Motto: Luceo Non Uro – “I Shine, Not Burn” Badge: A stag’s head. Septs of the Clan: Charles, Charleson, Clunies, Cromarty, Ivory, Kenneth, Kennethson, MacBeolain, MacConnach, MacIver, MacIvor, MacKenna, MacKerlich, MacMurchie, MacMurchy, MacQuennie, MacVanish, MacVinish, MacWhinnie, Murchie, Murchison, Smart.
History of the Clan
The Clan Kenneth or MacKenzie traditionally believes that it is descended from the Norman family of Fitzgerald which settled in Ireland. This belief is founded on a fragment of the records of Icolmkill, and a charter of the lands of Kintail in Wester Ross, said to have been granted by Alexander III to Colin Fitzgerald, their supposed progenitor.
The ancestor of the clan Kenzie was Gilleonog, or Colin the younger, a son of Gilleon nahair’de, that is, Colin of Aird, progenitor of the Earls of Ross, and from the MS of 1450 their Gaelic descent may be considered established. Colin of Kintail is said to have married a daughter of Walter, lord high steward of Scotland. He died in 1278, and his son, Kenneth, being, in 1304, succeeded by his son, also called Kenneth, with the addition of Mackenneth, the latter, softened into Mackenny or Mackenzie, became the name of the whole clan. Murdoch, or Murcha, the son of Kenneth, received from David II a charter of the lands of Kintail as early as 1362.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the clan Kenzie appears to have been both numerous and powerful, for its chief, Kenneth More, when arrested, in 1427, with his son-in-law, Angus of Moray, and Macmathan, by James I in his parliament at Inverness, was said to be able to muster 2,000 men.
Extensive History at Electric Scotland, including videos.
The western stronghold of the clan MacKenzie was at Eilean Donan Castle at the mouth of Loch Duich. During the seventeenth century, the MacKenzies installed the clan MacRae as hereditary constables of the castle, and the MacRaes were to remain fiercely loyal to the family for many centuries.
The MacKenzie clan achieved political eminence between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were resolute in their loyalty to the Stewart monarchy, and were rewarded for this when they were created Earls of Seaforth. This loyalty is symbolised in the clan motto “Cuidiche an righ” or “the king’s tribute” and also in the appearance of a stag’s head (a feudal gift to a king) in the chief’s coat of arms.
The fourth Earl of Seaforth remained loyal to James VII, and even followed him to Ireland and France, where he died in exile. It was at this time that the famous prophecies of the Brahan Seer foretelling the downfall of the clan as a political force began to unfold. https://www.geni.com/projects/MacKenzie-Clan/16194
Husband of Unknown
Father of Gilleoin Mor MacKenneth
Added by: Ericka Lehman-Washington on July 11, 2011
Managed by: Ericka Lehman-Washington
Source: geni.com
Birth: December 1572 in Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland
Married: about 1586 in Ross-shire, Scotland to Lady Jane Anne Ross
Children: (5)
Lady Janet MacKenzie of Kintail 1586–1643 • MZWB-7PG
Colin Mackenzie 1st Earl of Seaforth 1589–1633 • LBRM-ZXP
Barbara MacKenzie of Seaforth 1592–1630 • M3FZ-971
Lady Sibella Elizabeth MacKenzie of Kintail 1599–1647 • K851-WK3
Simon Mackenzie of Lochalyne or Lochslinn or Lochallin 1600–1665 • LRQY-52H
Death: 27 February 1611 in Seaforth Castle, Chanonrie, Ross-shire, Scotland
Burial: 28 April 1611 in Fortrose Cathedral, Fortrose, Ross-shire, Scotland
Note: In 1595, was made hereditary constable of the Bishop of Ross’s castle [Seaforth]. Was a privy councillor in 1595/6 and 1602. Was justice of the peace in Inverness, Cromarty, Elgin, Fife, and Nairn. Was created Lord Mackenzie of Kintail on 17 Nov 1609. In 1610, was given a commission to attack Neil McLeod and the Isle of Lewis, afterward receiving Lewis as a free barony. Died 27 Feb 1611 aged 42. From an old manuscript belonging to the Kirk Session of Inverness: “Upon the penult day of February 1611 My Lord Mackenzie died in the Chanonrie of Ross [Seaforth Castle] and was buried 28th April anno foresaid in the Chanonrie Kirk with great triumph.” (Sources: Cracroft’s Peerage; Mackenzie, Alexander. History of the Clan Mackenzie. Inverness, 1879. 167.)
Kenneth MacKenzie, 1st. Baron of Kintail BIRTH December 1572 Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland DEATH 27 Feb 1611 Seaforth Castle, Chanonrie, Ross-shire, Scotland BURIAL 28 April 1611 Fortrose Cathedral Fortrose, Highland, Scotland MEMORIAL ID 192787470
The Mackenzies were once the most powerful clan in the north of Scotland. They got to the top by acting as Royal agents for a succession of Scottish kings – being in effect the monarchy’s strong men in the north. Centuries of Royal patronage, intrigue and ruthless ambition eventually delivered the Mackenzies an empire that stretched from Scotland’s east coast to the Hebrides in the west. But the growth of Mackenzie power nearly always came at the expense of other clans – especially the Macleods of Lewis.
Back in the early 1600s, Lewis along with many other Hebridean islands, was considered almost ungovernable; and the Macleods were a particular thorn in the side of King James 6th, who was desperate to pacify this turbulent part of his kingdom. James VI had a passionate dislike for Highlanders and for Gaelic culture. He saw them as mad, bad and barbarous: the very antithesis of civilised society. But because of the remoteness of the Highlands from the Government in Edinburgh, the king was forced to use clans with influence to exercise Royal authority.
So it was with Royal blessing that Chief Colin MacKenzie, invaded Lewis with an army of 700 clansmen. Determined to grab Macleod lands, Colin MacKenzie went on a bloody rampage, sweeping all before him in a vicious campaign. The war waged by the invading Mackenzies forced the Macleods to retreat to their fortress on the rocky island of Bearneray. No doubt they felt safe here. Bearneray had withstood many sieges, but the MacKenzie clan chief was ruthless as well as wily.
Not all the Macleods had been able to reach the safety of the fortress, and Colin MacKenzie now saw his opportunity. The Macleod stragglers included women and children. Mackenzie herded these unfortunates together and rowed them out to a rocky island not far from the fortress of Birsay. Here they were abandoned to the incoming tide.
Of course, the Macleods, who could see what was happening from their fortress were faced with a stark and terrible choice. They could either abandon their position and save their loved ones, or could watch them drown. And as the cries of their wives and children grew louder and louder, they were really faced with no choice but to surrender to the MacKenzies who went on to dominate the whole of Lewis.
Loyalty to the Stuart monarchy seems to have been the default position of the chiefs of the MacKenzie clan. They supported Mary Queen of Scots in her short and troubled reign, and became fervent Jacobites after the Stuart dynasty was forced into exile in 1688. As a consequence, the crown forfeited Mackenzie estates after the failed Jacobite rebellion of 1746. Thereafter, a period of reconciliation ensued, followed by cultural assimilation, which saw the once proud Mackenzie chiefs become British aristocrats.
At the height of their influence, the chiefs of the Mackenzie clan lead the 4th most powerful clan in Scotland. Their lands extended from the Island of Lewis in the west, though to Ross on the east coast of the mainland.
Clan Chief:Traditionally, MacKenzie of Seaforth, chief of the clan, was known as ‘Caberfeidh’, meaning deer’s antlers. The direct male line of the Mackenzie chiefs became extinct after the death of Francis Mackenzie Humberston in 1815 – the last Mackenzie Lord Seaforth. The Brahan Seer famously foretold the tragic circumstances of his death two centuries earlier. He predicted that the last of the chiefs would die a deaf mute. Mackenzie, whose sight and hearing were destroyed by scarlet fever, eerily fulfilled the ancient prophecy. He outlived his four sons, and the direct line died out.In 1979, Roderick Grant Francis Blunt-Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Cromartie legally changed his surname to Mackenzie and was appointed chief of Clan Mackenzie by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Although not descended from a Mackenzie in the male line, he inherited his titles through his mother who was distantly related to the old Mackenzie Lords of Seaforth.
Name: Catherine MacKenzie (1559-1592) was born in Cromarty, Ross & Cromarty (modern day: Highlands), Scotland to parents Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, 10th Baron of Kintail (1513-1568; F.A.G. #123961265) and Lady Elizabeth (Isabel) Stewart (1513-1567; F.A.G. #169151947).
Married: James Ross (1555-1582; F.A.G. #169150392) in abt 1575 in Scotland
Children: (2) Peter Ross (1575-1659; F.A.G. #163278477) , Gilbert Ross (1575-1637)
Died: 12 April 1592 in Cromarty, Cromartyshire, Scotland
Name: Chief Alexander Alistair “Ionriac” MacKenzie, 6th. Lord of Kintail, son of Murdoch MacKenzie and Fynvola Finguala “Florence” MacLeod.
Born: 1405 in Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland
Married: about 1430 in Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland to Anna Margaret MacDougall
Children: Hector Roy, Kenneth, Duncan, Alexander, and Miss MacKenzie
Died: 2September1488 in Kinellean, Highlands, Scotland
Buried: September 1488 in Beauly Priory, Beauly, Highlands, Scotland
Eilean Donan Castle, Kintail, Ross-shireScotland
The name Mackenzie, or MacCoinneach in Gaelic, means literally, “Son of Kenneth”. The original Kenneth, who lived in the 13th Century, was descended from a younger son of Gilleoin of the Aird, from whom can also be traced the once powerful Earls of Ross.Alexander MacKenzie, aka Ionraic MacKenzie or the Upright, so called for his righteousness, 6th. Lord of Kintail. Most prominent supporter of the crown and got his reward in forfeited MacDonald lands. Received royal charters to his lands of Kintail in 1463. Buried at Beauly, Scotland
The MacKenzies were, without doubt, of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. We know little about the generations immediately following Gilleoin, but in 1267 Kenneth was living at Eilean Donan, a stronghold at the mouth of Loch Duich. He must have been an important vassal, for the Earl of Ross appears to have married Kenneth’s aunt and thus strengthened the relationship which already existed between the two families.
Eilean Donan Castle, Kintail, Ross-shireScotland
Alexander MacKenzie, aka Ionraic MacKenzie or the Upright, so called for his righteousness, 6th. Lord of Kintail. Most prominent supporter of the crown and got his reward in forfeited MacDonald lands. Received royal charters to his lands of Kintail in 1463. Buried at Beauly, Highlands, Scotland.
Alexander was the first of the family who lived on the island in Loch Kinellan, near Strathpeffer, while at the same time he had Brahan as a mains or farm, both of which his successors for a time held from the King at a yearly rent, until they were later feud.
Alexander’s marriages have been the subject of genealogical controversy. The weight of traditional clan history is to the effect that he married, first, Anna, daughter of John Macdougall of Dunollie, and, secondly, Margaret, daughter of Macdonald of Morar (a cadet of Macdonald of Clanranald), but Aonghas MacCoinnich has pointed out the difficulties which Alexander’s supplication for dispensation in 1466 (referred to above) presents for the traditional account. MacCoinnich speculates that Catherine, who was recorded in the supplication as Alexander’s wife, may have been the granddaughter of Ranald, the eponym of Clanranald.
By his first wife, Alexander had Kenneth, his heir and successor, and Duncan, progenitor of the Mackenzies of Hilton. By his second wife (if he had one), he had Hector Roy (or “Eachainn Ruadh”), from whom are descended the Mackenzies of Gairloch, and a daughter who married Allan Macleod, Hector Roy’s predecessor in Gairloch.
He is also said to have had a natural son (or, in some sources, a brother), Dugal, who became a priest and was Superior of Beauly Priory, which he repaired about 1478, and in which he is buried.
The date of Alexander’s death is uncertain, though it is clear that he had died by 1488, since his eldest son was served heir in the lands of Kintail at Dingwall on 2 September 1488. Aonghas MacCoinnich suggests that Alexander may in fact have died by July 1479, as his son was by then already being held responsible for rental payments in the king’s dukedom of Ross.
Wikipedia
References
This article includes text from Alexander Mackenzie‘s History of the Mackenzies (Inverness, 1894), a work that is no longer in copyright.
John (Iain) Mackenzie(1483-c.1561), or “John of Killin”, traditionally reckoned 9th of Kintail, was a Highland chief, being head of the Clan Mackenzie.
John was the son of Kenneth Mackenzie, 7th of Kintail (d.1492) by his second wife, or reputed wife, Agnes Fraser. The Mackenzies’ origins lay in the Northwest Highlands, but the centre of their power had by the end of the 15th century shifted to Easter Ross. John succeeded his half-brother, Kenneth (died 1498-99) in the chiefship while still a minor. It is likely that he achieved his majority in 1501, which suggests that he was born in about 1480.
Father John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl b. c 1465, d. bt 1520 – 1522
Mother Janet Campbell b. c 1484, d. 1546
‘Elizabeth Stewart was born circa 1515. She married Kenneth Mackenzie, son of John Mackenzie and Elizabeth Grant, in 1538 at of Kintail, Ross, Scotland.1
Family Kenneth Mackenzie b. c 1513, d. 6 Jun 1568
Child
◦Colin ‘one-eyed’ Mackenzie+1 b. c 1556, d. 14 Jun 1594
Citations
1.[S11586] The Scots Peerage, Vol. VII, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, p. 500.
About http://www.thepeerage.com/p21982.htm#i219814 ‘Kenneth na cuire Mackenzie, 5th of Kintail1 M, #219814, d. 6 June 1561 Last Edited=22 Oct 2010 ‘Kenneth na cuire Mackenzie, 5th of Kintail was the son of John Mackenzie of Kintail and Elizabeth Grant.
He married Lady Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl and Lady Janet Campbell.
He died on 6 June 1568.
‘Kenneth na cuire Mackenzie, 5th of Kintail also went by the nick-name of ‘na Cuirc’ (or in English, ‘of the whittle’). He had five other daughters. Children of ‘Kenneth na cuire Mackenzie, 5th of Kintail and Lady Elizabeth Stewart: 1.Sir Colin Mackenzie of Kintail+3 d. 19 Jun 1594 2.Janet Mackenzie+4 3.Murdoch Mackenzie2 4.Roderick Mackenzie2 5.Dugald Mackenzie2 6.Agnes Mackenzie+4 Citations 1. Charles Mosley, editor, Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke’s Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2513. Hereinafter cited as Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2687.htm#i80761 ‘Kenneth Mackenzie M, b. circa 1513, d. 6 June 1568 Father John Mackenzie b. c 1483, d. 1561 Mother Elizabeth Grant b. c 1485 ‘Kenneth Mackenzie was born circa 1513 at of Kintail, Ross, Scotland.1 He married Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl and Janet Campbell, in 1538 at of Kintail, Ross, Scotland.4 Kenneth Mackenzie died on 6 June 1568 at of Ross, Scotland. Family Elizabeth Stewart b. c 1515 Child Colin ‘one-eyed’ Mackenzie+1 b. c 1556, d. 14 Jun 1594 Citations The Scots Peerage, Vol. VII, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, p. 499-500.
Kenneth MacKenzie, tenth Baron of Kintail, who died in 1568
Kenneth MacKenzie (died 6 June 1568), traditionally reckoned 10th of Kintail and nicknamed Coinneach na Cuirc (or “Kenneth of the Whittle”), was a Highland chief, head of the Clan MacKenzie, who flourished in the turbulent Scottish politics of the mid-16th century. Kenneth was the only son of John MacKenzie, 9th of Kintail (d.1561) and Elizabeth, the daughter of John Grant of Grant. The MacKenzies were a clan from Ross-shire that had risen to prominence in the 15th century during the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles. In 1539 he was tenant of Little Skattil and Bawblair and, by a charter dated 24 April 1543, his father resigned to him and his wife part of the lordship of Kintail and the lands of Mekill Braan.
Kenneth MacKenzie (died 6 June 1568), traditionally reckoned 10th of Kintail and nicknamed Coinneach na Cuirc (or “Kenneth of the Whittle”), was a Highland chief, head of the Clan MacKenzie, who flourished in the turbulent Scottish politics of the mid-16th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Mackenzie,_10th_ofKintail
Highland chief, head of Clan MacKenzie Kenneth MacKenzie, 10th of Kintail From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kenneth MacKenzie (died 6 June 1568), was the 10th laird of Kintail and he was nicknamed Coinneach na Cuirc in Scottish Gaelic (or “Kenneth of the Whittle”), was a Highland chief, head of the Clan Mackenzie, who flourished in the turbulent Scottish politics of the mid-16th century.
Origins:
Kenneth was the only son of John MacKenzie, 9th of Kintail (d.1561) and Elizabeth, the daughter of John Grant of Grant. The MacKenzies were a clan from Ross-shire that had risen to prominence in the 15th century during the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles. In 1539 he was tenant of Little Skattil and Bawblair and, by a charter dated 24 April 1543, his father resigned to him and his wife part of the lordship of Kintail and the lands of Mekill Braan.
Disputes with the Earl of Huntly
In 1544, Kenneth was commanded by the Earl of Huntly, who held a commission as Lieutenant of the North from the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, to raise his vassals and lead an expedition against Donald Glas MacDonald of Moidart. Kenneth declined, with the result that the Earl of Huntly ordered his entire army of 3,000 to proceed against both men. Huntly was however unsuccessful and was eventually obliged to retire from the West without achieving any significant victory. Some years later, Kenneth again embarrassed Huntly at a skirmish known as “the affair of Dingwall Bridge”.
A follower of Queen Mary Having succeeded his father in 1561, Kenneth was one of the Highland Chiefs who met Mary, Queen of Scots, at Inverness in 1562 and helped her to obtain possession of Inverness Castle, from which she had been excluded by Alexander Gordon, the governor. Thereafter, he appears to have retired from public life. An Act of the Privy Council of 21 May 1562 records that Kenneth delivered up to the Queen Mary MacLeod, the heiress of Harris and Dunvegan, who had somehow found herself in his custody. The Act held him harmless against any proceedings by James MacDonald of Dunnyveg and the Glens, the legal guardian of Mary MacLeod, who had previously demanded her return.
Family With his father, Kenneth received a remission in 1551 for the imprisonment of his cousin John Glassich Mackenzie (the son and heir of Hector Roy Mackenzie of Gairloch), who had died in mysterious circumstances in Eilean Donan Castle. It was said that John Glassich had intended to renew his father’s claim to ancestral Mackenzie homelands in Kintail. Kenneth married in 1538 Lady Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl, by Lady Janet Campbell, daughter of the Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll.
His own children also made very advantageous marriages: Colin Cam MacKenzie, who succeeded him, married Barbara Grant, daughter of John Grant of Grant. Roderick MacKenzie of Redcastle married Florence, daughter of Robert Mor Munro, 15th Baron of Foulis Janet married, first, Aeneas MacDonald of Glengarry and, secondly, Alexander Chisholm of Chisholm. Catherine married Alexander Ross of Balnagown and died on 12 April 1592. Agnes married (contract 11 May 1567) Lachlan Mor MacKintosh of MacKintosh. Margaret married (contract 24 November 1556) Walter Innes, son and heir of John Innes of Inverbreckie, and died in June 1570. Elizabeth married Walter Urquhart of Cromarty. Marjory married (contract 30 May 1574) Robert Munro, son and heir of Robert Munro of Foulis. Death and burial Kenneth died at Killin on 6 June 1568 and was buried at Beauly Priory.
References: Alexander Mackenzie, History of the Mackenzies (Inverness, 1894) ^ Jump up to: a b Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage; Volume 7 (1910); Mackenzie, Earl of Seaforth
The longstanding tradition of the earliest family historians in the 16th century is that this very ancient family descended from a member of the Norman Irish House of Geraldine (whence sprang the noble families of the Earls of Leinster and Desmond). This Colin Fitzgerald was supposed to have settled in Scotland in the 1260s and to have so powerfully aided King Alexander III at the Battle of Largs in repelling the invasion of Haco, King of Norway, that he was rewarded by a grant of the lands of Kintail, in the County of Ross. The name of Colin’s purported grandson, the 3rd Baron of Kintail, who in Gaelic was called Coinneach MacCoinneach (Kenneth son of Kenneth), became corrupted in English into Mackenzie (pronounced: MacKenny) and from him it was believed all the families of Mackenzie in Scotland arose. The name Mackenzie therefore derives from the Gaelic: MacCoinneach, meaning: “Son of the Fair One”.
Following the discovery in the 19th century by the Celtic scholar, William Forbes Skene, of an ancient genealogical manuscript, known as MS 1467, it has since been widely accepted that an 11th century Celtic chieftain known as Gilleoin na h’Airde was the original progenitor of the Mackenzies (as well as the Mathesons), they being a branch of the Royal Scottish House of Dalriada, descended in the direct male line from the ancient High Kings of Ireland. This is further borne out by recent DNA analysis.
The Clan Mackenzie
The MacKenzies as a clan first came to prominence under Alexander Ionraic (‘The Upright’), the 7th Baron of Kintail, who died in 1488. He rose in power as a supporter of the Crown against the all-powerful MacDonald Lords of the Isles and was rewarded by a grant from the Crown of some of their forfeited lands. From their original patrimony in Kintail, around Loch Duich with Eilean Donan Castle as their picturesque stronghold, the Mackenzies came to dominate the whole of Ross-shire. The Mackenzie chiefs established seats further east in the 16th century at Kinellan and Castle Leod near Strathpeffer, and then in the 17th century set up court in the castles of Chanonry and Brahan on the Black Isle.
Alexander’s son was known as “Kenneth of the Battle” for his taking up arms against the MacDonalds. He died in 1492 and his life-size stone effigy can still be seen at Beauly Priory where he was buried. John, his son, played a distinguished role in the battles of Flodden and Pinkie, and under John’s grandson, Colin Cam (‘Crooked’ because one-eyed) the Mackenzies continued their rise to power by supporting first Mary, Queen of Scots, and, then following her deposition, her son, James VI. In 1609, the chief was made Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, and in 1623 his eldest son became Earl of Seaforth, named after the great sea loch on this Chief’s recently acquired island principality of Lewis. The 2nd Earl played a prominent role in national politics throughout the Civil Wars, becoming Charles II’s Secretary of State for Scotland during Cromwell’s Interregnum. Another branch of the Mackenzies became the Earls of Cromartie, the first Earl, George Mackenzie, being Queen Anne’s Secretary of State. He was a man of astute wit and political ability who played a significant part in bringing about the Union of Scotland and England in 1705.
In the Romantic spirit of the age, Scott’s friend and Lord Seaforth’s daughter, Mary, attempted to take up the mantle of chief. Her son, the representative of the Stewart-MacKenzies of Seaforth, however, sold up the remaining estates except for Brahan and a small part of the Clan Heartland. Her grandson was made Lord Seaforth of Brahan in 1921, but he too died without male heirs, and Brahan Castle was demolished in 1951. The much reduced estate of the Mackenzies of Cromartie and the estates of the Mackenzies of Gairloch at Flowerdale in the west and Conan in the east are now all that remains in inheritance of the once vast landholdings of ClanKenzie in Ross-shire. http://clanmackenziesociety.co.uk/clan-mackenzie/
The longstanding tradition of the earliest family historians in the 16th century is that this very ancient family descended from a member of the Norman Irish House of Geraldine (whence sprang the noble families of the Earls of Leinster and Desmond). This Colin Fitzgerald was supposed to have settled in Scotland in the 1260s and to have so powerfully aided King Alexander III at the Battle of Largs in repelling the invasion of Haco, King of Norway, that he was rewarded by a grant of the lands of Kintail, in the County of Ross. The name of Colin’s purported grandson, the 3rd Baron of Kintail, who in Gaelic was called Coinneach MacCoinneach (Kenneth son of Kenneth), became corrupted in English into Mackenzie (pronounced: MacKenny) and from him it was believed all the families of Mackenzie in Scotland arose. The name Mackenzie therefore derives from the Gaelic: MacCoinneach, meaning: “Son of the Fair One”.
Following the discovery in the 19th century by the Celtic scholar, William Forbes Skene, of an ancient genealogical manuscript, known as MS 1467, it has since been widely accepted that an 11th century Celtic chieftain known as Gilleoin na h’Airde was the original progenitor of the MacKenzies (as well as the Mathesons), they being a branch of the Royal Scottish House of Dalriada, descended in the direct male line from the ancient High Kings of Ireland. This is further borne out by recent DNA analysis.
Eilan Donan Castle, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland
Name: Kenneth MacKenzie, 1st. of Kintail, father of Clan MacKenzie
Birth: 1240 in Cromarty, Highland, Scotland
Married: 1269 in Argyll, Scotland to Morna MacDougall
Children: John MacKenzie, 2nd. of Kintail
Death: 1304 (63-65) in Argyll and Bute Council, Scotland
Burial: 1304 on Isle Of Iona, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Eilan Donan Castle, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland
Kintail, Highlands, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
Name: Kenneth MacKenzie, 1st. of Kintail
Birth: 1240 in Cromarty, Highland, Scotland Death: 1304 (63-65) in Argyll and Bute Council, Scotland Place of Burial: 1304 on Isle Of Iona, Argyll and Bute, Scotland Immediate Family: Son of Angus Crom MacKenneth and Sybella Stewart Husband of Morna MacDougall Father of John “Iain” MacKenzie, 2nd. of Kintail
Added by: Kira Rachele Jay on February 5, 2010 Managed by: Deborah Dianne Graham and 10 others
MacKenzie, or MacCoinneach as it might appear in Gaelic, is taken to mean “son of Kenneth; and the Ross descent suggests that original Kenneth, c.1200, was descended from the (tenth century) Gilleoin of the Aird. Gilleoin also fathered the Earls of Ross, the early MacKenzie feudal overlords. Ross lands were acquired by marriage and William, V, Earl of Ross confirmed MacKenzie ownership in 1343. An extant charter confirms Kintail lands held by Alexander MacKenzie in 1463. Ross-shire stretches across the upper part of Scotland. Traditional MacKenzie lands were about half that area, from the Isle of Skye, over to Inverness in the East and then back to the North West Scottish coast.
Sir Alexander MacKenzie outlined that the MacKenzies were of native Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. He cited Dr WF Skene, Historiographer Royal for Scotland, and suggested that the MacKenzies are related to both the clans Matheson and Anrias, and that all three descended from the twelfth century Gilleoin of the Aird.
In the thirteenth century the clan was recorded at the stronghold of Eilean Donan on Loch Duich which was the seat of Clan MacRae, with whom the MacKenzies were once allied. The MacKenzie clan seat was at Castle Leod. There were also strongholds at Kilcoy Castle and Brahan Castle. Ferquard mac an t-sagairt I, Earl of Ross is identified as a cousin to both the MacKenzies and Rosses.
Specific details of the earlier Gilleoin of the Aird are unknown. This in essence is the putative Ross descent, however, there is further information which identifies the MacKenzie descent as being from the Fitzgeralds. To further confuse any argument, it is possible that the MacKenzies relate to both families. I have provided a chart of both descents below.
Sadly, the Fitzgerald outline of MacKenzie origins shown below is not supported by formal, recorded, charters, and Eilean Donan castle appears to have been firmly in the hands of the Rosses at the time in question. Even more damaging to the Fitzgerald pedigree origins is that alleged supporting records were declared false in the nineteenth century by both Dr Skene and Alexander MacKenzie.
MacKenzie was a notable Clan historian, who had obtained academic opinions from several historians. Buttressing the argument of Ross origins is that Ferquard mac an t-sagairt was created an earl by Alexander II, who was the father of Alexander III and thus unlikely to have his earldom cut by Alexander III.
On the other hand, the Irishman named Gerald (Colin) Fitzgerald (putative MacKenzie progenitor) fought for Alexander III at the 1063 Battle of Largs for which he was rewarded. His reward was described as including an appointment as Castellan of the key castle Eilean Donan, then a Ross holding.
He is also described as having received a barony of land in Kintail, which could have been granted by the Earl of Ross, without impairing Ross primacy. Much of Sir Alexander’s argument seems intended to establish that the Rosses were pre-eminent, which seems unchallenged. The question of pedigree is more complex, as there appear to be two sets of mutually exclusive records. Since I have seen neither of the originals I am not in a position to argue and can only cite my own sources.
Alexander II had built Eilean Donan castle in 1220 and Alexander III appointed Gerald its Castellan (or Constable), in 1266. Gerald was apparently hunting Alexander in 1266 when a wild stag burst out of the woods and would have charged the king but for Gerald. Alexander III further rewarded Gerald by approving the Mackenzie stag’s head for Gerald’s arms.
Gerald, who was then apparently already called Callam (Colin) after an earlier battle honour had a son called Kenneth and Kenneth also named Gerald’s grandson Kenneth. The name Mackenzie was initiated at that point by calling Gerald’s grandson Kenneth son of Kenneth. Since this name was in Gaelic, he was probably Coinneach mac Coinneach, with the first Coinneach softened into Kenneth. This version is reported as being corroborated in the Fitzgerald family records.
It seems understandable that the mother of a newly-created earl would leave a higher profile record than a previous wife, to explain the confusion. Moreover, Sir E MacKenzie – states explicitly that he had access to the Leinster Fitzgerald records. The confusion over the name for Colin is further explained by Goddard Henry Orpen in his opus Ireland Under the Normans.
Sir Kenneth MacKenzie, traditionally reckoned 7th. of Kintail and nicknamed Coinneach a’bhlair (or “Kenneth of the Battle”), was a Highland chief, being head of the Clan MacKenzie.
Kenneth was the eldest son of Alexander MacKenzie of Kintail (d.1488). The weight of traditional clan histories identifies Anna MacDougall as his mother, but this is rendered difficult by Alexander’s supplication for dispensation in 1466, which recorded that he, Alexander, had been married for about thirty years to “Catherine, daughter of John, son of Ranald”. Although traditionally identified as the 6th. chief of the Kintail line, Kenneth was in fact only the second (after his father) of whom incontrovertible contemporary evidence survives.
Kenneth had a tack from the Crown before 1479 of Ardovale (Ardival), near Strathpeffer, and appears repeatedly in records as refusing to pay the fermes (feudal payments) for his land and defying the Crown’s officers. In 1486 he also had a charter from the Earl of Ross of the lands of Meyne, the two Scatwells (Meikle and Little), Innermany (Invermeinie), Inverchoran, and Kinloch Beannacharain.
At some point between 1485 and 1491, Kenneth led a force of MacKenzies to victory over Alexander MacDonald of Lochalsh at the Battle of Blar Na Pairce.
He was served heir to his father in the lands of Kintail on 2 September 1488, at Dingwall, but died less than four years later on 7 February 1492. He was buried at Beauly Priory, where his tomb may still be found.
The inscription carved in the stone of the tomb of Sir Kenneth MacKenzie of Kintail reads: hic . iacet . kanycus . mkynych . dns . de . kyntayl . qi . obiit . vii . die . februarii . ao . di . / m cccc . lxxxxi. (Here lies Kenneth MacKenzie Lord of Kintail who died the 7th day of February, A.D.1491).
He married first Margaret MacDonald and later had a feud with a cousin of Margaret and returned her (she was blind in one eye) and he sent her mounted on a one-eyed horse accompanied by a one-eyed servant, followed by a one-eyed dog. She was in a delicate state of health, and this inhumanity grieved her so much that she never after wholly recovered. But he did have one son from her whom they named Kenneth.
It appears that Kenneth had no great affection for Lady Margaret, for a few days after he sent her away he went to Lord Lovat accompanied by two hundred of his followers and besieged his house. Lovat was naturally surprised at his conduct and demanded an explanation, when he was informed by Kenneth that he came to demand his daughter Agnes in marriage now that he had no wife, having, as he told him, disposed of Lady Margaret in the manner already described. He insisted upon an immediate and favourable reply to his suit on which condition he promised to be on strict terms of friendship with the family ; but, if his demand was refused he would swear mortal enmity against Lovat and his house.
source: Wikipedia
Name: Sir Kenneth MacKenzie, 7th. Laird of Kintail
Birth: 1454 in Cromarty, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
Married: 1st. spouse in 1472 to Margaret MacDonald
Children: (1) Kenneth Og MacKenzie
2nd. spouse in 1479 in Inverness-shire, Scotland to Lady Agnes Fraser of Lovat
Children: (6) Agnes, Catherine, John, Alexander, Roderick, and Kenneth MacKenzie
Died: 7 February 1492 in Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scotland
Buried: 1492 in Beauly Priory, Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scotland
Aerial shot of Castle Tioram, Loch Moidart, Scotland by Michael MacGregor
Clan MacDougall History
A Gaelic generalisation when describing the Viking invaders was by colouring, Finn Ghall for fair stranger and Dubh Ghall for a dark stranger. Dubh Ghall was the descriptive name given to the eldest son of King Somerled.
Somerled’s father-in-law was Olaf, King of man and when Somerled died in 1164 Dougall became senior King of Dalriada. Duncan MacDougall of Argyll was mentioned in records of 1244 so by this time the name had established into a clan.
Chiefs descending from Dougall built themselves the two great castles on the shores of Loch Linnhe in Lorne, Dunstaffnage and Dunollie. Also on the mainland they built Duntrune. On the islands they built Aros, Coeffin, Dunchonnel and Cairnburgh.
They also built Ardchattan Priory, burial ground of the MacDougall chiefs until 1737. It was Ewan who endorsed most of these constructions.
Ewan had chosen to keep his island possessions from his King in Norway and his properties on the mainland he tried to keep from the King of the Scots. When King Haakon of Norway arrived with a huge fleet off the coast of Oban for a planned invasion in 1263, Ewan declined to help but surrendered his islands to him. Scot Clans
Lady Anna Margaret MacDougall
Birth: 1410 in Skegirsta, Ross-shire, Scotland
Death: 1503 in Kintail, Ross-shire, Scotland
Immediate Family: Daughter of Iain (John) Keir MacDougall, 11th. of Dunollie & Lorn and Gyllis “Egidia” Campbell
Wife of Alexander Mackenzie, 6th of Kintail Married: before 1454 in Scotland
Mother of Duncan Mackenzie, 1st of Hilton and Kenneth Mackenzie, 7th of Kintail
Sister of Iain MacDougall, Laird of Lorn and Alan MacDougall
Half sister of Alexander MacDougall, of Dunollie and of Lorn; Sir Archibald Douglas of Cavers, Kt.; daughter of William Douglas of Cavers and Margaret
Clan MacKenzie Genealogy 
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