and
Valtos, in
Uig. These lands were once held by the Macaulays of Uig.
Massacre of the Macaulays There are traditions on Lewis which tell how the Macaulays were massacred by the Macleods sometime in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Macaulays held farms at Reef,
Valtos and
Kneep in Uig, which were next to farms held by Tormod Mòr, brother of Ruaidhri chief of Lewis. When a dispute over cattle arose Tormod Mòr was injured and in revenge his sons led the Macleod clansmen to murder almost every Macaulay they could get their hands on. by the tall standing stone
Clach an Trushal. According to tradition, it was erected by the Morrisons to mark their victory over the hereditary foes; however, the 19th-century historian, William C. Mackenzie, dismissed this part of the tradition as being unlikely.
Prophecy of the Brahan Seer Coinneach Odhar, more famously known as the
Brahan Seer was a, possibly
legendary, Highland seer who is well known for his prophecies across the Highlands. One possible historical Coinneach Odhar is the
Keanoch Owir who appears in a Commission of Justice in 1577, as being charged with "diabolical practices of magic, enchantment, murder, homicide and other offences", in
Ross-shire. Though according to popular tradition, Coinneach Odhar was born in Baile na Cille, within the Lewis parish of
Uig (the heartland of the Lewis Macaulays) and lived during the early 17th century. Tradition stated that Coinneach Odhar was eventually burnt to death by Isabel, the wife of
Kenneth Mor Mackenzie, 3rd
Earl of Seaforth. One of the many predictions, today attributed to Coinneach Odhar, involves the Macaulays of Lewis (
shown right). Matheson proposed that this prophecy may describe a battle in which the Macaulays were massacred by the Macleods, on the road between Stornoway and Uig (
see above). Iain Ruadh (who survived the massacre) was the grandfather of Dòmhnall Cam, placing this instance in the early 16th century.
Dòmhnall Cam was erected by the
Morrisons to mark a victorious battle over the Macaulays. He often appears in stories as being a fierce fighter with a short temper. Donald played a significant part in the Macaulays' feuds with the Morrisons. One notable Macaulay and Morrison tradition is of a raid conducted by the Morrisons of Ness into Macaulay territory. When the Morrisons drove off cattle belonging to the Macaulays, Dòmhnall Cam, Big Smith and a force of Macaulays pursued the Morrisons into the night, across
Loch Roag and finally to
Dun Carloway. After killing the sentry, and with his men blocking any exit, Dòmhnall Cam scaled the walls of the
broch, aided by two
dirks which he slipped between crevices in the stone wall. Once atop the tower Dòmhnall Cam ordered his men to gather large bundles of
heather, which he then threw down inside the broch on top of the Morrisons. Dòmhnall Cam then set the heather alight, which smothered and burned the Morrisons to death and in the process also destroyed Dun Carloway.
Conquest of Lewis Up until the beginning of the 17th century the Outer Hebrides, and particularly Lewis, were considered backward and in a state of anarchy by the rest of Scotland. An official account of Lewis described the inhabitants to have "given themselves over to all kynd of barbaritic and inhumanitie" and who were "voyd of ony knawledge of God or His religion".
James VI encouraged a
Syndicate of Adventurers to undertake the colonisation of Lewis, in the hopes of making the island profitable to Scotland. The syndicate were for the most part
lairds from
Fife and the colonists themselves lowlanders. The "
Fife Adventurers" made three unsuccessful attempts at colonisation lasting from October 1598 to December 1601, August 1605 to October 1606, and for a brief time in 1609. During this period of invasions the islanders rallied and resisted the lowlanders, in time driving out the invaders. , near Mangursta, Lewis, in 2008. In 1607 the Macleods of Harris landed in Lewis and captured Stornoway Castle and other "fortalices" from the Lowlander colonists. In August of that year the Government ordered the fortresses delivered back into the hands of the colonists. Not long afterwards
Stornoway was again captured, this time by Lewismen, led by Neil Macleod and Dòmhnall Cam. It was during the fray that Donald's brother was killed on South Beach by a shot from the castle. In 1610, in light of the collapse of the third colonisation attempt, the syndicate of Adventurers sold their charter rights to
Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail. Within two years the Mackenzies of Kintail had succeeded where the lowlanders could not, and reduced the island to submission. Although eventually the Mackenzies gained control of Lewis some islanders still resisted, notably Neil MacLeod and Dòmhnall Cam. Around this time tradition has it that Dòmhnall Cam fortified himself on a high promontory of jagged rock on the sea-coast near Mangursta (or Mangersta, Scottish Gaelic:
Mangarstadh). Today the stack still bears his name:
Stac Dhòmhnaill Chaim. Tradition has it that Dòmhnall Cam's daughter, Anna Mhòr ("Big Anne") carried water to her father on her head, as she needed her hands to climb the cliffs.
17th century: Auldearn and the last clan battle between Macaulays and Morrisons , many of
Seaforth's men were armed with
bows. This Highland soldier, sketched in 1631, also likely carries a
dirk on his left hip. Following
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose's victory at the
Battle of Inverlochy in February 1645,
George Mackenzie, 2nd Marquess of Seaforth briefly supported the
Royalist cause in the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Seaforth, however, later switched sides and joined the forces of the
Covenanters. Following Seaforth were his own clansmen, the Mackenzies, as well as the
Macraes,
MacLennans and the Macaulays of Lewis. In May 1645, the Covenanter forces vastly outnumbered Montrose and the Royalists at the
Battle of Auldearn, yet suffered a crushing defeat and heavy casualties (almost half their entire force). According to Lewis tradition, the eldest son of Donald Cam, Angus (
Aonghas Beag;
Fear Bhrèinis, "the
tacksman of
Brenish"), did not, at first, intend to join the Lewis contingent. However, tradition states that his scornful wife shamed him into joining the Lewismen and that he fell in battle with them. Of the 300 Lewismen who set off for battle only 3 returned; of these 300, 60 were from Uig which was the heartland of the Macaulays. The lone Uig survivor was John Macaulay (
Iain Ruadh), tacksman of Kneep, and another son of Donald Cam. According to local lore, on Lewis, the last great clan battle between the Macaulays and Morrisons took place in 1654. One location, said to have been the battle-site is Druim nan Carnan ("the ridge of the
cairns"), near
Barvas. The conflict is said to have arisen after a group of Uig Macaulays raided cattle from Ness Morrisons. The Macaulays were only able to escape with their plunder as far as Barvas, where the two sides took to battle. It is not known how many died in the conflict, though tradition states that the fallen were buried in the area, and that their graves were marked by cairns which have now since disappeared. In June 2009, it was reported that one of the traditional sites of the battle, and possibly the graves of the fallen, may be damaged by a proposed plan to erect three
wind turbines in the area.
18th century: Jacobite rebellions As tenants of the Earl of Seaforth, the native clans of Lewis followed Clan Mackenzie. For example, an account of Lewis, written in about 1750 states: "the common inhabitants of Lewis are Morisons, McAulays and McKivers, but when they go from home, all who live under Seaforth call themselves Mackenzies".
William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth decided to support the
Jacobites forces in the
1715 Jacobite rising. William C. Mackenzie stated that Seaforth drew up a list of officers to command his troops; upon this list there were 16 Lewismen: four captains, four lieutenants, and four ensigns. Of these a considerable proportion were Macaulays: [Captain] Donald Macaulay; [Lieutenant] J. Macaulay, Bragar; [Lieutenant] John Macaulay, Kirkibost; [Lieutenant] John Macaulay. The failed rebellion cost Seaforth his title and his tenants suffered dearly. In April 1716, the Countess Dowager wrote to
Cadogan "the tenants and country are now impoverished that i can expect nothing from them". A year later, Zachary Macaulay,
Chamberlain of Lewis (who was a
great-grandson of Dòmhnall Cam) wrote that the people of Lewis were in a deplorable condition. Like the clans Mackenzie and Macleod, the Lewis Macaulays did not support the Jacobites during the conflicts of the 1745–46 rebellion. According to Matheson, Donald Òg son of the tacksman of Brenish, and great-grandson of Dòmhnall Cam, was said to have fought for the Government at the
Battle of Culloden. Matheson however thought this unlikely, and stated that the Independent Company raised on Lewis for service to
the Crown never joined the others under the command of the
Earl of Loudoun. One Lewis tradition in explanation for this was that when the
mustered Lewismen sailed across
The Minch they were waved back at
Poolewe by the Earl of Seaforth. According to the tradition, Seaforth used a sheep's jawbone to wave back the Lewismen, and in the process supposedly fulfilled a prophecy of the Brahan Seer. Following the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden,
Charles Edward Stuart fled to the Hebrides in the hope to sail to France. During his time in the Hebrides several Lewis Macaulays are noted as supporting the Government cause in attempting to apprehend Stuart. On 27 April 1746, Rev. John Macaulay, a
Presbyterian minister, was having dinner with the chief of
Clanranald in
Benbecula when Stuart secretly landed on the island. When Clanranald heard the news he secretly advised Stuart to make for Stornoway on Lewis, where he could find a ship to take him to France. The Rev. John discovered the identity of Stuart and his plans, and immediately sent warning to his father, Rev. Aulay Macaulay, who was parish minister on
Harris and a staunch
Hanoverian. Rev. Aulay just narrowly failed to capture the fugitive Stuart on the small island of
Scalpay near Harris, before sending warning to another minister on Lewis. When no help was to be found in support of the prince on Lewis, the fugitives made their way back south into the largely
Catholic, Clanranald territories of Benbecula and
South Uist. An accomplice of Charles Edward Stuart afterwards exclaimed it was "a devil of a minister who did us a' the mischief"—Rev. John Macaulay.
19th century: evictions, clearances, and emigration Although the Lewis evictions were not on the same scale as those elsewhere in the Highlands, the mass evictions, and deserted villages within the parish of Uig, were a testament to the
Highland Clearances. In 1793,
Francis Humberston Mackenzie advertised the whole parish as a sheep farm; later in 1796 he issued 133 summonses of removal to its tenants. By the 1820s, the Earl of Seaforth attempted to evict up to 1,000 people from the parishes of Uig and Lochs. Seaforth planned to re-settle the tenants in Stornoway and Barvas, and encourage them to take up work in his proposed fishery. Tenants in Loch Roag, were removed from their homes to newly lotted settlements on the coast; one of these new settlements was later cleared for a sheep farm and its tenants were shipped away to North America. In 1833, the
New Statistical Account of Scotland declared that Lewis was "a full century behind other parts of Scotland, in agricultural and domestic improvements, the town and inhabitants of Stornoway excepted, and a few tacksmen". In 1828, provisions were scarce in Uig. The spring of 1835 was wet and cold; the potato crop of 1837 was a complete failure. It was estimated that 1,000 bolls of meal were needed to relieve the distress of the inhabitants of Uig. In 1845,
the potato crop failed; the next year was even worse. In 1850, there were 12,892 people living off charity. The new owner of Lewis, Sir
James Matheson, offered to pay the passage of the destitute to the
Canadian provinces of
Ontario and
Quebec. Many Lewis folk took advantage of the offer and settled in Quebec, around
Sherbrooke, in what came to be known as "Scotch County". According to Hebridean
genealogist Bill Lawson, emigrants from Uig tended to
migrate to the St Francis district in
Quebec. Donald Macdonald noted that a Lewis Macaulay was among the three most notorious Lewis
tacksmen, who aggressively evicted their tenants—Dr. Donald Macaulay of Linshader, "a land grabber and oppressor with an insatiable appetite".
Notable descendants Several notable members of the clan trace their descent from the Uig folk-hero Donald Cam, who is known to have had at least three sons—Angus of Brenish, John of Kneep, and William of Islivig. • Angus was killed at the Battle of Auldearn, in 1645. He was the first tacksman of Brenish, and had four sons: Zachary, who was killed in the last clan-battle with the Morrisons; Dugald, who was tacksman of Brenish; Murdo, who was tacksman of Valtos; and Donald, who was tacksman of Carnish. Dugald's son was Donald, tacksman of Brenish (
fl.1754); and of one of Donald's sons was Rev. John, minister in
Barra and later
South Uist. Rev. John and one of his sons, Rev. Aulay (b.1720) were noted anti-Jacobite ministers; another of John's sons was the
East India Company Army General,
Colin Macaulay; and another son was the colonial governor and
slavery abolitionist,
Zachary Macaulay (1768–1838). One of Zachary's sons was the historian, and
Whig politician,
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, who was sixth in descent from Angus (d.1645). Another son of Rev. John, son of Donald, was Rev. Aulay Macaulay (1758–1819), who was
tutor to
Queen Charlotte. A daughter of George Campbell Macaulay was
Dame Rose Macaulay (1881–1958), a noted English writer. One of the sons of Murdo, son of Angus (d.1645), was Zachary,
factor to Seaforth in the early 18th century. Another son of Murdo, John Roy, was remembered in Lewis tradition as a noted hunter, who drowned in
Loch Langavat. Another son of Murdo was Donald, the last tacksman of Valtos. His son was Murdo; whose son was Kenneth Macaulay; whose son,
Thomas Bassett Macaulay, was chairman of Sun Life and a philanthropist who donated funds to institutions on Lewis. • John, tacksman of Kneep, was the lone Uig survivor, and one of three surviving Lewismen, at the Battle of Auldearn. • William, tacksman of Islivig was killed at the Battle of Auldearn. He was the youngest of Donald Cam's known sons. ==Nearby Macaulay clans==