Any Clan Donald experts out there?

[Riverkilt]

I'm no expert on clan branches, even after reading up on them. I kinda doubt my 4 great grandfather Ludovic Macdonald thought much about that stuff. I know he was a soldier, but not where he served. Just know that family lore is he named my 3 great grandfather Gray Macdonald after an officer he served under and admired. A great mystery beyond that. They were crofters in Uig, Skye. Gray, or his son John moved to Stafin on the other side of the Trotternish. They were shipped out from Portree in the clearances.
What I've done is go backwards. By default, "I" selected Macdonald of Kingsburg since Uig is just five miles north of Kingsburgh on Skye. After that went with the generic "Islands" tartans and the generic Macdonald tartans. Kinda sad all that was lost in the clearances.

Living in Navajo country I've learned much about their sad Long Walk and internment at Bosque Redondo. But they got to come home, back to their ancestral homelands. My great grandfathers were shipped out and that was it. It feels good to do some research and find some things to identify with my genetic history to pass on to my grandkids. Though, being of Island Scot ancestry I should probably be probing Scandinavia too - but doubt there's a way to figure where my Viking ancestors sailed from. Sons of Somerled.

[Nathan]

The viking ancestors in Clan Donald mostly came from Norway but where I know not. One thing we do know is that Somerled developed the Highland Galley and chased the Norweigians off thus establishing the Kingdom (later Lordship) of the Isles.

I'd love to see a flow chart of the various branches of Clan Donald. I always see it in written paragraph form and it gets confusing due to the repetition of names throughout the generations. I know about John of Islay's split from Amy MacRuari and how Clanranald came to be but with so many splits, a graphic representation with the current status of Chiefship would be most useful.

Incidentally, given the amount of MacDonalds on Cape Breton specifically or even Nova Scotia more broadly, I wonder what the process of being recognized as a new branch would be, if one, in fact exists. A new "MacDonald of Cape Breton" branch would certainly boast as many numbers as many of the other branches.

Just as an FYI in case anyone has a connection:
My Ancestor Malcolm MacDonald left the Isle of Lewis in 1804 three children. His two sons Angus and John and a daughter that died enroute. He arrived at Pictou. His son Angus married the daughter of Roderick MacDougall and inherited his land in Maryvale, Antigonish County. He donated part of that land for the construction of St. Mary's Church. The church was destroyed by a fire in 2011:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...le-church.html
and restored and reconsecrated in 2012. http://maryvalechurchbuildingfund.com/

Malcolm's descendants quickly spread to Arisaig, Malignant Cove, Malignant Brook, Maryvale, New Glasgow and Bras d'or. My great grandfather Angus J. eventually made his way to Port Morien, Cape Breton.

My avatar is of a grave site on the Maryvale Church grounds with the MacDonald of Clanranald badge carved into the headstone.

N

[Riverkilt]

Your flow chart of Clan Donald is in the book Clan Donald by Donald Macdonald. Pricey but worth it. Think there are some solid genealogy books on Pictou.

[Nathan]

Your flow chart of Clan Donald is in the book Clan Donald by Donald Macdonald. Pricey but worth it. Think there are some solid genealogy books on Pictou.

The sample of Donald J. MacDonald's book only had a flow chart up to the 1500s but the whole book was not available to preview. Is that the one you mean or is there more?

[Riverkilt]

That's the book. Not sure of the entire contents off the top of my head - but worth it and something to pass on down through the generations. No clue how any one person's ancestry fits with the info in the book. Clan Donald obviously much larger than any one book. If I recall correctly the book focused on the early splitting of the various branches. Not something to expect to find an ancestor in.

[Nathan]

That's the book. Not sure of the entire contents off the top of my head - but worth it and something to pass on down through the generations. No clue how any one person's ancestry fits with the info in the book. Clan Donald obviously much larger than any one book. If I recall correctly the book focused on the early splitting of the various branches. Not something to expect to find an ancestor in.

Yes, I've seen the book referenced a few times before and I'll certainly pick up a copy at some point. I'm not looking to find a particular ancestor, but I'm trying to sort out the "cadet branches" of Clanranald which aren't listed on that flow chart I saw. It stops at the Clanranald and Glengarry level.

Once sees so many "MacDonald of..." and it would just be good to really understand how these branches all relate to one another. The book will take me a long way toward that goal I'm sure.

[Riverkilt]

Home now. Got out the book. There's a chart of ClanRanald on page 288 that runs down to 1776. Also a long chapter on ClanRanald.