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Of John McComie Mor who died at Crandart, Parish of Glenisla,Farfarshire,Scot.Jan 12,1676, it has been written that,`In few districts in Scot has the memory of a man who died ove r325 years ago,been kept living so vividly by tradition as that of McComie mor,in Glenshee and Glenisla.After his death the family seperated,of his known living chidren, Angus resuming the old name of McThomas, went S. into Fifeshie, while Donald, kept the name McComie, and went N. to Aberdeenshire.Alexander was known only to have a duaghter, and Thomas just vanished from record (?) Not long Afterwards McComie descendents were found in the great emigration of Scots to N.Ireland,thence representatives of the family under the variouse forms of the name, found their way to America and other continents around the world.
Ref: `McComber Genealogy,pp8,9,Stackpole.SA Dewick,Ancestry of John S. Gustin, pp 119 to 123.
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According to the Kinara MS, as for the MacIntoshes of Glenshee, Strathardle, and Glenisla were all descended from a natural son of William 7th of MacIntosh,by name Adam,whose period would be 14th and 15th centuries. ((` M'Ane M'Thomas`--Adam son of John son of Thomas--is one of the signatories of the Clan Chattan Band in 1543, and the conjuction of names suggests the great probability that this person was a descent of the earlier Adam and an ancestor of the McComies, later McCombies.))His grandfather Thomas, may have been the eponymus of the sept, but perhaps this honour is more likely to the later Thomas,who seems to be described as `Mor` and who is stated in the Brouchdearg MS. to have married the duaghter of Wiiliam, eldest son of Finla Mor Farquharson.
Kinara speaks of this 14th century Adam as living at Garvamore in Badenoch, and Adams descendent (John MacIntosh of Forter) in the early 17th century told Sir Aeneas MacPherson that his prodecessor was of the `House of Garvarmore`. But in 1571 Adams race are found in Glenshee, and in a feu-charter of Finegand granted to John M'Comie Mor in that year he stated to have occupied that place from of old ( ab antiquo). In the Act of 1587, the `Clan M'Thomas`, in Glenshee, is among the ````clannis that hes capitanes,cheffis,and chiftanes quhom on they depend oft tymes aganis the willis of thair landislordis,```` and in that of 1594,`M'Thomas in Glenshee` is one of the surnames in the list of broken clans.
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It was perhaps in view of the evident determination of Government, as displayed in these Acts, to fix responsibility for the `disorbourit subjects` of the Highlands, that the band of 31 March 1595 already referred to was given to the chief of MacIntosh by the Farquharson and the Perthshire MacIntoshes, one of the later being `Robert McColme of the tome in Glenshee`. Robert may perhaps be regarded as head of his name, probably son of Thomas mentioned in Brouch. MS. and brother of the `John M'Comie Mor, who on 9 Sept, 1571 obtained a feu-charter of the four merk lands of Finegand and shealing of Glenbeg, with the pertinents from Thomas Scott Pitgorno, and who has John MaKomy jr if Finniezeand, with Janet Farquharson his spouse, on 6 Nov.1582 gets a charter from Thomas Scott of Abotshall of his (Johns) fourth part of Binzeanmore, and on 20 Nov, a chater of `all the whole , the half of all and hail the toun and lands of Meikle Binzean. Robert is several times mentioned in P.C. Register as `in`, `or`, of Thome (a holding close to the Spital of Glenshee). For seizing the lands of Spital in 1594 he and his neighbor of Dalmunzie were called before the Council, and Robert , not appearing was denounced a rebel. On 27 Nov.1599 Robert and his wife obtain from John Wemyss of Wemyss a feu-charter and whole the toun and lands of Thom, on which sasine was given, but he did not long enjoy it, as in Oct.1603 Barbara Rattray(relict of Robert M'Comie) is mentioned as having married Alexander Farquharson. Robert left no son, and on 5 Oct.1616 his dua. Elspet M'Intosh is infeft in the lands, which she shortly afterwards transferred to Alex. Farq., of Allenquoich, her stepfather.
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The next of the family who appears in the record is `John ` styles John M'Intosh of Finnezeand in the charter of part of Meikle Binzean, in the Borony of Middle Downie, which he recieved in 1647, and probably son of John of 1571. Soon afterwards, between 1651 and 1653, he abtained from Lord Airlie a wadset of Forter in Glenisla, and as of Forter he is best known, although occasionally styled ` of Crandart` a place in the barony of Forter on which he built a house in 1660. He is first found as of Forter as a witness of a charter of the half lands of Innerviddrie in 1653.
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With his nieghbor and cousin Farquharson of Brouchdearg he joined the Chief of Macintosh at the Kirk of Insh in 1665 for the expidition angainst Locheil, but soon afterwards, a fued arose between them Forter and Brouchdearg families which was carried on until 1673 by both law process and force of arms and was attended with seriouse loss of life on both sides. (The Skirmish at McComie Field).
John leaving 5 sons, James, Thomas,Angus,Alexander, Donald. Two others were killed in the fight previousely mentioned, John and Robert.. James died before 2 Jan.1677, when his brother Thomas was served his heir. Thomas M'Intosh of Forter is named in the commision of Sept.1681 against Keppoch, and as of Crandart, is witness on 28 Feb.1685 to a disposition of liferent by Donald M'Kenzie `alias` Wilson, of Tome in favour of Elspet M'Intosh, his wife. Alkexander succeeded Thomas, and is stated to have given up Forter. Neither he nor his next brother Angus, is known to have left male issue, but Alexander is stated by the Rev. L. Shaw to have had a dua. Elizabethm who m. Duncan, a younger brother of Brigadier MacIntosh of Borlum, and in Minor Septs, by Dr. Fraser-MacIntosh mentions the interesting fact that some of Elpsets kinsmen accompanied her to Inverness-shire and settled near Borlum, their descendents being known generaly as MacIntoshes, but among themselves as M'Omies.
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With the loss of Forter, probably due to impoversishment which Mr. M'Combie Smith traces, through the Airlie litigation and the Farquharson feud, to John M'Comie Mor's unfortunate change of sides of the Cival War, the connections with Perthshire came to and end, and in the history of the family eneterd a new phase. Donald(said to be the youges of Johns seven sons) moved to the Vale of Alford in Aberdeenshire, where he is found settled in 1696, and where adopting the old alias of M'Comie as their sole designation.(with the insertion of a letter (b) making it M'Combie. The family grew and prospered, Donald d. 1714, and his son Robert was the father of William who rented Lynturk and by his wife Marjory Wishart had seven sons and three daughters. Thomas, 5th son, a magistrate of Aberdeen, bought the lands of JellyBrands, Asleid and Easter Skene, Peter 6th son, bought the Barony of Lynturk, and Charles , 7th son. bought Tillyfour.
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The eldest son Thomas of EasterSkene, of the fourth generation from John M'Intosh, of Forter, was William M'Combie, the well known Laird of EasterSkene, who was regarded as head of the sept. He in 1831 married Katherine Forbes, the eldest dua. of Major Alex. Forbes of Inverernan, but his only son died in boyhood, and on his own death on 4 July 1890, at the age of 88.His estates of EasterSkene amd Lynturk ( the latter which he inherited from his uncle Peter, who died s.p.), passed to this nephew, Peter duguid ( son of his sister Margaret and Mr.S.Duguid of Cammahmore), who in terms of deed of entail assumed the additional name of Arms of McCombie.The second son of Charles of Tillyfour, also named William, b 1805, was the destinguished agriculturist and cattle breeder(famous for his Black Angus Breed), in 1875, purchased Tillyfour from his elder brothers. In 1668, while still only a tenant farmer, though on a large scale, he was elected Member of Parliament for West Aberdeenshire, and held the seat until 1876, when he retired from Parliamentary life. He died at Tillyfour 1 Feb. 1880
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Roger.F.Pye maintained that the name is certainly a phonetic form of the Gailic MacThom (son of Thomas)which was pronounced (McHome) and also says there is nothing impossible about the Highland variation of McColms, for there are other families in Galloway with the same traditions. `The McKies in Galloway for ex claim descent from the MacKays, whos territory was in Sutherland, at the extreme other end of Scotland.The MacDowells of Galloway are descent of the MacDougalls of the Firth of Lorne. The key to such transplantations was the sea, for as the journey over land from the highlands down to Galloway, would have been in those early days, would have been so tuff with difficulties, as to daunt the most adventurous traveler`.
The galleys of the clans of the western Highlands and Isles rabged freely along the rugged wester seaboard of Scotland. From Cape Wrath, to the Mull of Galloway.
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Aberdeen Angus Breed
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As for the lowland Clan MacThomas Southerners located in Galloway, also known to descend from the house of MacIntosh aswell, RFP, a member of the Clan McThomas Society in Scotland, a clan historian and a well known author, has written much on these MacIntosh familes, such as the McThomas, McCombie, Thomas, Thoms, ` and took the septs in actaul order that they branched off from fom main stem of the clan (MacIntosh). Without a doubt he begins with the Clan ``MacColm``,and claims the family ` for atleast the better part of 5 centuries` has been concentrated infact in Galloway, in the ``extreme`` southwest corner of Scotland.
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As early as 1479 he finds one John MaKcom holding a tenement in the Parish of Wigtown. ``It would have only required one such fifteenth century migrant to account for all the McCombs in the Southwest and their offshoots, for whom we classify them as the Clan MacThomas South.`` In the early spelling of the name it was exceedingly variable, and reflects on Dr. Blacks mention of the following, all of them in the vicinty of Galloway. Gilchrist Mackome at Cassillis( Ayrshire) in 1528, Roger M'Com, at Netherglen (Kirkcudbright) in 1679, Robert McKome at Carsfern (Kirkcudbright) in 1684, and in the same year further induviduals in Wigtownshire and Minnigaff (Kirkcudbright) useing the spellings McColm, McCome and McKcom. Besides these of Blacks he had found, Bessie and Jean M'Comb referred to in relation to the lands of Kildonan, in Wigtownshire, in 1634-1636 respectively.It suggests the early chiefs of Clan MacThomas, in Glenshee (Clan MacThomas North) themselves seemed to have used the patronymic McColme, as we infer with the 4rth Chief, Robert McColm of Thome.But after the laters death, this variation seems to have been discontinued among the Glenshee tribe, now useing the McComie variation, and it seems it had not survived except among the MacColms of that `ilk` (Galloway).Although, it has been demonstrated that the early spelling was exceedingly variable, the variation has now become fixed in scotland for sometime as McColm.
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Roger goes on to say, that by the mid 16th century, some of this family had crossed the narrow straits between Galloway and North East coast of Ireland, where the name became standardized to McComb (see map) while others seemed to have crossed over into Kintyre, by the end of the 17th century. Despite the facilities afforded for the dispersal of families, the region distributed of the McColms in Scotland has remained remarkably consistant down to the present. There have been a couple of refrences to M'Combs or M'Comys at Campbelltown, in 1680. There were numerous families brought into Kintyre from Ayrshire and the lowlands after the Argylls (Campbells) acquired the peninsula in the early 17th century . A systematic plantation, and this may explain the presence of McCombs, in Campbelltown.
These last 2 may have been of a different sept, long in the neighborhood of Inverness, of which Black mentions Angus McThome in Petty, in 1502. These could also very-well be members of the McOmie families up in the Inverness area, where I have found much confusion with the Frasier and McTavish whom where also in the area, and also whom claim rights to these McComie families aswell.
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