Our History
Over the past nine hundred years,
the Muirheads of Bothwell, Cumbernauld, Lauchope and Bredisholm,
and their descendants, have served their deities and their
fellow man with devotion, courage and humility. Our surname,
Muirhead, like many others, is believed to come from the place
where our ancestors lived - from the muirs, or moors, of
Scotland. More particularly from the head, or edge of the moor.
In his highly authoritative book, "The Surnames of Scotland,
Their Origin, Meaning, and History", first printed by the New
York Public Library in 1946, Dr. Black had this to say about our
surname:
"MUIRHEAD, Morehead. From one or other of the many localities of
the name in the southern counties, perhaps from Muirhead in the
barony of Bothwell. The lands and town of Mureheid in the
diocese of Ross are mentioned in 1578 (RPC.), but the surname is
not likely to have originated there.The first of the name on
record is said to have been Sir William Muirhead of Lachope, end
of the fourteenth century. Probably the same person as William
de Murehede who witnessed a charter in lands of Cranshaws in
1401. (Swinton, p. xvii). Andrew Morheid was assizer in Lanark
in 1432 (RAA., II, 65), David de Murhed, cleric in diocese of
Glasgow, is recorded in 1471 (REG., 395), Ricardus Mwreheid,
canon of Dunkeld, 1484 (RAA., II, p.211) may be Richard Murhede,
dean of Glasgow in 1491 (AAPS., II, p. 270), Wilyame of Murehede
is recorded in 1484 (Peebles, 31), and Thomas Murhede was parson
of Lyne in 1504 (Trials, I, p*43). Thomas Murehead, quarryman at
Dunkeld, 1505-15, appears in record as Moirhed, Moirheid, and
Mored (Rent, Dunk.), David Muirheyd was assizer in Gowane
(Govan) in 1527 (Pollock, I, p. 268) and David Mourheid was
merchant burgess of Dumfries, 1668 (Inquis., 938). In common
speech pronounced Murheed, Mooreheid 1624, Morheid 1691,
Mureheid 1620, Muirhed 1513, Murehed 1503, Muyrheid 1498,
Mwirheid 1577, Mwreheid 1484, Mwrhed 1493, Mwrheid, Mwrhied, and
Mwrheyd 1522."
The above information was recently corroborated by Lieutenant
Colonel Howard C. Paterson, TD, a Fellow of the Society of
Antiquities of Scotland, in a letter to our Clan President and
Chief Elect, Raymond Lee Morehead, Esq.
As can be seen from the paragraph above, the pronunciation and
spelling of our surname was changed, in some cases, to Muirheid,
Morehead, Moorhead. These changes occurred as the descendents of
the family moved to other locales, e.g., to the southwest of
Scotland, to Ireland, and as in the case of James and John
Muirhead-banished, in 1685, to the English colonies in North
America because they refused to swear allegiance to King Charles
II, an avowed Papist, and had fought against the British crown
for their religious freedom as Covenanters at the Battle of
Bothwell Bridge. [1679].
In his book, "A System of Heraldry", Nisbet states, "The first
charter I have seen of any note concerning the ancient family is
a deed granted by Archibald, Comte de Douglas Galovidiac et
Bothwell, dicto soutiforo, Sieur Willielmo deMuirhead in Baronia
de Bothwell in 1393, being a gentleman of mettle and spirit, he
had the honour of Knighthood conferred on him by King Robert
III."
Legend tells us that the king knighted William Muirhead and
awarded him the lands of Lauchope as a reward for having brought
him the head of one Bertram deShotts, a ferocious killer who had
terrorized the region for years. The king had issued a
proclamation which said that whoever rid the area of this killer
would be rewarded. Muirhead cut and stacked a large pile of
heather near the spot where Bertram used to go to get a drink of
water. As time passed, Bertram, initially wary of the heather
pile, became accustomed to its presence. William Muirhead, with
his big, two handled sword, hid in the pile of heather, and as
Bertram lay on the bank of the stream to get a drink of water,
Muirhead quickly advanced upon him and with his sword, slashed
Bertram's hamstrings - behind his knees, so the mad giant was
helpless. Bertram laughed at Muirhead, who is reported to have
said to him before he beheaded him with his sword, "Lauch up,
for its yer last laugh!" . Thus we get the name of Lauchope.
Lauchope House, a tower house noted for its extremely thick
walls, gave refuge to Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, brother of
Janet Hamilton, wife of James Muirhead, of Lauchope[1510- ?], as
Hamilton fled after slaying the Regent of Scotland, the Earl of
Moray, half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1570 at
Linlithgow. The House was set ablaze by those who sought to
revenge the killing of the Regent and many important papers were
lost in the blaze. In 1799, part of the house fell, and in 1956,
the present owners, the Roberton family, one of the oldest,
untitled families in Lanarkshire, had the property demolished.
A photograph of the stately and historic
Lauchope House, seen in its sylvan setting during the early
1900's, (Many thanks to Robert Lindsay Muirhead for his
contribution of the picture of Lauchope House) as well as an old
photograph of Bredisholm House, which was located on what is now
the Glasgow Zoo, have come to hand. [Bredisholm, or
Breadiesholme, was located east of the junction of motorways M2
and M8 and on the north bank of Calder Water; the house, which
in its later days served as a golf clubhouse, was also
demolished at about the same time as Lauchope House]
Again, according to Nisbet, "The family of Muirhead of Lauchope has always been reputed one of the most ancient families in all the shire of Lanark.."
Walter
Grosset, of Logie, a large estate, owned by the Grosset
family from 1711 to 1760, in the village of Crossford, near
Dunfermline, in his volume, "An Account of the Family of the
Muirheads of Lachop" n/d., circa 1740, in similar fashion,
outlined the Muirhead family history and the inter-familial
connections with the Grosset family of Logie.
Walter's mother, Euphemia Muirhead, also known as Lady
Logie, the eldest of the six children born to James Muirhead
and Helen Stewart, of Bredisholm, married Archibald Grosset,
of Logie, circa 1707. When her four brothers failed to
produce any heirs, the Muirhead line of descent then
followed the female line, and one of her sons, James
Grosset, a merchant prince of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1754
purchased the Bredisholm estate from his uncle, John
Muirhead of Bredisholm [1676-1762] , and assumed the
Muirhead surname and its coat of arms, for himself 'and his
posterity'. Among the descendants of John Grosset Muirhead
is Dr. James Steuart Muirhead-Gould, one of the current
elders of the clan. [Logie has been in the possession of the
Hunt family since 1788]. Below is a picture of Logie.
James Grosset Muirhead [1706-1776] is also credited with the
recovery of the ballad of the "Laird of Muirhead" which
recounts the story of the defeat of the Scottish army by the
English at the Battle of Flodden, in 1513. The Muirhead clan
had the signal honour of serving as King James IV of
Scotland's royal bodyguards during the battle. King James,
and his son, Alexander, were both slain, along with the
flower of Scottish chivalry, including the Laird of
Muirhead, John Muirhead [ca. 1443-1513], and over two
hundred of his clansmen also perished in the battle.
This ballad is on display at the oldest house in Glasgow,
built in 1471 by Bishop Andrew Muirhead, the First Provands
Lordship of Glasgow, as a church manse near Glasgow
Cathedral. Mary, Queen of Scots, is reported to have spent a
few days at the manse.
The Laird Of Muirhead
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter
Scott
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border
Edinburgh; Adam and Charles Black, 1861
This ballad is a fragment from Mr. Herd's MS., communicated
to him by J. Grossett Muirhead, Esq. of Bredisholm, near
Glasgow; who stated that he extracted it, as relating to his
own family, from the complete Song, in which the maes of
twenty or thirty gentlemen were mentioned, contained in a
large collection, belonging to Mr. Alexander Monro, merchant
in Lisbon, but supposed now to be lost. It appears, from the
Appendix to Nisbet's Heraldry, p. 264, that Muirhead of
Lachop and Bullis, the person here called Laird of Muirhead,
was a man of rank, being rentaller, or perhaps feuar, of
many crown-lands in Galloway; and was, in truth, slain in
"Campo Belli de Northumberland suv vexillo Regis," i.e. in
the Field of Flodden.
~*~*~*~
| Afore
the King in order stude
Before, stood The stout laird of Muirhead, Wi' that same twa-hand muckle sword two-handed great That Bartram fell'd stark dead. relates to the legendary story of the capture and decapitation of a ferocious killer, Bertram DeSchotts, by an earlier Laird of Muirhead. He sware he wadna lose his right swore, wouldn't To fight in ilka field; each/every Nor budge him from his liege's sight, lord's Till his last gasp should yield. Twa hunder mair of his ain name, two, more, own Frae Torwood and the Clyde, From Sware they would never gang to hame, swore, going, home But a' die by his syde. side And wondrous weel they kept their troth; well This sturdy royal band Rush'd down the brae wi' sic a pith, hill with such force That nane could them withstand. none Mony a bloody blow they dealt, The like was never seen; And, hadna that braw leader fall'n, had not, brave They ne'er had slain the king. |
~*~*~*~
Following the union of the crowns of Scotland and England in
1603, when James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne,
and became James I of England, and following the subsequent
political union which followed in 1707, when the Scottish
Parliament dissolved in Edinburgh, and merged into the first
British Parliament in London, the fortunes of the Muirhead
family tended to follow that of the expanding British
Empire. They acquired a home in Hanover Square, in London.
Other family members emigrated to the now British colonies
around the world. Some, like John Muirheid, mentioned
earlier, who gained prominence in Mercer County, New Jersey
and was the first sheriff of Pennington, New Jersey; others,
the Moreheads of Galloway, for example, settled in the
colonies of Virginia and the Carolinas; a contingent of
Muirheads settled in Nova Scotia, and other Muirheads
settled in other provinces of Canada. In the passage of
time, Muirheads and Moreheads moved westwards into Kentucky,
Tennessee and to the other states and provinces, as
opportunities presented themselves. One family, that of
James Muirhead [1740-1804] and his wife, Elphinstone
MacKinnon, settled in Adelaide, in South Australia, and made
a considerable mark in that part of the world.
Muirheads have served their old and new homelands well;
among the numerous attainments of this distinguished family
have been, before the Reformation, Bishops of the Roman
Catholic church, Deans of Glasgow University, Provosts
[Mayors] of Hamilton and Glasgow, three Governors of the
state of Kentucky, the discovery of the power of steam by
James Watt, the great Scottish inventor, whose mother was
Agnes Muirhead of Lachop, to the 1998 Engineer of the Year,
Brian K. Muirhead, of the Mars Rover vehicle fame. Another,
Major John Motley Morehead, a scientist and engineer for the
Union Carbide and Carbon Company, of New York, was a
discoverer of acetylene gas. He also wrote, "The Morehead
Family of VA and NC", in 1921. More recently, Ray Jerome
Morehead, who spent forty years researching the Muirhead
history , wrote a book, "The Henry Muirheid/Muirhead Family
of Virginia and Mississippi", in 1989. [The book is
available for purchase through his son, Raymond Lloyd
Muirhead] . Another Muirhead of note, Roland Eugene
Muirhead, founded, and served as the first president of, the
Scottish Nationalist Party [SNP]. The SNP is presently a
major political force in the new Scottish Parliament which
opened its first session in Edinburgh in 1999, after an
absence of 292 years.
Captain Charles Morehead [1609-1705], the eldest child of
David Muirhead, a wealthy merchant with business offices in
both Edinburgh and London, emigrated to Kent Island on the
Chesapeake River in 1630 to oversee his father's enterprises
in the English colony of Virginia. It is located just east
of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. He subsequently
moved, in 1645, to Great Wicomico, in Northumberland County,
Virginia.
Near Denny, lies Herbertshire, one of the grandest embattled
residences in the country. Although the date of its erection
is unknown, reliable records inform us that it was
originally a hunting station, and given by an early James to
the then Earl of Wigtown, as his halbert-share for services
rendered in war. In the fifteenth century, the estate was in
the possession of that once powerful family the Sinclairs,
Duke of Orkney. In the following century, it became the
property of the Earls of Linlithgow, from whom it passed
into a family named Stirling, cadets of the Stirlings of
Auchyle, in Perthshire. Then an heiress of this surname sold
it about 100 years ago to a William Morehead, the new Laird
of Herbertshire, the grandson of John Muirhead, Bailie of
Hamilton, descendant of the Muirheads of Lauchope. He
succeeded to considerable property on the death of his
father’s cousin, William Morehead (the first, it appears, to
change his name to Morehead) of Cavendish Square, London, in
1767.
He married, in 1768, Isabella, daughter of John Sinclair
Lockhart of Castlehill and Camnethan, in the county of
Lanark, and granddaughter of Sir John Sinclair of Stevenson,
Bart. They had at least three sons 1. William, who succeeded
to Herbertshire, 2. John, and 3. Robert; and a daughter,
Charlotte Martha. There are interesting notices of the
family and estate in the "Life and Writings of the Rev.
Robert Morehead, D.D." William Morehead died in June, 1793,
and appears to have been a close friend of Lord Jeffrey, as
a characteristic letter from Lord Jeffrey to John Morehead
demonstrates. Copy from a book provided by Falkirk Council,
Museum Services, Callender House.
Herbertshire Castle and estate was disposed of in 1835 to
the father of the present proprietor, William Forbes, Esq.,
of Callendar. The banks of the Carron here are very
picturesque, sloping in stripes of verdant meadows, tufted
with trees to the water’s edge, and rising boldly into rocks
fringed with brushwood and crowned with plantations.
Herbertshire Castle was demolished several years ago.
Photos and drawings still survive and are archived at the
museum. Pictures from the Falkirk Council Museum Services
Jonathon Muirheid, of Hunterdown County, New Jersey,
personally led General George Washington to the most
suitable site on the Delaware River from which spot the
general launched his first successful attack on the British
forces in Trenton during the Revolutionary War. Many members
of the Muirheid family served with great distinction in the
American Revolution, including one who rose to the rank of
Brigadier General. In the Civil War, a Morehead was Chief of
Staff to General Sherman of the Union Army.
There is much more to the history of this ancient Scottish
family than is contained herein. Let us do our best to
follow in the footsteps of our ancestors in piety, honor and
comradeship.
As our Chief Elect, Raymond Lee Morehead, Esq. urges us,
"Remember the men and women from whence you came, for, in
remembering them, they live once again for all those who
follow."
- written and contributed by
David Grossett, Muirhead Clan Society Elder and Chevalier
Raymond L. Morehead, KTJ, FSA Scot
"Clan Muirhead".