Historical question

[Steve Ashton]

The MacCallums are a Highland clan, a sept (I believe) of McCloud. Another of my Scottish ancestors, John MacBean, was also from a Highland clan. There were quite a few Scots arriving, around this time, especially at ports in the Northeast, as British prisoners. They were captured at the Battle of Dunbar, in 1650; and at the Battle of Worcester, one year later. Prisoners from both battles were sold as indentured servants to the London Company of Undertakers, a venture capital group in London investing in the first successful iron works in the American colonies. Bound to the Iron Works at Lynn, now Saugus, in Massachusetts, most of the indentured Scots were required to complete seven years of labor for the company. Both of my ancestors came over as prisoners.

Bold added for clarification.

I do not believe that it would be correct to describe MacCallum as a Highland Clan if it were also a sept of MacLeod. And while you can find a crest for MacCallum and websites that say MacCallum Clan there is not a chief or representative on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

I also believe that the whole idea of septs is a Victorian era invention. The Clan system was one of regions and not just last name. For example if your last name is Gordon and your family comes from the area of Galloway in SE Scotland they would have been lowlanders and not part of the Gordon Clan.
If your last name is Campbell and your family comes from Ayreshire they also would not be not part of the Highland Campbell Clan.

The area most commonly recognized with the surname MacCallum is on the Central Western coast of Scotland. This area is associated with the Clan Campbell, while MacLeod is associated with the Hebrides and Skye. Totally different and distinct areas.

I often use the example of back in the olden days. Your last name may be what you did for a living such as Smith or where you were from. Back then those folks who put the feathers on the arrows may have had the last name of Fletcher. Well, everybody needed the guy to put feathers on their arrows so the name Fletcher could have been everywhere.