European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Scotland by Donald Smith National geographic Andrew Macpherson adjusts the Kilt Over his paunch raises the charmed sword High overhead and with a sudden guttural ferocity proclaims his clan s gaelic War cry Creag Shubh Calann Chatain Black Rock of clan Chattan Macpherson a bespectacled 64-year old retired railway Engineer with thinning Ginger coloured hair Lowers the Broadsword after a few swipes in the air. With his thumb he tests the age darkened steel Edge of this artefact of past Macpherson glories. No one carrying this sword has Ever been wounded in Battle he says. That s the legend Macpherson is curator of the clan Macpherson museum in Newtonmore Scotland a place of tartan hangings Heather wreaths and ancestral memories. With 3,000 members worldwide nearly half in the United states where the name is generally spelled Mcpherso Macpherson is one of the largest of More than 40 family associations of scots and their descendants. They Are found wherever scots have settled around the Globe including Canada Australia new zealand South Africa the West indies and the far East. Though exact totals Are hard to come by All indications Are that clan Rolls Are steadily increasing especially outside Scotland where sentimental reflections on the Homeland seem to be strongest. There is a very visible revival of the old clan societies clan chiefs and International gatherings of the clans says Edinburgh University s William Gillies an authority on celtic culture virtually anyone with a Trace of scottish ancestry is eligible for membership in one clan or another. We have members in every state in the Union except North Dakota says the current chairman of the . Branch of clan Macpherson Larry Lee Mcpherson of grand rapids Mich. We re trying to recruit somebody the status of scottish clans today is very different from the past when each clan was almost a self contained kingdom providing a semblance of government in the otherwise Lawless rugged isolation of the Highlands and Western Isles. But now As then clan life still revolves around the clan chieftain. At the Heads of these clan organizations Are chaps who if you saw them in London would just Wear three piece Pinstripe suits like anybody else Gillies said. But when they put on their fur and feathers they look quite the current head of clan Macpherson is sir William a. Macpherson a tall 64-year old judge in London. Andrew Macpherson displays the charmed sword a relic of the family s history. Old clans live on around the Globe Macpherson s family tree includes a famed clan chieftain who in 1745 sided with the Catholic pretender Charles Edward Stuart Bonnie Prince Charlie in the disastrous Highland uprising he led against King George ii. Ewan Macpherson a Captain in the government s Black watch Highlands regiment at the time of the rebellion spent seven years hiding in Woods and caves on his Large estate around Newtonmore. Despite a substantial Price on his head his Loyal clansmen never disclosed his whereabouts. Today s chief owns a fortified Stone House in Blairgowrie Scotland where he occasionally entertains visiting family delegations in near Royal style. Like other clan chieftains William Macpherson spends much of each year presiding Over clan activities around the world numerous scottish games an International gathering of Macpherson in Newtonmore each August and a september gathering in the United states. Last year s . Gathering was held in Mcpherson kan., named for maj. Gen. James Birdseye Mcpherson who led the army of Tennessee during the civil War. Sir William performed his usual ceremonial duties at elaborate i driers a family business meeting and a Kirking Blessing of the As much deference As clan members show to sir William and his wife lady Sheila it is nothing compared to the status clan chieftains enjoyed in the old Days when they ruled with absolute autonomy. They settled quarrels among their families and others in their regions dispensed Justice and provided Protection from marauding neighbors. In Exchange they received the fervent loyalty of their followers gifts and when needed armed men to defend their interests usually against cattle thieves from nearby Glens. The reason they were not As formidable As they might have been was / that they were always fighting each other says Gillies. You re really talking about chaps who Felt they were atop a Pyramid. It did t matter that it was a Small Gillies traces the Long decline of the chieftains influence to England s restoration period in the 1660s, when King Charles began a deliberate Campaign of encouraging the chieftains to think of. Themselves less As Independent local warlords and More As Royal courtiers. The failure of the rising of 45" Jed to 30 years of brutal suppression of the clans including outlawing the wearing of tartan and the playing of bagpipes which were considered weapons of War. As economic hard times closed in chieftains who managed to hold onto their land increasingly displaced their tenant Farmers planting forests and creating grazing lands for sheep. Those same chieftains actually destroyed the ground on which they stood says Gillies. The period of the Highland clearances in the late 18th and most of the.l9th centuries took away their these trends resulted in the dispersal of scots throughout the world. The clan chieftains became estate managers and the Highlands and islands took on the aspect of brooding desolation that Many visitors now perceive. Relics in the Macpherson museum include a shattered fiddle. Celebrated in Robert Burns poem Macpherson s Farewell the fiddle purportedly belonged to James Macpherson Bastard son of a Clansman and a Beautiful Gypsy. He became Captain of a band of Freebo Oters who roamed the Northern counties of Scotland stealing according to the family from the Rich. Eventually James Macpherson was caught and sentenced to hang. While on the scaffold legend has it he took out his fiddle and played Macpherson s lament a tune he had composed in prison. Vowing that the fiddle would never be played again the handsome Young outlaw smashed it and went bravely to his death. January 20, 1994 stripes Magazine
