James 'Seumas a' Chaisteil' Macdonald, 1st of Castle Camus and Kingsburgh

THE MACDONALDS OF SLEAT. -
The Macdonalds of Sleat are descended from
I. HUGH, son of Alexander, Earl of Ross, and Lord of the Isles, by the daughter of O'Beolan, lay Abbot of Applecross, and are known patronymically as Clann Uisdein. Hugh married, first, Fynvola, daughter of Alexander Maclain of Ardnamurchan, and had by her —

1. John, his successor,
He married, secondly, Elizabeth Gunn, daughter of the Crowner of Caithness, and had by her— 2. Donald Gallach.
He married, thirdly, a daughter of Macleod of Harris, by whom he had— 3. Donald Herrach, from whom Clann Domhnuill Herraich. Hugh had also several sons, whose claims to legiti- macy do not seem to have been admitted even by the social canons of the time, viz. : —
4. Archibald Dubh, by a daughter of Torquil Macleod of Lewis.
5. Angus Collach, by a daughter of the Laird of Coll.
6. Angus Dubh, by a daughter of Maurice Vicar of S.Uist,
Hugh Macdonald of Sleat died in 1498, and was succeeded by his oldest son,

II. JOHN. It has been seen how he surrendered his whole patrimony to the King, by whom it was afterwards bestowed upon Ranald MacAllan of Claii- ranald and Angus Reochson MacKanald of Morar. This grant, however, never took effect. John died in 1502, and was succeeded by his brother,
III. DONALD GALLACH. He did not long occupy the position of Chief of Sleat, as he was murdered by his brother, Archibald Dubh, in 1506. He married Agnes, daughter of Sir John Cathanach Macdonald of Dunnyveg and the Glens, by whom he had—

1. Donald Gruamach, his successor.
2. Alexander, whose sons fought in Ireland on the side of their kinsman, Sorley Buy.
3. Angus, who had a son, John.
4. Ranald Collach, who had a son, Alexander.
Donald Gallach of Sleat was succeeded by his oldest son,

IV. DONALD GRUAMACH. He married, first, Catherine, daughter of Alexander Macdonald of Clanranald, and had —

1. Donald Gorm, his successor.

He married, secondly, a daughter of Macleod of Lewis, and had —

2; John Og, who married a daughter of Alastair Crotach Macleod of Dunvegan, without issue.
3. Archibald, the Clerk. He had two sons —

(A) Hugh, whose career and fate have already been described. He had a son, Alexander, who appears on record.
(B) Donald.

4. James of Castle Camus, known as Seumas a' Chaisteil, progenitor of Kingsburgh and other families.

He had other sons said to have been natural, viz. : —

5. Alexander.
6. John Dubh.
7. Angus.
8. Alexander. None of these appear to have left traceable posterity.

Donald Gruamach died in 1534
https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/n547/mode/2up...

4th Baron of Sleat and 5th MacDonald clan chief LifeSketch: IV. DONALD GRUAMACH. He married, first, Catherine, daughter of Alexander Macdonald of Clanranald, and had
1. Donald Gorm, his successor.

He married, secondly, a daughter of Macleod of Lewis, and had
2; John Og, who married a daughter of Alastair Crotach Macleod of Dunvegan, without issue.
3. Archibald, the Clerk. He had two sons
(A) Hugh, whose career and fate have already been described. He had a son, Alexander, who appears on record.
(B) Donald.
4. James of Castle Camus, known as Seumas a' Chaisteil, progenitor of Kingsburgh and other families.
He had other sons said to have been natural, viz. :

5. Alexander.
6. John Dubh.
7. Angus.
8. Alexander. None of these appear to have left traceable
posterity.
Donald Gruamach died in 1534, and was succeeded by his oldest son,
V. DONALD GORM.
_______________________________________________

On his uncle's death, which probably took place about 1515-20, Donald Gruamach, who was probably now of age, assumed the leadership of the Clan Uisdein as the fifth chief of his line. We do not find much of his history in the State Records, but it is clear that he did a great deal by his bravery and force of character to raise the status and repair the fortunes of his house. He had a difficult part to play in view of unfriendliness in high places, and no doubt the "grininess" from which he derived his name stood him in good stead in those troublous times.

On 3rd July, 1521, "Donald McDonald Gallych of Dunscayth " entered into a Bond of manrent with Sir John Campbell of Cawdor "to be commyn man and servand to ane honorabyll man Sir John Campbell &c. Knycht both meself and my broder and John McKorkyll Mcloid &c. signed with my hand at the pen at Castle Mear." The following year Colin, Earl of Argyll, assigned to his brother - John Campbell of Cawdor - a Bond of Manrent which had been given to the Earl by "Donald Gromach McDonald Gallach and Alexander McAllan Mcroyrie." This assignation was signed at Inveraray, but the particular day and month are blank.

The year 1523 seems to have been a somewhat eventful one in the life of Donald Gruamach His Bond of Manrent to Cawdor bound him to the service of that chief, and this appears to have led him into courses which do not reflect lustre on his memory. The Chief of Sleat seems to have followed Cawdor in the campaign of the Duke of Albany against England in 1523, which had a somewhat inconclusive and inglorious termination, for we find him among a number of notabilities, who, along with
Cawdor, received a remission for quitting the field, or, as it is called in the Act of Remission, "le hame seek in" while engaged in the siege of Wark Castle. It was probably while on their way home from the borders that Sir John Campbell of Cawdor and his accomplices, among whom was the Chief of Sleat, assassinated Lauchlan Cattanach of Duart. in the burgh of Edinburgh. For those and other offences Donald Gruamach received a remission in Edinburgh on the 15th December, 1523.

In 1524 he entered into an important alliance with the Chief of Mackintosh, and in 1527 he formed a bond of a similar nature with Mackintosh, Munro, Foulis, Rose of Kilravock, the inevitable Cawdor of course heading the list. Donald Gruamach authorises his sign manual to be exhibited as "Donal 1 His with my hand at the pen." These various Bonds of Manrent and alliances in which Donald Gruamach was concerned with mainland chiefs not in his near neighbourhood, show that, his support and co-operation were greatly prized, and that the Clan Uisdein, though technically " broken," was a powerful and influential community to be seriously reckoned with, and whose assistance was greatly prized in those unsettled times. Donald Gruamach received considerable aid from his half-brother, John Mac-Torquil, Chief of the Clan Macleod of Lewis, in his efforts to vindicate his rights, and in 1528 their joint forces were successful in expelling Macleod of Dunvegan and his vassals from the Barony of Troternis. In return for this the Chief of Sleat afforded valuable aid to the Chief of the Clan Toiquil in obtaining effective possession of Lewis.

Macleod of Dunvegan naturally objected to being driven out of Troternish, and at his instance a summons was issued that same year by the Council against both the offending chiefs for this wrongous ejection. As the disturbances in the Isles continued
to increase instead of diminishing, the Privy Council in 1530 ordered the tenants of the Isles, and prominently among them Donald Gruamach and Macleod of Dunvegan, to appear before the King on 24th May, 1530, to commune with him for the good rule
of the Isles. In the course of the same month these two chiefs and seven others of the principal island chiefs sent an offer of submission to the King, who granted them a protection against the Earl of Argyll, provided they came to Edinburgh, or whereever
the King held his Court for the time, before the 30th June, and remain as long as the King required their attendance, the protection to last 20 days after their departure on their way home. In the following year both the chiefs and Ewen Mackinnon of
Strathardill were frequently cited before Parliament, but failed to appear. After 1530 Donald Gruamach's career seems to have been peaceful and uneventful — at any rate we do not again find his name appearing in any of the State records of the time until his
death, which appears to have taken place in 1537.

Source: Wikipedia, Clan Macdonald of Sleat

THE MACDONALDS OF OSTAIG AND CAPSTILL.
This family derives its descent from
I. DONALD, second son of James Macdonald of Castle Camus. He had the same soubriquet as his grandfather, Donald, 4th Baron of Sleat, and was known as Donald Gruamach Mac James, From the frequency of his appearances on record, he must have been regarded as a man of con- sequence in the internal economy of the Clan Uisdein. On 16th May, 1578, John Cunningham of Drumquhassal becomes his surety for appearing before the Council as one of the Chieftains of Donald Gorm Mor, a position that he occupied until his death nearly fifty years later. In 1617, Donald Gruamach Mac James is procurator for Donald Gorm Mor in a precept of Seasing of that year, and is referred to as " Donaldus Mac Conal alias Gruamach Mac James de Ostaig Actornatus."https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/512/mode/2up

• https://castles.today/scotland/caisteal-camus/history/
• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76071187
• https://www.whomarried.com/james-macdonald%2C-1st-of-castle-camus-a...

This James Macdonald was styled of Castle Camus, and was known in his time as Sen may a Chaisteil. He was the founder of the Kingsburgh familyhttps://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/27/mode/1up?q=Camus+&view=theater

James Macdonald of Castle Camus held the bailiary of Sleat https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/28/mode/1up?q...

The fact that James Macdcnald of Castle Camus, the tutor of Sleat after the death of Donald Gorrne- son, consented to divide his authority with the Clan 'Illeasbuig sept of Troternibh, was an acknowledg- ment of the power and influence the latter possessed in that part of Clan Uisdein territory. https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/28/mode/1up?q...

The terrible feud between Donald Gorme and Sir Lauchlan Maclean, entirely the result of a misunder- standing, seems to have terminated in 1589. In that year the Chief of Sleat, his brothers Archibald and Alexander, his grand uncle and former guardian, James Macdonald of Castle Camus, and Hugh Mac Gillesbuig Chleireich, received a remission for all the crimes committed by them against the Macleans. https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/34/mode/1up?q...

This feud between Donald Gorme Mor of Sleat and Rory Mor Macleod of Dunvegan was the occasion for the emergence out of obscurity of one of the bravest, most powerful, and skilful warriors, as well as one of the most interesting characters in the history of the house of Sleat, Donald Macdonald, known in the songs and traditions of the Isles as '" Domhnull Maclain 'Ic Sheumais." He was the grandson of James Macdonald of Castle Camus, late tutor to Donald Gorme Mor, to whom he stood in the relation of second cousin. While part of the story of his life may appropriately fall under the genealogical section, we must make some record of the large part he played at this critical period in the history of the Clan Uisdein. The traditions of the Long Island and Skye are at issue with Sir Robert Gordon, author of the Earls of Sutherland, as to the sequence of the two great fights that signalised this feud, namely, the battles of Culeen arid Carinish. Differing from the authority just referred to, there is good reason to accept the tradition that it was at the battle of Culeen that Domhnull Maclain 'Ic Sheumais made his first appearance as the Achilles of the Clan Uisdein. This warrior spent a great part of his life in Uist, and the traditions of that region have the best claim to credibility as regards the earlier portion of his career. At the battle of Culeen the Macdonalds were...https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/40/mode/1up?q...

THE GENEALOGY OF CLAN DONALD. 469
IV. DONALD GRUAMACH. He married, first, Catherine, daughter of Alexander Macdonald of Clanranald, and had —
1. Donald Gorm, his successor.
He married, secondly, a daughter of Macleod of Lewis, and had —
2; John Og, who married a daughter of Alastair Crotach Macleod of Dunvegan, without issue.
3. Archibald, the Clerk. He had two sons —
(A) Hugh, whose career and fate have already been
described. He had a son, Alexander, who appears on record.
(B) Donald.
4. James of Castle Camus, known as Seumas a? Ckaisteil,
progenitor of Kingsburgh and other families. https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/469/mode/1up?...

470 THE CLAN DONALD.
1. Donald Gorm Mor, his successor.
2. Archibald, the Clerk. He had—
(A) Donald Gorm Og Mac'illesbuig Chleireich, who suc-
ceeded his uncle.
(B) Alexander, who did not leave issue.
(c) Mary, who married, as her 1st husband, Ranald Mac- donald of Benbecula, and 2nd, James Macdonald, grandson of James of Castle Camus.
3. Alexander, who died without issue.

Donald Gormeson of Sleat died in 1585, and was succeeded by his oldest son,
VII. DONALD GORM MOR. https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/470/mode/1up?...

p499 James of Castle Camus, known in his time as
Seumas a Chaisteil, or " James of the Castle,"
married a daughter of Macleod of Harris, by whom
he had two sons. The last time he appears on
the Records of the Privy Council is in 1589, and it
is probable that his death would have taken place
early in the last decade of the 16th century.
During his life he was a strong pillar of the House
of Sleat, and served its interests with fidelity and
devotion. The tribe of the Clann Uisdein, of which
he was the progenitor, were distinctively known
as the Clann Domhnuill Ghruamaich. His sons
were — 500 THE CLAN DONALD.

1. John, who is described on record as the son and heir of

James Mac Donald Gruamacii of Castle Camus.

2. Donald Gruaujach Mac James, Ostaig, of whom the

Macdonalds of Capstill, Balvicquean, &c.

II. John of Castle Camus. He seems to have
predeceased his father, but it is convenient to
reckon him in the genealogy as the second of his
branch. He seems to have incurred the enmity, and
suffered unjust treatment at the hands of the Earl of
Argyll, who, in 1578, imprisoned him in the Castle
of Inchconnell, Lochawe, but was afterwards com-
pelled to liberate him. He was killed in Mull in
1585 in the course of the feud between the families
of Sleat and Duart. He married a lady of the
Clanranald family, by whom he had an only son, his
successor,

III. Donald, who was one of the most remark-
able men in the history of the Clan. Domhnull
Mac Iain 'ic Sheumais, as he was known in the
Western Isles, was born at Moidart, his mother's
native district ; but he was brought up mainly at
Castle Camus, a fact of which there are echoes in his
bardic effusions ; for Donald was not only a warrior
but a poet of no mean order, and snatches of his
songs long lingered among the people of Skye and
Uist. Like his contemporaries, he did not receive
the education which may be described as literary,
but he was from his boyhood a great expert in the
use of sword and bow, a species of culture highly
useful at a time when the pen was not yet mightier
than the sword. Tradition describes him as large-
boned, of a heavy if not lubberly gait, and of a
moody cast of countenance, predisposed to habits of
thoughtful ness and retirement, yet, under provoca-
tion, quick in his movements ; terrible when roused,
and prompt in the hour of action. His sword, which

THE GENEALOGY OE CLAN DONALD. 501

he named " Culg Mharg," because five merks was the
price he paid for it, was a terror wherever his name
was known, always ready to be drawn in the cause of
right, and to be the avenger of the blood of injured
innocence. It never suffei'ed defeat. From an early
age he was the undisguised enemy of the Macleods,
never as the aggressor, but as the defender of the
interests of his chief and people. He distinguished
himself as a warrior on many occasions, but the
circumstances are forgotten, save in the conspicuous
instances of Coolin and Carinish, which have been
duly chronicled in the history of the family of Sleat.
At the battle of Carinish he was wounded in the
foot, and judging by the song of Nic Coiseim, his
foster-mother, also in the body. He was conveyed
to a house in Carinish with the arrow sticking in the
flesh, and tradition has it that Nic Coiseim procured
a band of women, whom she arranged around a
waulking board, and who joined in a loud Luinneag
to drown his complaints while the arrow was being
extracted and the wound bound. This is a highly
improbable story about the heroic Mac Iain, which
probably had its origin in the fancy of his foes.

•Donald Mac Iain's occupation in times of peace
was that of a drover or cattle dealer, and he is said
to have been the first man who ever ferried cattle
from Skye to Uist. When he travelled from home
he took with him a staff of " Gilliemores," or big
stalwart fellows who " breathed to do his bidding,"
and we doubt not but in the unsettled state of the
Highlands he needed their warlike prowess and his
own trusty Cuiy Mha^y to protect his herds on the
way to Southern trysts. In his early days he lived
at Eriskay, which he held from Clanranald, and
which was occupied by several generations of his

502 THE CLAN DONALD.

descendants. He afterwards lived at Carinish, the
scene of one of his greatest exploits, and of this we
have evidence in a contract of marriage in which he
appears as cautioner in 1626.

It must be admitted that Donald Maciain, who
had been such a pillar of the house of Sleat, received
tardy recognition of his valuable services. Many
years passed without his receiving an inch of ground
on the territories of the family for which he had
fought and bled. At last a clansman and fellow
bard, the keen-witted John Lom of Lochaber, took
up the cudgels for his friend. Donald had set his
heart upon the lands of Airdviceolan in Trotternish,
but another was preferred. John Lom, on hearing
how the grand old warrior had been treated, went
all the way from Lochaber to Duntulm and recited
half a dozen verses laden with the fiercest invective
in the hearing of Sir Donald, first baronet of Sleat.
" In the name of the Almighty desist," said Sir
Donald in Gaelic. " I have more," said the per-
sistent wrong-righter. " You have more than
enough," replied the baronet. " Have you a place
for Domhnull Mac Iain 'ic Sheumais ?" returned the
bard. " We will get a place for him," was the
reply. "If not," said the bard, "you will hear of it
on the deafer ear." The scathing tongue of John
Lom won for the Macdonald hero what his own
merits had been unable to secure, and the voice of
tradition has it that Donald got the farm of Cuid-
reach in liferent. Tradition is in this detail amply
supported by documentary evidence. It was, how-
^ever, a tack for a certain number of years, which
certainly extended very considerably beyond the
lifetime of Maciain, for in 1660, long after his death,
we find his" widow P^d son in possession of the lands

THE GENEALOGY OE CLAN DONALD. 503

in question. These included not only Cuidreach
proper, but also Arnishbeg, Arnishmore, and Glen-
tinistle. Donald appears on record in 1648, but he
must have been pretty well advanced in years, and
we find no further notice of him. He spent a good
deal of his old age in the house of his daughter, wife
of Macleod of Gesto, a bold, irascible, and proud
churl, who used to taunt her with being " Nighean
aireach liath nam bo," or " the daughter of the
grey-headed herdsman." Donald is said to have
died at Gesto, and the date may probably be fixed
as 1650. He married a daughter of Macdonald
of Keppoch, and had issue —
https://archive.org/stream/clandonald03macd/clandonald03macd_djvu.txt

THE GENEALOGY OF CLAN DONALD. 501
he named " Cuig Mharg," because five merks was the price he paid for it, was a terror wherever his name was known, always ready to be drawn in the cause of right, and to be the avenger of the blood of injured innocence. It never suffered defeat. From an early age he was the undisguised enemy of the Macleods, never as the aggressor, but as the defender of the interests of his chief and people. He distinguished himself as a warrior on many occasions, but the circumstances are forgotten, save in the conspicuous instances of Coolin and Carinish, which have been duly chronic-led in the history of the family of Sleat. At the battle of Carinish he was wounded in the foot, and judging by the song of Nic C6iseim, his foster-mother, also in the body. He was conveyed to a house in Carinish with the arrow sticking in the flesh, and tradition has it that Nic Coiseim procured a band of women, whom she arranged around a waulking board, and who joined in a loud Luinneag to drown his complaints while the arrow was being extracted and the wound bound. This is a highly improbable story about the heroic Mac Iain, which probably had its origin in the fancy of his foes..... https://archive.org/details/clandonald03macduoft/page/501/mode/1up?...