Sir Norman MACLEOD (I of Berneray)

BIRTH: ABT 1614, Isle of Berneray
DEATH: 3 MAR 1705
BURIAL: St. Clements,Rodel,Isle of Harris,Scotland

REFERENCE: 12

Father: Sir_Roderick Ruairidh_Mor MACLEOD
Mother: Isabel MACDONALD

Family 1: Margaret MACKENZIE

                                                                                                       _William Dubh MACLEOD _______________
                                                                 _Alexander Alisdair_Crotach MACLEOD _|_[Daughter] MACLAINE ________________
                                      _Tormod [Norman] MACLEOD _|
                                     |                          |                                      _____________________________________
                                     |                          |_[youngest_dau] CAMERON _____________|_____________________________________
 _Sir_Roderick Ruairidh_Mor MACLEOD _|
|                                    |                                                                 _____________________________________
|                                    |                           _Hector Mor MACLEAN _________________|_____________________________________
|                                    |_Giles Julia MACLEAN _____|
|                                                               |                                      _____________________________________
|                                                               |_____________________________________|_____________________________________
|
|--Sir Norman MACLEOD 
|
|                                                                                                      _____________________________________
|                                                                _____________________________________|_____________________________________
|                                     _Donald MACDONALD ________|
|                                    |                          |                                      _____________________________________
|                                    |                          |_____________________________________|_____________________________________
|_Isabel MACDONALD __________________|
                                     |                                                                 _____________________________________
                                     |                           _Allan MACDONALD ____________________|_____________________________________
                                     |_Margaret MACDONALD ______|
                                                                |                                      _Alexander Alisdair_Crotach MACLEOD _
                                                                |_[Daughter] MACLEOD _________________|_[youngest_dau] CAMERON _____________

INDEX

Notes

!BIOGRAPHY: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Baronet, THE BARONAGE OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, 1798, p. 381. I. Norman, afterwards Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, third son of Sir Roderick of that ilk, was the first of this family, a man of singular honour and integrity, a sincere and steady loyalist. We have already observed how readily he repaired to the king's standard in the year 1650, and was lieutenant-colonel of the regiment of Macleods, who were almost all either killed or taken prisoners, at the unfortunate battle of Worcester, anno 1651, and transported to the plantations. Sir Norman was also taken prisoner and carried to England, where he was detained about 18 months, during which time he underwent a trial for his life by the English law, upon the supposition of his being a Welshman, from the affinity of the surnames App-Loid and Macleod; but he being well known to the principal officers in the Scotch army, was easily proven to be a Scotsman, upon which there was a sist of the procedure, and he was remanded back to prison. He then had an offer of his liberty, if he would take an oath of fidelity to the usurper, etc. but that he would by no means comply with. However, being a man of fine address, and greatly esteemed, he got his escape made, and with much difficulty got home to his own country, where he contributed all in his power for disposing the people to exert themselves for bringing about a restoration of the royal family; and, as observed in the preceding title, was at the meeting of the chieftains at Glenelg in 1653, and was employed to carry the account of the resolutions to the king. [see RIN 29] He cheerfully undertook the honourable embassy, delivered his credentials into his majesty's own hands, and was most graciously received, as the importance of such a message deserved. When he got his audience of leave of the king, he was entrusted with letters to the principal people of the loyal party in Scotland, and desired to return by the way of Holland, where general Middleton then was; from thence he conveyed the supply of arms and ammunition provided there to the highlanders, all which he faithfully delivered. It is already observed that after the king's troops were entirely routed, how general Middleton, etc. etc. etc. retired to the Macleod's estate, where they found a safe asylum. Sir Norman contributed greatly in providing them with necessaries, and getting them safely transported beyond seas. In the end of the year 1659, sir Norman was employed by king Charles II. to solicit the king of Denmark to furnish him with a certain number of troops to enable him to regain his kingdoms. Sir Norman was so far successful as to prevail with his Danish majesty to agree to furnish 10,000 men, with proper officers, who were actually making ready to embark for Scotland when accounts came to Denmark of his majesty's happy restoration. Immediately thereafter, he waited upon the king at London, was most kindly received by his majesty, and had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him with his brother _____, which was all the reward he got at that time for his great sufferings and faithful services. About two years thereafter, he went to London a second time, and had the honour to present to his majesty, with his own hands, a memorial setting forth his services, sufferings, etc. His majesty was so sensibly affected with it, that he got a most favourable deliverance upon it, with an order to put him in possession of Assint's estate, which t'was thought would have been forfeited for his having corresponded with the king's enemies, betrayed Montrose, etc. but Assint compared, stood his trial, and having proved his innocence, he was acquitted, so that Sir Norman reaped no benefit by this second journey to London. He married, 1st, Margaret, only child of John Mackenzie of Lochflyne, second son of Kenneth twelfth baron of Kintail, and brother german of Colin first earl of Seaforth, by whom he had only one son, John Macleod of Contilich, of whom afterwards. He married, 2dly, Catharine Macdonald, eldest daughter of sir James Macdonald of Slate, by whom he had _____ sons and three daughters. 1. William of Luskinder, who married Margaret, daughter of Captain Alexander Mackenzie of Suddy, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. 1. Alexander Macleod, now of Luskinder, Esq.; 2. Roderick Macleod writer to the signet, who married, 1st, Isabel, only daughter of Hector Bannatyne of Kaims, Esq; in Bute, by whom he hath issue a son, Bannatyne-William Macleod, Esq; advocate, and four daughters: And 2dly, Marjory Taylor, daughter of John Taylor writer in Inverary. William of Luskinder's first daughter, Margaret, married to Ronald Macdonald of Clanranald, and had issue 2. Alice, married to Roderick Macneil late of Barra, father of Roderick of Barra, who was killed at Quebec, and left issue a son, Roderick Macneil, now of Barra, Esq; Sir Norman had another son, sir Alexander Macleod, bred to the law, who was eminent in his profession, and made a great figure at the bar. He died without issue. Sir Norman's 1st daughter, Isabel, was married to Roderick Macneil of Barra. 2. Marian, married to Donald Maclean of Coll, and was mother of Hugh Maclean now of Coll. 3. Catharine, married 1st to Alexander Macleod of Rasay: 2dly, to Angus Macdonald of Scothouse, brother-german of Alexander of Glengary.

!BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, and Alick Morrison, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, p. 24. Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East Kilbride, Scotland, 1986.

!MENTION: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS--THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section II, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1968, p. 25. Norman was born in the island of Berneray in the Sound of Harris, where the Chiefs of Harris and Dunvegan had a mansion house, where they resided for periods after they had given up the castle on the Isle of Pabbay. No doubt, the mansion house in Berneray was "MacLeods wonted hall" or the "hall of the wine cups" referred to by the bardess Mairi nighean Alasdair Ruaidh. Part of that building is still standing and an examination of its structure, especially the windows, indicate that it is some 400 years old. A marble slab above the door bears a Latin inscription: Hic natus est illustris ille Normannus MacLeod de Berneray, eques auratus (Here is born the illustrious Norman MacLeod of Berneray, distinguished knight). Norman's Contract of Fosterage in Gaelic still survives and is dated the 8th October, 1614. It reads as follows: "This is the condition and agreement in which MacLeod is giving his son, namely, Norman to John son of the son of Kenneth and this the condition on which he is with John, namely, if so be that John die first, the child to be with his wife until she gets a husband for herself, but the guardianship of the child to belong to Angus, son of the son of Kenneth, so long as she remains unmarried, and so soon as a man marries her, the child to be with Angus himself from that time during his life, and if his brother, namely Donald, the son of the son of Kenneth be the longer liver after Angus, the child shall be with Donald in like manner; and MacLeod has a son's share in the stock during the lifetime of three, namely himself, and his son, the heir, namely John, the son of MacLeod and Norman, this foster child of John, the son of the son of Kenneth, against John and against Angus son of the son of Kenneth and against Donald son of the son of Kenneth and against the two sons of Donald, the son of Murdoch, namely John and Donald, and against the two sons of Duncan son of Donald and against Brian son of the son of Murdoch and against Gillichalum MacPherson: and this is the stock which John son of the son of Kenneth puts in possession of the child, Norman, namely four mares and the other four, which MacLeod put in his possession, along with the three mares, which he promised to him, when he took him to his bosom; and the charge and keeping of these seven mares, which MacLeod gave to the child shall be with John son of the son of Kenneth, in order to put them to increase for his foster son; and the care and keeping of the four mares, which John son of the son of Kenneth gave to his foster son shall be with MacLeod to put them to increase for him in like manner: and these are the witnesses to this, namely Mr. Ewen MacQueen, minister of Duirinish, Donald, son of Black Paul and John MacColgan, minister of Bracadale and Turlough O'Murgheassa. Now, the Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord, One thousand, six hundred and fourteen." [Cameron, CELTIC LAW.] John son of the son of Kenneth (alias John MacKenzie) was really a Campbell of Harris. He is an ancestor of the Campbells of Strond though at this early date they probably did not hold that tack. He would probably be styled John of "Houseanis", i.e., Hushinish, for he lived in close proximity to the Forest of Harris. His brother Angus, held the farm of Luskintyre and his descendants later became the Campbells of Scalpay. Donald, the youngest son, held the island of Taransay. Turlough O'Murgheasa is most interesting and seems to have been a scion of the O'Muirgheasains of Inishowen in Ireland, who supplied the classic Gaelic Bards of MacLeod at the end of the 16th century and during the following century as well. It would appear as if young Norman was reared close to the Forest of Harris and this lends particular interest to Mairi nighean Alasdair Ruaidh's frequent references to his love of hunting. By the statutes of Iona, 1609, reinforced by the Privy Council in 1646, "every gentleman or yeoman, worth 60 cows, must send at least their eldest son to be educated in the Lowlands to speak, read and write "the vulgar Inglis toung". We find in the Muniments of Glasgow University that Iain Mor attended the institution in 1624; his brother Roderick of Talisker was there in 1625 and Norman of Berneray and William of Hamer attended the University in 1631 and 1632. Papers detailing the payment of the expenses of the last two "Students" are still to be seen in Dunvegan Castle. Norman seems to have left the University in 1632 and 1633, when, as his grandson, Alexander MacLeod of Luskintyre, calculates, he entered upon the liferent of the farm of Berneray, granted to him by his father, Sir Rory Mor. This liferent included the island of Berneray, where Norman resided, with its pertinents in the Sound of Harris, such as Hermetray, Obisay, Tahay, Nertay, Hermetry, Vacasay, Sursay, Torogay, Votersay and Sarstay. It also, according to John Campbell of Strond's statement in 1746, included such districts on the mainland of Harris as Nisabost, Geocrab, Bunavineattora and Airdhasaig. We find these districts closely associated with Berneray until the 19th century and indeed afford the explanation for the annual practice of the tenants of Berneray sending their horses as far north as the Forest of Harris which lasted until about 1810. It is also interesting to remember that Norman possessed the district of Shiaby in Berneray, while he was still a minor. Sir Norman lives immortal in the Gaelic poetry of Mary MacLeod. He is a man of commanding presence, with countenance "full fair and shapely", curling locks "as yellow as harpstrings, with clear eyes, "as blue as the blaeberry" set by cheeks "as red as the berry of the dogrose". [Watson, GAELIC POETRY OF MARY MACLEOD.] He possessed books, among which was the devotional classic, Thomas a Kempis' IMITATION OF CHRIST. He took a warm interest in Gaelic poetry, history and antiquities. There is reason to believe he could read Gaelic for he studied the works of the classic bards in order to glean information on the genealogy of the Clans, a subject in which he was "well vers'd". He was a generous patron [CLAN MACLEOD MAGAZINES, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965.] of the bards, tale tellers, harpers and pipers and no mean judge of their skill. Neil MacVurich, the Clanranald bard described him as the "Lamp of true history" and the "Protector of true learning" in the "delightful blue land of the Gael". Duncan O'Murgheasain went further and described Berneray House as "the haloed banqueting hall of Fionnghall". Above all he was the generous patron of Mary MacLeod (Mairi nighean Alasdair Ruaidh) whose brilliant poetry was breaking new ground in the vernacular used by the people at the time. Tradition in Berneray proclaims that he gave the bardess a house ("Tobhta Mairi" or "Toghta nan Craogh") and that it was situated close to Berneray House. Norman MacLeod certainly impressed Highlanders of his own generation for he was undoubtedly "a man of singular honour and integrity, a sincere and steady loyalist". [Douglas, BARONAGE]. These qualities were epitomized by the great MacLeod bardess in the Gaelic words "Seirbhiseach dileas Cruin" (devoted servant of the Crown). She went further and challenged any Gael or Saxon to prove that any deceit could be found in her hero. She speaks the truth. In 1650, Norman MacLeod was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the MacLeod Regiments raised to fight against the tyrannical dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell and the Rump Parliament of the England. Along with his elder brother, Roderick MacLeod of Talisker, he fought gallantly at the battle of Worcester on the 3rd September 1651. Though heavily outnumbered, the Highlanders proved more than a match for the redoubtable Ironsides and but for the traitorous behaviour of Sir David Leslie and the cavalry, might well have won the day. Cromwell, a brilliant general and experienced campaigner admitted it was his hardest contest. The MacLeod contingent was practically wiped out: Roderick of Talisker managed to escape from the fatal field: Norman of Berneray was captured and kept in close confinement in the Tower of London for 18 months. Because of the affinity of his name with the Welsh ap Lloyd, he was indicted on a charge of high treason, which involved the death penalty. A flaw in the indictment led to a sist in the proceedings and probably saved his life. [Douglas, BARONAGE OF SCOTLAND] It was then learned that he was a Scotsman, well known to many of the prisoners of the Scottish Army. On 27th August 1652, Lieut. Col. MacLeod petitioned to be set free. His petition was referred to the Committee for Prisoners, who were to examine him and report what should be done with him (State Papers: Domestic: England, p. 383). On the 28th October, the petitions of Lt. Col. MacLeod and Major Alexander MacLeod were referred to the Committee for Examination to report (ib. 454). On the 30th October, Lt. Col. MacLeod and Major Alexander were to be released as others provided they accepted the same conditions as others, i.e., take the "test" and accept the rule of Cromwell and the Rump Parliament of England, and the Committee of Examinations were to take their bail accordingly (ib. 463). On 25th December 1652, it is clear that Lt. Col. MacLeod had refused to take the "test". Accordingly, on that date, Lt. Col. MacLeod's petition for leave to return to his family in Scotland, was laid aside (ib. p. 59). Finally he escaped from the Tower, returned to the Highlands and loyally undertook to carry out exceedingly dangerous missions to the Continent of Europe with a view to restoring the Monarchy in Britain. These missions he successfully executed, so that attempts were made in 1654 at Stornoway and Lochgarry to overturn the hated Cromwellian regime. These attempts failed. In 1655, Roderick, the young chief of the MacLeods, had at last to capitulate and had to pay a monstrous fine. The articles of capitulation expressly excluded the Chief's two uncles, Roderick of Talisker and Norman of Berneray. In 1657, Roderick of Talisker was pardoned. Norman of Berneray, however, still refused to yield and such a close watch was kept on his movements in the Isles that he was forced to flee to the Continent for at least a couple of years. In 1659 he was sent by Charles II to King Frederick III of Denmark to negotiate for assistance to the royalist cause. He succeeded in getting a promise of 10,000 men with proper officers and equipment. Preparations for their dispatch were well advanced, when the welcome news was heard that England had regained her sanity and in the person of General Monk, Cromwellian Governor in Scotland, had decided to recall the Monarchy. In 1660, Norman and his brother Roderick visited the court in London and were deservedly knighted for their loyal services. In 1662, Sir Norman was again at court and the King promised him the estates of MacLeod of Assynt, who was held to have assisted the King's enemies. Assynt, however, claimed pardon under the Act of Indemnity and Oblivion and the Scottish courts decided in his favour. Hence Sir Norman could not get any reward from that quarter. The King, however, appeared to be determined to give him some reward, for in 1675 he persuaded the heir to the Duke of Argyle to hand over his rights to the estates of Hector Roy MacLean of Coll to Sir Norman MacLeod of Berneray. [Papers in the Register House, Edinburgh.] To his eternal honour, Sir Norman refused to take advantage of this offer and soon afterwards handed over his estates to the Laird of Coll, who had lost them through financial embarrassment occasioned by his loyalty to the royalist cause. Sir Norman died on the 3rd March 1705 and was buried in the Churchyard of St. Clement's in Rodel, Harris. He married as his first wife, Margaret, only daughter of John MacKenzie 1st of Lochslinn and as her tocher (dowry) received the districts of Dunglas, Balblair, Knockteid and the 1/4 land of Balnain. They had issue, an only son. Sir Norman married as his second wife, Catherine, eldest daughter of Sir James Mor MacDonald, 2nd Baronet of Sleat. Her father promised her a dowry of 20,000 marks, but as he was in no position to pay it, he allowed Sir Norman to possess the district of Clachan Sand in North Uist. This district comprised the farms of Kylis, Bailemhicphaill, Goulabie, Vallaquie, Reimsgarry, Upper and Lower Clachan. In 1698, the promise was fulfilled and Sir Norman accompanied by his son, James, and William Martin collected the money in Duntuilm Castle. The money was collected in bags and stored in a strong box in Dunvegan Castle. With this money Sir Norman now bought a wadset of lands in Harris from Roderick 19th Chief of the MacLeods. These lands comprised the districts of Hushinish, Fladay, Malaig, Scarp, Luskintyre, Taransay, Horgabost and Shellibost. From this second marriage, Sir Norman had issue.

!SOURCE: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS -- THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section II, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1968, p. 88.

!SOURCE: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Bart., THE PEERAGE OF SCOTLAND, Vol. 2, Second Edition, John Philip Wood, Esq., Editor, Edinburgh, 1813, p. 13.

Created by Sparrowhawk 1.0 (4/17/1996) on Mon Apr 2 10:50:28 2001