HIstory of the Munro ClanGuest Post from John Lehman The link on the left will take you to John's website While I have written a small amount about my Munro family in this website, I have been since contatcted by John Lehman from COADB who offered to post a guest blog on my site. This blog goes into depth further regarding the Munro Clan and their origins. Hope you enjoy as much as I did. The surname Munro was first used by descendants of a Clan of people that came from a group of people called ‘Pictish’ of ancient Scotland. The ‘Picts’ were a people found in Northern Scotland and was a group of tribal units that allied together against common enemies. They were not a single tribe but instead a group of tribes that are thought to have originated in Scandinavia. There is no written record of their history and what we know of them is from writers that were Roman and Scottish later in history, and the pictures they left behind. They were first mentioned in written history in the year 297 by the Roman writer Eumenius and he referred to them as ‘Picti’ (the painted ones). It is also a geographical surname for someone who lived near the mouth of the river Roe in the Irish County of Derry and settled in Ferrindonald in Cromarty in the 11th century. Said to have descended from Donald O’Kane and his Irish Sept and considered mercenary soldiers they were granted lands in the Mountains of Ross by a grateful King after they helped him defeat Viking invaders. Their origin is from the Siol O’Cain, an ancient Pictish tribe descended from Anselan O’Cain in North Moray. In some cases in Ireland Munro / Munroe replaces the surname Mulroy. No matter what the original origins may be of the Munro surname the descendants of these ancients have left a very colorful history for us today. A few of the families mottoes are ‘Dread God’, ‘With speed and courage’, ‘India subdued by the king’s Command’. They are a proud and long standing clan with deep roots in the English, Scottish, Irish and American histories and their stories will reign on for many generations. The following are short captions from just a couple reference materials that tell a minute part of the stories of the Munro’s. Burkes' Peerage and KnightsSir Arthur Talbot Munro, 13 Bt. of Foulis, County Ross, born July 26, 1866; succeeded his brother 1945; married February 21, 1893, Frances Emily Emmeline, daughter of William March of Peckham, S.E.15, and they had 7 children. * According to a decendent, Arthur had 13 children not 7. I am awaiting news from her. Lineage ~ The Munro family were in early times vassals of the Earls of Ross, and their lands lie along the north shore of the Cromarty Firth. Their possession of Foulis has been ascribed to a period beyond written record. According to Nisbet, William, Earl of Sutherland, in the reign of Alexander II, granted a charter "Carissimo et fidelissimo consanguineo, Georgio Munro de Foulis." A list of barons of Foulis commences with and succession as follows: Donald from 1025--1039 and founder of the House of Munro George 1101 Hugh 1126 Robert 1164 Donald 1195 Robert 1239 George 1282 Robert 1323 George --- George 1333 (The above chiefs cannot be authenticated allowing some doubt as to their validity, however their names appear as handed down by tradition). Robert 1369 Hugh 1425 George 1452 John 1490 William killed 1505 Hector Munro, of Foulis 1541 Hector married his first wife Katherine daughter of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail, and secondly Katherine daughter of Roderick Macleod of Lewis and widow of Donald MacDonald, of Slate. He died in 1541 leaving issue by his first wife. Burke's Landed GentryMunro, Stuart Caradoc, Esq. of Teaninich, County Ross born May 20, 1826; succeeded his father in the estate of Teaninich. Lineage ~ The family of Munro of Fowlis, of which the Munros of Teaninich are a branch, is among the most ancient and distinguished in the north of England. Their bravery is evidenced by two chiefs of the clan having been killed at Bannockburn, one at Holmedown Hill, and another on Pinkie Field. The direct ancestor of the present representative of the Teaninich branch, Hugh Munro, Esq., married Elizabeth daughter of Alexander Fraser, Esq., Baillie of Inverness, and had three sons, Hugh, his heir; Alexander who and Andrew. The Munro’s made a very early contribution to the Scottish traditional arts around the 15th century with one of the earliest if not the first piece of bagpipe music written for the Pibroch. It is entitled ‘Bealach na Broige’. One of the most prestigious position held in America by a Munro family descendant is when James Monroe (1758-1831) first was a Founding Father and served as delegate of the Continental Congress and then became the 5th President of the United States of America and served in that position from 1817 to 1825. Stories and genealogies like this crests, mottoes, and other important facts on this surname can be found at CODB where they display 5 crests for the Munro’s along with their blazons. Edited by Stephanie-Bell-Boissonneault
1 Comment
|
Stephanie Bell-Boissonneault"When researching Family never leave a stone unturned, not even a pebble." Archives
July 2023
Categories |