THIS DATA IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE COURTESY OF MARY LOU McHAFFIE
A Few Selected Individuals and Topics Using Several Sources
-A round broch was built ca 100 B.C. on a high hill overlooking a large sea
loch just north of what became
Stranraer, Wigtownshire, according to H. M. Chadwicke's Early Scotland, the
Picts, the Scots..., who referred
to the broch as Craigcaffie and stated that an expert had excavated the
broch and was certain that it was a
broch, a high tower of refuge where people gathered, with their cattle, in
time of attack. Most of these Pictish
brochs are found farther north in Scotland. Dr. George F. Black, the
expert on Scottish names, under listing
Maccaffie, Machaffie, states that the land around this broch was referred
to in a 13th c. charter as Kellechaffe
also called Craig Caffie (in the time of Robert the Bruce) and he states
that this place name is preserved in the
name Machaffie, which he also found in local records as MacIlhaffie. He
adds that MacIlhaffie represents Mac-
Gille-chathbhaidh, meaning Son of the servant of St. Cathbad. But Dr.
Black states under the listing MacFie
(MacFie is derived from MacDhubhshith meaning "Son of the Dark Man of
Peace") that Machaffie is a form
of MacFie/MacDhubhsith/McDuffie found in Galloway.
The lands of
Kellechaffe, referred to in the 13th c.,
came to be owned by a Neilson, and were probably granted to a Neilson.
Neilson of Craigcaffie also appears
Neilson of Cathcaffie in 17th c. records. Perhaps there is a link between
the Neilsons, MacNeils, and the
McHaffies, so the Neilson listings may reveal interesting clues. Gilbert
Neilson of Craigcaffie was a Covenanter.
Another broch was located at Stairhaven, very near Gargerie, and
overlooking Luce Bay.
Kell is a word that in pre-Christian times meant burial place. I
wonder if the high ground on which
the round stone broch Kellechaffe was located was also once a burial place.
The word Cathair led to an
interesting study. The people of that long ago day lived in weems, or
underground rooms with tunnels (with
niches for a watchguard), space for storage, with a stream of water flowing
through. They also lived in round
stone houses with thatched roofs and apparently were skilled in building
unmortared stonework. Dwellings
called crannogs were built on wood pilings in lakes with a walkway that
permitted a measure of security.
The foregoing statements may be helpful in searching for more
clues and making comparisons about
the origins of the name McHaffie found in s. w. Scotland. It is a search
that I find intriguing due to the comments made by Drs. Black and Gillies.
-St. Ninian evangelized among the Picts, and his church and missionary
center ca 432 was at Whithorn, Hwite
aerne, Quhethern, Hwit earne, in southwestern Scotland (Wigtownshire)
reported to be the earliest stone church
in Scotland. St. Ninian reportedly did not need an interpreter for his
work among the Picts and Strathclyde
Britons.
The archaelogical digs at Whithorn are attracting many people.
-Duff Dakrich M'Duffe was killed 717 in battle of Kyndealgen, Dalriada,
Scotland (western coasts), per Annals
of Clonmacnoise (in Ireland). [Source, George Roussos] This man's name
seems to indicate a royal person
from the rich portion and is earliest use of name like McDuffie that I have
yet seen, so this may be the reason
for comments regarding the name McDhubshith being "far away beyond those of
even our old names."
-Dubside was ferleiginn or Reader of Iona in 1164, per The AFM and Skene
suggests (CS., III, p. 363) that the
clan may have derived its name from him. [Source, George F. Black, Ph.D.]
-Dubsith/Duffie in ca 1210-1240 was 9th chief of clan. [Source, the late
George Roussos, historian, Clan
MacFie]
-Johannes Macdufthi, "appears as charter witness in Dumfriesshire in the
reign of King Alexander II," who ruled
between 1214 and 1249 per Dr. Black, who mentioned source is [Chronicles
of?] Melros, p. 182. Dumfries is
in s.w. Scotland, and near Wigtown. King Alexander II was a descendant of
King Kenneth McAlpin. [Black].
-Archie B. Low made the following statement:
MacHaffie is the Galloway & Carrick (Southern portion of Ayrshire,
but formerly part of the
province of Galloway) branch of the clan. It will be noted that
it is a fairly perfect Anglicised
phonetic version of Mac-a-Phi, which is the Gaelic name of the
clan. McDuffies and
McDougalls of Argyll were seafaring folk, and during the 13th &
14th centuries, they and their
branches in Galloway (McDouall & McDowall are the Galloway forms
of McDougall), are
frequently mentioned in the English Records as owners of galleys,
and they often allied
themselves to the English Crown. The McHaffies, therefore,
arrived at an early date on the
Galloway Coast from Colonsay. They would then, of course, be
named Mac-a-phi, which in
the course of time took the Anglic forms in use today.
[I believe Mr. Low's statements about this are important. Mr. Low's mother
was a McHaffie and he often
visited his mother's parents in Drummore, Wigtownshire.] He also stated
that one McHaffie was for 25 years
Provost of Wigtown.
-Thomas Mcdoffy, 1296, rendered homage; (Bain, II, p. 169). [Source,
Black] If he rendered homage to
Edward I of ENG it probably indicates he had land in area of border of
Scotland and England.
-Kellechaffe/y lands near Stranraer are mentioned in a charter in time of
Robert I, 1300s.
-Nigel Machoffye in 1420, rector at Kilmonivaig, [n.e. of Loch Linnhe] d.
on way after being summoned to the
Roman court, and he spelled name also MacDwffye, Makduuhie, Makduwhie.
[Source: the late Clan
Commander, Dr. Earle D. MacPhee]
-Mariota Mukkevin is found in Rev. William Mackenzie's book History of
Galloway. Mariota lived in early
1500s, sued for restitution, Kirkcudbright or Wigtown. [A landowner had
required that she and another
neighbor give him livestock and was using her peats for building his dyke.]
-Malcolm Makcofee, tenant Colonsay in 1506 per ER., XII, p. 709. [Source,
Black] Malcolm Makcofee was
Malcolm III, the 19th chief, ca 1490-1520, called Lord Dunevin of Colonsay.
[Source, Roussos] Malcolm
Makcofee appears on a 1506 lease of Isle of Colonsay by the 19th chief of
McPhie-McDuffie clan (1490-1520).
Malcolm Makcofee, "Malcolm III," was called Lord Dunevin of Colonsay.
Dunevin was the name of his fort
home on an island in a loch on Isle of Colonsay.
-Archibald McKofee, tenant on Isla in 1506 per ER., XII, p. 709. [Source,
Black]
-M'a ffeith, 1512 (Dean of Lismore), Middle Gaelic [Source, Black] Both
the ' and the space in this name
indicate that something has been left out, either a letter or a sound.
-Murdoch Macdufie. The magnificent 6 ft. gray tombstone, rectangular,
marks grave of Murdoch Macdufie on
Isle of Oronsay, and stone has elaborate carvings of flora and fauna, a
sword and galley ship, and inscribed in
Latin, and I think would be translated: "Here lies Murdoch Macdufie of
Colonsay who d. A.D. 1539 and
Mariota MacLean caused me to be made." Mariota was Murdoch's wife and she
had other tombstones made.
-Murdoch M'Duffyhe. Murdoch IV, 23rd chief, ca 1549-1593. Sir Donald
Monro, the Dean of the Isles, refers
to him in 1549 "ane gentle capitane callit M'Duffyhe" and later writes
"McDuffithe of Colonsay." One of
greatest of clan's chiefs. [per Roussos]. McDuffyhe, laird, mentioned in
`Description of the Western Isles of
Scotland" by Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles. [Source, Belinda
Mahaffy]. Gentle at that time meant
well-born.
-John McCaffe, 1540 king's messenger, ALHT VII p. 440, (Annals of Lord High
Treasurer), [Black]. In that
year, James V visited the Hebrides. McCaffe was therefore living some of
the time in Edinburgh. James V
d. 1542.
-John Haffie was among men of Kirkcudbright approving request of Sir Thomas
Mackclellane of Bombey on
24 March 1570 to build a castle at Kirkcudbright [it appears that a notary
subscribed the name John Haffie.
Name usually appears M'Haffie or McHaffie at Kirkcudbright, Wigtown, etc.,
in 1680s], according to William
Mackenzie's History of Galloway publ. 1841 by John Nicholson at
Kirkcudbright. Sir Thomas promised he
would protect the town. Bombie Castle's four walls still stand in
Kirkcudbright in 1993. I have seen the pages
containing this information. [Archibald Buchanan Low first found this
decades ago, and recalled the year that
the permit was signed 1492, but was hospitalized and unable to check the
date, and he may have found another
reference to McHaffie in 1492.]
-M'Hivey, 1578, was landowner per M'Kerlie, Lands and Their Owners in
Galloway, I p. 239. [Black]
-Margaret McIlhaffie, parish of Daylie, Ayr, 1615. [A. B. Low]
-Thomas McHaffie in Drumlash, parish of Kirkmichaell, testament registered
1647. [A. B. Low]
-1650 McKilhaffys mentioned in Morton's "Gleamings from the Mountains" p.
225, 415, Covenanting Times.
[A. B. Low] I have no more information on this.
-Only 6 McHaffie/Mahaffy taxpayers in IRE on Hearth Roll Tax List, 1663.
[Source, Bob Mahaffey]
-Ewin McAphie alias Vic Condachie ordered to appear before Privy Council
1681, RPC., 3. ser., [volume] VII,
p. 82. [Source: Black] [Dugal, John, and Neil McConochie, Covenanters,
were all three Argyllshire men,
banished 1685].
NOTE: See John McHaffie in Gargerie, Oct 1684, in list of Privy Council
items.
-1684, Several Mahaffie/McHaffie heads of various named households in
Kirkcowan parish, including:
James, William, Mart., Agnes, and there were several in the large Gordon
household.
-McHaffine, McIlhaffie, Mahaffie, Mahalfie, Milhaffie, all found in 1684
parish lists. [Black]
-Thomas McHaffie, Covenanter, was shot and killed by soldiers in Jan 1685
after being dragged from sickbed
out into the road. Thomas is buried at Straiton, Carrick, Scotland, s.e.
of Ayr (and n. of Wigtownshire).
Thomas McHaffie's two tombstones, one very old and another one placed
beside it in 1824, in Straiton
cemetery, bears the inscription. More about Thomas is given in Martyr
Graves of Scotland, including the fact
that he was the son of John McHaffie in the Largs farm, about 1/2 mi. east
of Straiton.
I have found no other
mention of William McHaffie, martyr, mentioned by MacPhee in The mythology,
traditions and history of the
McDhuibshith-MacFie Clan.
-McGuffie is considered a sept of MacFie, and the arms of one of that name
display a black boar's head.
-John McGuffock of Rusco and his wife Janet McGowan were Covenanters,
fugitives, and I believe lost their
property ca 1685.
-William Holmes McGuffey, Ph.D., wrote The McGuffey's Readers, 1836, which
have sold over 140 million
copies, making the books among the top sellers of all times. The books
were so widely used for so many
decades that this man is considered one of the most important influences on
Americans. William was the son
of Alexander, who with his parents ("Billy" and Anna McKittrick McGuffey)
and two sisters, emigrated from
Wigtown to Pennsylvania in ca 1775. Dr. McGuffey's brother, Alexander
Hamilton McGuffey, was also an
educator and wrote books for grades 4 and 5, I believe. William H.
McGuffey taught at several universities in
Ohio, and then at the University of Virginia for over 25 years. The
readers are still in print. The version after
1836 was not made by Dr. McGuffey.
-George William Gordon McHaffie of Corsmalzie, Wigtownshire, 1800s, had
arms, going back several
generations (as indicated by differences on the arms), three gold boars'
heads on azure, with a crescent on a
bend, and a border, and his crest was a demi-savage, with motto `Dread
God'. He registered a name change
to George William McHaffie-Gordon with the Lord Lyon, 1880s. Gordons have
arms with three gold boars'
heads on azure. I believe a Gordon heiress married a McHaffie. One source
shows arms with motto, "Bydand."
-McHaffie crest, Scotland, a demi-griffon, gules, no motto, in Fairbairn's
Book of the Crests of the Families of
Great Britain...
-McHaffie is considered a sept of MacFie. MacFie crest is a demi-lion, gules.
-Several McHaffies have been found in early 18th c. colonial America, and
many more by Revolutionary War
according to my research and that of numerous others. The home built by
Melville F. McHaffie of Stilesville,
Indiana, US, is on the National Register of Historic Homes. Some homestead
cabins in Tennessee and Missouri
have been preserved.
-John McHaffie in Australia, 19th c., gave the name Flagstaff to spot which
later became known as Rhyll.