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Scotland, Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand etc.
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Check out the 4-generation register report below!
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 Although
much of this web site is about McWh*rter family research in North America the McWh*rter
"clan" has spread from Scotland all over the globe. This section is devoted to information on McWh*rter family research "back" in Scotland as well as research being done on McWh*rter families in Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Contributions of information for posting from those researching their families outside of North America is most welcome here. Information on Scotland is contained on several pages. On the current page you will find three articles reprinted from the McWh*rter Genealogy Newsletter. Most researchers able to trace their McWh*rter origins back to Scotland find their roots somewhere in Ayrshire! The McWhirter Family of Blairquhan Castle,
Straiton The Kirkyard at Colmonell
(Gravestone Inscriptions) On the SCOTTISH RECORDS - PAGE 1 you will find birth, death, marriage, and christening records from various parts of Scotland that may help you with your research. Now included: ---------- McWhirter Gravestone Inscriptions McWhirter Marriages On the SCOTTISH RECORDS - PAGE 2
you will find reprints of articles from the McWh*rter
Genealogy Newsletter containing --------------------- On the SCOTTISH FAMILIES page you will find register reports and other charts of various McWh*rter families including: A register report listing four (4) generations of McWhirters |
The McWh*rter Database contains
information For a map of the counties of Scotland
visit
The McWhirter Family of Blairquhan Castle
STRAITON is only a little, quaint, and quiet village, with that charm which is to be found in out-of-the-way places. It has a church with all the characteristic ugliness of the buildings of the Scottish Reformation, but redeemed from complete condemnation by a pre-Reformation east end. And less than two miles from the village is the delightful house, Blairquhan pronounced ‘Blair’ whon," with the accent on the second syllable, as nearly as spelling will indicate - a real modern castle, with a bit of the ancient castle embodied in it. Blairquhan is finely situated on the banks of the River Girvan, the house being on the left bank and the river flowing through the grounds. The main frontage faces the south, with the ground rising from the front, and falling from the back of the house to the river, which winds its course for about four miles before it leaves the demesne. The avenue is entered by a handsome bridge and lodge, and is conducted along the river-bank a distance of nearly three miles before it arrives at the house. This gives the visitor a most pleasing impression. As the avenue draws near the house it passes under a row of lime-trees, old and lofty and dark. The present house was built about the year 1820 by Sir David Hunter-Blair, Baronet, who was Deputy-Lieutenant and Convener of the County of Ayr; and the architect was William Burn, of Edinburgh. The former house was an irregular building of large extent, a great part of it erected in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, about the year 1570. It was a total ruin at the time when it was taken down to make room for the present edifice, the only part which had withstood the ravages of time being a square tower of great strength and thickness, the "McQuirter Tower." Doubtless it was the original keep, erected for defence, and surviving when the additions which had been made for comfort had crumbled into pieces. The name of the tower was a record that the family of McQuirter had been connected in very early days with Blairquhan. The front of the present house measures about 160 feet in line. A handsome porch stands out 24 feet in front of the line. At the east end is a series of low buildings surrounding the kitchen courtyard, and containing a part of the old house which was rebuilt. Its most interesting feature is the beautifully arched old gateway, with a finely carved coat-of-arms above it. The inscription on the court gate contains the motto In Domino confido, and the statement, "At this tyme is Jone Kenedy Lard of Blarquhain, and Margret Keith his vyfe in the year of. ……." (probably about 1570). The main entrance-hall, known as "The Saloon," is about 60 feet in height. A beautiful staircase rises from it, dividing at a half-landing, and continued as two staircases to a gallery from which passages communicate with all parts of the house, and upon which open various rooms. The billiard-room opens from the left of the saloon; a little further on we come to the drawing-room on the left; and a wide doorway connects billiard-room and drawing-room, the former looking out to the south and the latter to the north and west. On the opposite side of the saloon are the dining-room and the library, running towards the east end of the house, which communicates with the ancient buildings. As viewed on the south front the building is two storeys in height, but the slope down to the river on the north side gives another storey there. A rustic bridge where the River Girvan presents the appearance of a quiet pool makes a typical sylvan scene. Of the families which have held Blairquhan, four are well known by name—MacWhirter, Kennedy, Whitefoord, and Hunter-Blair. An interesting tale tells of the passing of the estate from the MacWhirters and is the theme of a poem. Put in ordinary prose, it is written in a paper dated January 20, 1820, which was prepared for Sir David Hunter-Blair of that day. The document reads: "Regnault Macwhurter, the last of the old race of the Macwhurters of Blairquhan, had twin daughters, one of whom was married to Sir Ulrich Macwhurter, who had been long in the service of the French king, and had been knighted by that prince for some valorous action. The other was joined in wedlock to a son of John, second Lord Kennedy, by his second wife Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Huntly. Upon the death of old Macwhurter these two gentlemen claimed the barony of Blairquhan, each for himself on account, as both said, of his lady having been born first. As this circumstance could not by any means be determined, a bloody foray would in all probability have ensued had not the relations on each side prevailed upon them to submit their claims to the King, James III who, although very young, had the character of being a wise and just prince. "After much hesitation and many a stipulation they both agreed to do so, and for that purpose proceeded to Edinburgh; but how to decide impartially a question where both parties seemed to have an equal right His Majesty was for some time at a loss to know. At last he came to the resolution that one of them should walk and the other ride from Edinburgh to Blairquhan, and he who should first kindle a fire in the castle should keep possession, not only of it, but likewise of all the land appertaining thereto; and to make the chance equal they were to draw each a straw out of a stack, and he who should pull the longest should ride. This fell to young Kennedy, who was consequently considered by many as having already gained the estate; but others, who knew Sir Ulrich’s great strength and unbending resolution, were of a contrary opinion. "There being no public road at that time from Edinburgh direct to Blairquhan, each took the route which fancy pointed out as being the straightest. Sir Ulrich was attended by many of the relations of young Kennedy on horseback, who were deputed by the King to see him perform his journey in the manner prescribed. Young Kennedy was not accompanied by any person, as none would undertake to ride as fast as he was likely to do; but he was preceded by His Majesty and a few nobles who wished to be at Blairquhan before either of the sticklers for the estate should arrive, in order that they might act as stewards of the race." "But just as the King was going to cross the water of Girvan near Straiton, from that circumstance called the King’s Hill to this day, he observed a great smoke suddenly arise from the highest chimney of the castle of Blairquhan, and being certain it could not be Kennedy that had raised it, as he was at that moment still a few yards in the rear of His Majesty’s company, he exclaimed, ‘My kingdom to a bodle that yon reek is raised either by the de’il or by his ain bairn, Ulrich Macwhurter." This is only about half of the account. Macwhurter obtained the award, but became such a terror to the neighbourhood that in course of time means were taken to get rid of him, and young Kennedy then came into the estate. The story is open to criticism but may be true, although it is known that John Kennedy was in possession in 1444, while James III reigned between 1460 and 1488. The estate passed to the Whitefoords in 1623, by a legal process which the Kennedys resisted, keeping possession for many years against the law. The Whitefoords held until Sir John was ruined by his connection with the Douglas and Heron Bank, after which the curators of Sir David Hunter-Blair bought the property about the end of the seventeenth century. The present laird is Captain Edward Hunter-Blair, R.N. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1898, but rejoined in 1914 and served at the naval centres of intelligence during the war, at Invergordon, Sheerness, and Greenock. The baronet is his elder brother Sir David Oswald Hunter-Blair, formerly Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery at Fort Augustus. The family is descended from the Hunters of Hunterston and the Blairs of Dunskey, and through the latter family, also from the Kennedys who held Blairquhan long ago. " *********************** Footnote:- The above text was reformatted by John McWhirter, Dundee, Scotland in December 1999 following a visit to Blairquhan Castle, Straiton, Scotland earlier that year. The original text was presented to him by the present laird of Blairquhan Castle, James Hunter-Blair whose generosity is acknowledged. John McWhirter, Dundee, Scotland
Reprinted from the McWh*rter
Genealogy Newsletter In the County of Ayrshire, Scotland, about 23 miles south of the City of Ayr and three miles inland from the coast, lies a little village called Colmonell. No relative of mine ever mentioned Colmonell and I had never heard of the village until the day in 1976 when my wife, Barbara, and I used a delayed honeymoon in Scotland to do some genealogy searching. I located the birth record of my grandfather James McWhirter [db#332] in the coastal town of Girvan located about 17 miles south of Ayr. That record revealed that his parents, Alexander [db#322] and Sarah (ms Hamilton) McWhirter [db#328] had been married by a Duncan Davies, minister of the Free Church of Colmonell. Girvan is found on most maps of Scotland, but only a local map of Ayrshire and the assistance of the Registrar of the Town of Girvan could get me to Colmonell.
When we reached the crest of the hills, we felt ourselves being transported back in time hundreds of years. When we stood with the narrow paved road at our back the panorama revealed nothing that identified the landscape as belonging to the 20th century. No paved roads, telephone lines, smokestacks, industries, automobiles or television antennas were visible as far as our eyes could see. We only saw rolling hills, dotted everywhere with sheep and broken stone dikes (walls), and scattered ruins of ancient towers that resembled lighthouses more than castles. As we drove, the peace and aura of an earlier time descended upon us much as the mists descended upon two American travelers approaching the village of Brigadoon in the Broadway musical of the same name. My grandfather had removed with his parents from Girvan to Paisley when just an infant. James trained to become a stonemason like his father . He married Helen Robertson McKellar [db#343] in Paisley, Scotland on 17-Jun-1910 and sailed with her for America a week later. They made the journey from Glasgow to Boston, Massachusetts aboard the S.S. Parisian arriving in America on 3-Jul-1910. It was not until fifty years later, on the occasion of his golden wedding anniversary, that James set foot in Scotland again. Now here I was, more than a dozen years after his death, entering the village of his parents. The whitewashed cottage walls on the single village lane did not seem to recognize any homecoming. However, since then, the village and the valley of the Stinchar River have become an inseparable part of my being.
It was August of 1993 that Barbara, myself, and our sons Jason and Justin went back to Scotland. At the first opportunity Barbara and I left the kids to their own devices (with second cousins still living in Paisley) and set off for Girvan and Colmonell once again. This time we reached Colmonell by travelling up river from the mouth of the Stinchar at Ballantrae. The journey from Ballantrae covers a distance of five miles along a single lane road that makes passing an oncoming car something of an adventure.
Despite not finding what we came looking for, Barbara and I systematically covered the entire kirkyard recording gravestone inscriptions of all the McWhirters mentioned there. Many of the gravestones were of course quite worn and some inscriptions were indecipherable in places. Among the oldest of the kirkyard’s gravestones was one which read - "This is the place where lyes the last of William McWhirtor [db#13179] and Janet McGill [db#13180] his spouse who died both in the year 1682 John McWhirtor [db#13181] their son who …[illegible]." On the back of the same gravestone was the following - "Here lyes the corps of Andrew McUirtor [db#13182] who died August 2 1675…[illegible]." I will raise this issue in a later article, but I strongly believe that the McWh*rter surname originated in the southwest part of Scotland, perhaps within the winding glens of the valley of the Stinchar River. The surname traveled across the narrow sea to the north of Ireland in the early 1600s when Scot settlers were encouraged by the English crown to displace the native Irish. About a hundred years later many McWh*rters removed from the north of Ireland for the promises of the American frontier. Other McWh*rters removed directly from Scotland to America leaving behind their homes in Colmonell, Ballantrae and Wigton. In future issues of this newsletter I will report in detail the gravestones that Barbara and I found on our visit to Colmonell as well as those that we found at the town of Ballantrae five miles down river. Perhaps the information recorded there will unlock a secret or two for others. Reprinted from the McWh*rter
Genealogy Newsletter In the County of Ayrshire, Scotland, five miles up the Stinchar River from the coastal town of Ballantrae, lies the village of Colmonell. The Kirk there is surrounded by gravestones commemorating over 300 years of the inhabitants of Colmonell. Common among the surnames of persons buried there is that of MCWHIRTER.
A number of North American McWh*rter families have Colmonell connections. Gravestone inscriptions found at Colmonell bearing the McWh*rter surname are reported here in the hopes that they will prove of value to some McWh*rter researchers and of interest to others. #1 (front)
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Since the date of the original publication of this article two (2) other
"McWhirter" gravestone inscriptions have been reported as being recorded from
this kirkyard. #13
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Ireland
England
Australia
New Zealand
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Scotland
Colmonell nestles in the valley of
the Stinchar River behind a range of hills that rise directly from the Irish sea to a
height of almost 900 feet. 
My initial visit to Colmonell was
a short one, merely long enough to take a quick look about the village and realize that
the name McWhirter was a common one among the gravestones in the village kirkyard. It was
the first place I had ever been in my life where McWhirter was a "common" name.
Our visit and exploration was cut short by the lateness of the day and the realization
that we had a journey back to Paisley ahead of us. But I would have tarried longer had I
realized that it would be seventeen years (and two children) later that I would have the
chance to explore the graveyard more closely.
On this visit Barbara and I
undertook a more thorough search of the gravestones about the kirkyard. In particular I
was looking for those of Margaret (ms Campbell) McWhirter [db#321] my
grandfather’s grandmother, and her infant daughter Margaret [db#5164] who were
buried in the kirkyard according to their death certificates which I had located at
Register House in Edinburgh. We found no stones commemorating the life of either,
suggesting that there are likely more McWhirters buried in the kirkyard than gravestones
can recall.
The oldest gravestone in the
kirkyard which bears the surname is that of Andrew McUirtor [db#13182] whose date
of death is recorded as 1675. After more than 320 years the name and the date are still
quite visible on the marker. On the opposite side of the marker are recorded the deaths of
William McWhirtor [db#13179] and Janet McGill [db#13180] "his
wife" who both died in 1682. Immediately next to the gravestone of Andrew, William
and Janet is one which indicates "Wm Mc 1758" and also "Here lies the Corps
of Gilbert McUirtor". Other gravestones bearing the surname McWhirter continue
through to the first half of the twentieth century.