian of Clan Chattan, has ascertained that the James of Invernahaven referred to was son of a John Macpherson, who, according to Sir Aeneas Macpherson’s MS., had feued the property. It can thus be seen how Lachlan Shaw made the mistake of supposing that the Davidsons of Invernahaven had changed their name.

The historian of Clan Chattan above referred to offers another theory to account for the comparative disappearance of Clan Davidson from the historic page, by pointing out that two of the name were concerned in the murder of Lachlan, the fourteenth Mackintosh chief, in 1524. One of these two, Milmoir MacDhaibhidh, was the chief’s foster-brother, but believed that Mackintosh had helped to destroy his prospects of marrying a rich widow, and accordingly, on 25th March, along with John Malcolmson and other accomplices, fell upon the chief and slew him while hunting at Ravoch on the Findhorn. For this deed the three assassins were seized and kept in chains in the dungeon on Loch.an-Eilan till 1531, when, after trial, Malcolmson was beheaded and quartered, and the two Davidsons were tortured, hanged, and had their heads fixed on poles at the spot where they committed the crime. Mr. Mackintosh also points out that another Davidson, Donald MacWilliam vic Dai dui, conspired with the son of the above John Malcolmson against William, the fifteenth Mackintosh chief in 1550 when the head of that chief was brought to the block by the Earl of Huntly at Strathbogie. The Davidsons who did these things, however, were merely servants and humble holders of the name, and their acts can hardly have brought the whole clan into serious disrepute.

Another important conflict a Davidson was in was the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. This battle, regarded by many today as the conflict between Highlanders and Lowlanders which killed the expansion of Gaelic influence, was one of the most brutal in Scottish history, becoming known as "Red Harlaw". 

That the Davidsons did not altogether cease to play a part in important events is shown by an entry in the Exchequer Rolls (iv. 510) in 1429. This is a record of a distribution of cloth of divers colors to Walter Davidson and his men by command of the King, and the gift is taken to be possibly an acknowledgment of the loyalty of the Davidson chief and his clan during the Highland troubles of the year.

Later popular tradition has associated the Davidsons with the estate of Davidston in Cromarty, the laird of which is mentioned in 1501 and 1508, in the course of a legal action taken against Dingwall and Tain by the Burgh of Inverness. Here again, however, the historian of Clan Chattan has pointed out that, according to Fraser Mackintosh’s Invernessiana, pages 175-184, the owners of the estate of Davidston were a family named Denoon or Dunound.

In any case, however, the Davidsons had taken root in this neighborhood. In the second half of the seventeenth century Donald Davidson owned certain land and other property in Cromarty. His son, Alexander Davidson, was town clerk of the county town, and his son William succeeded him in the same office. In 1719 this William Davidson married Jean, daughter of Kenneth Bayne of Knockbayne, nephew and heir of Duncan Bayne of Tulloch. The son of this pair, Henry Davidson, born in 1729, made a great fortune as a London West India merchant. His wife was the daughter of a shipmaster of Cromarty, who was son of Bernard MacKenzie, last Bishop of Ross. In 1763, when the estate of Tulloch was sold by the creditors of the ancient owners, the Baynes, it was purchased by Henry Davidson for £10,500, and has since been the seat of his family.

Tulloch Castle is now an excellent Hotel keeping the Davidson traditions alive

On the death of Henry Davidson, first of Tulloch, in 1781, he was succeeded by his brother Duncan. This laird was an energetic and notable man in his day. On the Tulloch estate he carried out vast improvements, including the reclamation of a great stretch of land from the sea, and the construction of the main road from Dingwall to the North. He was provost of Dingwall from 1784 till 1786, and M.P. for Cromarty from 1790 to 1796. This laird’s son, Henry, was, like his uncle, a successful West India merchant in London, and, like his father, was a great planter of woods and reclaimer of land. His son, Duncan, the fourth laird of Tulloch, began life as an officer in the Grenadier Guards. His first wife was a daughter of the third Lord MacDonald, and his return to Parliament as member for Cromarty in 1826 was the occasion of great celebrations in the countryside. As a politician he was chiefly noted for his opposition to the Reform Bill. An enthusiastic sportsman, he was the reviver of horse racing at the Northern Meeting at Inverness, and he drove the first coach which ran from Perth to Inverness, on the Queen’s birthday in 1841. At his death in 1881 he was succeeded by his eldest son, Duncan, who married Georgina, daughter of John MacKenzie, M.B., of the Gareloch family, and in turn died in 1889. His son, the sixth and present laird, who was born in 1865, married in 1887 Gwendoline, daughter of William Daiziel MacKenzie of Farr and of Fawley Court, Buckinghamshire. He was trained for a commercial career, but after fourteen years in London, his health breaking down, he retired to live at Tulloch. He takes an active part in county business, is a J.P., D.L., and Honorary Sheriff-Substitute, as well as county commissioner for the Boy Scouts and chairman of various county boards. A keen sportsman and horticulturist, he takes a lively interest in farming, gardening, shooting, fishing, and all games, and as a reflection of his tastes the gardens and policies of Tulloch Castle are among the most beautiful in the north.

Tulloch is an ancient barony held by rights from the Crown. The first Davidson lairds took much pleasure in filling the castle with valuable portraits and works of art, and it was a cause of much regret when in July, 1845, the castle was burned down and most of its contents destroyed.

On 25th March, 1909, with a view to the formation of a Clan Davidson Society, the Laird of Tulloch called a meeting of holders of the name at the Hotel Metropole in London. Some sixty members of the clan were present, when it was proposed, seconded, and carried that Davidson of Tulloch be recognized and acknowledged as chief of the clan. The act was questioned in a letter to the Northern Chronicle, in which the writer pointed out that, while for a long period of years writers on Highland history had all pointed to Tulloch as the chief, this must be taken as an error seeing that The Mackintosh was the only chief of Clan Chattan. In proof of this statement it was pointed out that in 1703 twenty persons named Dean alias Davidson had at Inverness signed a band of manrent declaring that they and their ancestors had been followers, dependents, and kinsmen to the lairds of Mackintosh, and were still in duty bound to own and maintain the claim, and to follow, assist, and defend the honorable person of Lachlan Mackintosh of that ilk as their true and lawful chieftain. A long correspondence followed pro and con, but it was pointed out by later writers that the acknowledgment of Mackintosh by twenty Davidsons as supreme head of the Clan Chattan confederacy did not prevent the Davidson sept from possessing and following a chief of their own. As a matter of fact, history shows them to have had a chief at the battle of Invernahaven, and by all the laws of Highland genealogy the clansmen were fully entitled to meet and confirm the claim of their present leader and head.

Two other landed families of the name in the north are the Davidsons of Cantray and the Davidsons of Inchmarlo. The former are believed to have been settled on the lands of Cantray, an ancient property of the Dallases, for at least two hundred years. In 1767-8 the lands of Cantray and Croy were purchased by David Davidson, son of William Davidson and Agnes MacKercher, who afterwards added Clava to the estate. This laird married Mary, daughter of George Cuthbert of Castlehill, Sheriff-Substitute of Inverness, and is alluded to in the statistical account of 1842 as "a man of singular sagacity, of most active powers of mind, and practical good sense," and as "a liberal-minded and fatherly landlord." His son, another David, was knighted by King George III., and his grandson, Hugh Grogan, the fifth laird, was convener of the country of Inverness. His son, Hugh, the present laird, as an officer of the Seaforth Highlanders, served through the Afghan War of 1880, for which he holds a medal.

Inchmarlo, again, was purchased in 1838 by Duncan (Davidson, son of John Davidson of Tilliechetly and Desswood on Deeside. The present laird of Inchmarlo is his grandson, Duncan, while his youngest son’s son is Francis Duncan Davidson, late captain in the Cameron Highlanders and now owner of Desswood.

It should be added that Davidson of Tulloch is hereditary keeper of the royal castle of Dingwall.

Among notable holders of the name of Davidson mention must be made of the redoubtable provost of Aberdeen, Sir Robert Davidson, who led the burghers of the city at the battle of Harlaw in 1411, and gallantly fell at their head. It is said to be his Armour which is still treasured in the vestibule of the City Chambers at Aberdeen, and when the great old church of St. Nicholas in that city was being repaired a generation ago his skeleton was recognized by a red cloth cap with which he had been buried.

Another notable clansman was John Davidson, Regent of St. Leonard’s College at St Andrews in the days of Queen Mary, and afterwards the minister of Liberton near Edinburgh, who quarreled with the Regent Morton, opposed the desire of James VI. to restore prelacy, excommunicated Montgomerie, Bishop of Glasgow, at the desire of the General Assembly in 1582, and was author of Memorials of His Time.

Did you know we have had two ships named after us? Click on the ship below to find out more.

How about the famous Harley-Davidson empire?