Grant Family Trees
Grant Family Trees |
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For those with Family Tree software, there are links here below to some family trees in GEDCOM format for you to download.
As you will see only too quickly, I have taken quite a lot of liberties with the format to maximise the amount of information in the minimum number of fields (and hence also to keep the overall file size down to a minimum). Please note also that GEDCOM does not retain eg spousal preferences. Thus, in this instance, the first wife listed may lead you into a cul-de-sac.
There are so many "Grants" in the tree (perhaps unsurprisingly!) that I have tried to make some distinction easier in some ways:
Many individuals are left unnamed, so I have given the name Yyy to an anonymous male and Xxx to an anonymous female. Moreover in some cases a number of such anonymous people are mentioned - especially where eg a girl who married into the Grants is specified as someone's "third daughter". In this case I have put in XXa and XXb to specify the two elder ones. In other cases Fraser mentions eg "three other sons" and these may be represented in the file as "Yythreemore". Fraser also recognises some lines he chose not to follow up (usually in the case of a Grant girl marrying "out" - simply saying that the marriage "had issue". In this case such issue is recognised in the file as "YES Ogilvie" or whatever the surname might be and the default sex (female) is of no relevance.
So I expect you may wish to do a pretty thorough editing job once you have these files in your own software.
The main source of information lies in the Appendices of Sir William Fraser's "Chiefs of Grant". Thery are offered "as is" - ie I have not attempted to amend them for errors whether of omission or commission. I have, however, made one or two links in associated families eg where Fraser specified that cousins were married. It may become obvious that there are several more of these interlinkages, but were I to force them it would be assumption only. However as there are several keen - avid - genealogists among you out there, I hope we may be able to offer updated and more complete trees in due course. In particular, Fraser's trees naturally finish around 1880, so there are several generations to add on to several of the lines. I have already done the relevant tree for the Chief's own line ("STG_Tree" including only the information published in the Late Lord Strathspey's "History of Clan Grant") and will be getting in touch with other major cadets to see where we can go. I hope this will also stimulate the Clan Societies to appoint genealogists, now that with this publication it is so much easier for those clansmen who can show a bloodlink to the main lines to be included in such an expanded file. [Personally - like the vast majority, I suppose - I have no such link.]
It turns out that all the trees mesh together with the exception of the Grants of Kilgraston - so that is a small separate file. However it should be noted that if one uses Fraser's data alone, no blood line connection can be shown linking eg Sir Patrick Grant of Dalvey to the Chief's line - and this applies also to Tullochgorm and to the 1st house of Ballindalloch. However it should no noted that....
(1) Clan Donnachie: CT asserts that the original "Duncan" was the younger of the illegitimate sons of Sir Duncan Grant, 1st of Freuchie. MT (p21) asserts that the original "Duncan" of Dalvey's "Clan Donnachie" was the illegitimate son of one of the John Grants and a maid at Balachastel. If this is the case, it is most likely that this was John Grant Younger of Freuchie (d 1482) - Sir Duncan's son. John named his legitimate children William and John, while by "normal" naming patterns, the eldest should surely have been Duncan. However CT's proposition if clearly feasible. My own bet is on John Grant.. Either way Fraser's "John McConquhy Grant" would be this Duncan's son. Similarly......
(2) 1st House of Ballindalloch: Both CT (page 109) and MT (p25) asserts that the 1st of the 1st Ballindalloch line was the twin brother of John Grant, son of and successor to Sir Duncan Grant. However there is a problem here, for Sir Duncan was succeeded by his grandson - not his son - and both were called John. The key probably lies in the curious story of his being his nephew's tutor. MT (26) says that Bard Roy was left a minor when Sir Duncan died (1485) yet he had married in 1484. But CT (109) says that Patrick of Ballindalloch was Bard Roy's brother. Even this is problematic as James Grant 3rd of Freuchie must have been of age in 1528 when his father died (his son John was married before Feb. 1539, so James must have been married and a father by, say 1521). Neither MT nor CT recognise John Grant Younger of Freuchie at all.
Fraser says James, 3rd of Freuchie was not retoured as heir until 1536 - an 8-year gap otherwise unaccounted for. Ballindalloch's pretensions to chiefship would be well supported by the story surrounding his birth (MT 25). So Fraser's Patrick Grant, 1st of 1st Ballindalloch is most likely to have been the younger twin brother of John "Bard Roy" Grant and the grandson of Sir Duncan.
(3) Clan Phadraig: Fraser, CT and MT are unanimous in recognising Patrick Grant as the progenitor of the House of Tullochgorm. CT (109) says that, like Duncan above, this Patrick was an illegitimate son of Sir Duncan. MT (22) implies that it is a John who fathered the Patrick naming him after his father. Patrick was a witness in 1530. If Patrick's grandfather was also Patrick, he would need to be the son of Sir John Roy - hence born before 1434 - and highly unlikely to be acting as a witness at the age of 96+. However using more "normal" inter-generational gaps brings us to around 1460 again making him a potential son either of Sir Duncan or of John Grant Younger of Freuchie.
Given that John Grant Younger of Freuchie had a legitimate son Patrick (see Ballindalloch above), it seems most reasonable that Patrick of Tullochgorm should have been the son of Sir Duncan himself. We are not helped by Patrick's mother (variously wife or daughter of Baron lamb of Tullochcarron) for that family was still there by the time Patrick of Ballindalloch was an adult.
My guess is, further, that MT confused the stories about the illegitmate Duncan and Patrick when it came to the "naming after his father" bit.
Early disconnected individuals: I have not included anyone prior to "Robert" before John Roy Grant. Although Fraser has some chiefs before this (he starts with Sir Lawrence) he does not show how the tree went, and indeed only "supposes" Robert to have been John Roy's father. Thus our tree (the fruits of the research group's efforts) will go down to Sir Duncan.
Fraser errors: I am aware that several people have told me that Fraser made errors in these family trees. Naturally there are huge errors at the beginning (where he has the story all wrong), but only "Robert" at the very beginning fits this bill. As for other errors, I am afraid I cannot offer emendations until I am offered the corrected stories. I have asked in various quarters, but....... So if you can help, please get in touch.
Fraser details: Sir William Fraser provided mini-biographies for many of those listed on his trees. Once these are fully digitised they will be available one way or another, but I may have to make an updated version of the GEDCOM file to incorporate a reference number (probably associated with the page number in Fraser's book) so that the right comments can be associated with the right entry (I don't have it in mind to make these comments an integral part of the family tree - though it would be easy enough (if time consuming) for you to do it yourself if so minded.
Note: To be sure of downloading these trees successfully........... right-click the link and then use Save Target as... with the file-extender .ged
STG_Tree starts from Sir James Ogilvie-Grant, uncle of the last chief in Fraser's tree.
WF_Tree1 is the main Fraser tree including some 1600 individuals
WF_Tree2 is the Kilgraston line
Olavtree will give the lineage from Olav Hemingsson (who came to Scotland) to Sir Duncan Grant (c1060 - c1485) including links through marriage back to Coroticus (king of Strathclyde (fl 459), Alpin (d.834) and Alfred the Great (whence into the legendary line back to Woden)
Nor_Tree will give the lineage from Griotgarth of Yriar to Olav and Swein Hemingsson (c900 - c1100) including lines through marriage back through Olav Cuaran of Dublin to Ragnar Lodbrok, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark (d 985), Harald Fairhair of Norway (d ?934) etc.
Dan_Tree will give a rather more speculative lineage linking Griotgard's forebears (by blood and by marriage) back to Heming the Great of Denmark (d 812), Wffa 1st Anglian King of the East Angles (fl 575) and linking into the legendary lines back to Saeming and Woden.
A very good place to start exploring these genealogical lines further is on Brian Thompsett's site at Hull University. You can link to this site here: http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/