Scotland_-_Clan_Tartans-131.jpg

Clan Muir

Privacy Level: Public (Green)
Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Scottish_Clans Muir
This page has been accessed 1,403 times.


Scotland Project > Scottish Clans > Clan Muir

Contents

Welcome to Clan Muir

Clan Muir Team
Team Leader
Team Members C Moore
Clan Chief:
Crest: "A savage head couped Proper".
Motto: Durum Patientia Frango (By patience I break what is hard).
Slogan/War Cry: None.
Region: Southwest Scotland.
Historic Seat: Rowallan Castle, East Ayrshire.
Plant badge: Rowan/European Mountain Ash (unsourced fact).
Pipe music: None.
Gaelic name: None Known.

Clan Team

Team Goals

The focus of this team's work is to identify, improve and maintain profiles associated with the Lairds and Chiefs of Clan Muir together with members bearing the name Muir, the related families and those recognised as septs of Clan Muir.

Team To Do List

This list will be developed by the Team. If you are working on a specific task, please list it here:

  • promoting the entries of those bearing the name Muir on Wikitree.
  • ensuring entries appearing on Wikitree are as accurate as possible, correcting mistakes once spotted.
  • encouraging interest in and study of Clan Muir.
  • Idealy another linked FSP should be created for the Mures of Rowallan text.

Septs

Clan History

Clan Muir is a Scottish clan that is armigerous (it has no chief recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Clan Branches

Other Names Associated with the Clan

Historically, the surnames Muir, Mure, and Moore can be considered septs of Clan Campbell and septs of Clan Gordon in the highlands. The spelling variation More/Moore is a sept of Clan Leslie in Aberdeenshire. Some members of Clan Muir who trace their ancestry to Ayrshire are septs of Clan Boyd. A single family, the Mores of Drumcork, are septs of Clan Grant.

Allied Clans

Rival Clans

Clan Research and Free Space Pages

Source Material

Image Credits and Acknowledgements

Information below this line should be summarized and incorporated into this Team page. Detailed information should be moved to additional Clan pages.



Mures of Rowallan:

The family is said to have come from Ireland. Polkelly seems to have been the most ancient property held in Scotland by the Mures. An Archibald Mure was slain at Berwick in 1298 when Baliol's army was routed.

The Mures were prominent figures throughout the history of Scotland, from Sir Gilchrist Mure, who married the daughter and sole heir of Sir Walter Comyn with the blessing of King Alexander III, for his part in the battle of Largs. This secured the family seat at Rowallan Castle. Another version states that Gilchrist Mure was dispossessed of the house and living at Rowallan by the strong hand of Sir Walter Cuming, and was compelled to keep close in his castle of Polkelly until the King Alexander III raised sufficient forces to subdue Cuming and his adherents. The family had held Rowallan, in this version, from unknown antiquity.

The conjoined arms of the first Muir of Rowallan were visible on the oldest part of the castle up until the 18th century. Elizabeth Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan and Jannet Mure, was mistress to Robert Stewart (who later became Robert II of Scotland in 1371). Later on November 22, 1347 she married him by Papal dispensation to legitimize their previously born children. After their legal marriage, Elizabeth Mure was styled Countess of Atholl, and her surname became Stewart. Elizabeth died sometime before 1355.

Sir Gilchrist Muir built two chapels, one at the Well named for Saint Laurence and the other at Banked named for Saint Michael. The vestiges of these were still visible in 1876. He also built the chapel of Kilmarnock, commonly called Muir's Isle (sic).

One of the Sir Robert Mures was slain at the Battle of Sark. His namesake was called the Rud of Rowallane, being large in stature, very strong and prone to pugilism; these characteristics neatly define the meaning of this archaic Scots word. He wasted his inheritance and during his lifetime a protracted feud took place with the house of Ardoch (Craufurdland) which resulted in much bloodshed. The 'Rud' resigned his lands in favour of his son John, who married a mistress of James IV.





Images: 1
Muir tartan
Muir tartan

Collaboration


Comments: 10

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
My mother’s family can be traced back to the Muirs of Kilmarnock. I’m trying very hard to reliably make connections and post on Wikitree and would be glad to know if my family are part of this famous clan. The furthest Muir I am reasonably sure of is Muir-1475. I would be grateful for any assistance I can get in tracing further, and having trained in the Tartan Trail II, I would be glad if I can contribute to more research on this clan.
posted by Jamie Karagianis MD
If you haven't yet gone through the Ayrshire Resources list, that might be a good place to look for more clues.
posted by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
Jamie,

Also, see the Group 57 series on this chart:

https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Moore?iframe=ycolorized

posted by Robert Moore II
edited by Robert Moore II
I had a look at those and only spotted 4 with the Muir name. Are these the only Muirs I could potentially trace back to who are listed on Wikitree at this time?
posted by Jamie Karagianis MD
The name was anglicized among 17th and 18th century emigrants (my line among them). That's part of the reason you see so many Moore test-takers, as opposed to Muir. My closest Muir match currently lives in Gatehouse of Fleet, but was born in Galston. Our last shared ancestor was likely in the 1500s. My line arrived in Colonial Maryland in 1670.
posted by Robert Moore II
Hi Jamie,

Are there any male Muirs in your mother's line for whom you can sponsor a Y DNA test? I'm the administrator of Family Tree DNA Moore Y DNA pages, and we've successfully identified a specific haplotree for all Muir/Moore lines from Ayrshire. Given the identification to Kilmarnock, it's highly probable your mother's Muir family is part of it.

posted by Robert Moore II
edited by Robert Moore II
Hi Robert, would I qualify for that or do I need someone else? I may be able to request one from her brother or brother's son. I'm pretty sure her brother's son has already done a 23 and me dna test, as have I. I believe I imported my 23 and me results here already if that's any good.
posted by Jamie Karagianis MD
Hi Jamie,

It would have to be a male Muir in your mother's immediate line, so a brother would be perfect. Further, it would be a test of Y DNA as opposed to autosomal DNA. The kits common to 23andMe, Ancestry, etc., are autosomal. Y DNA, on the other hand, is passed specifically from father to son, and would be specific to the Muir line. You can purchase a Y DNA test through Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), and they are on sale right now. The best kit to purchase is the Big Y-700 test. It's expensive, but it provides precise details on how your line aligns with the rest of the test-takers who know exactly which branch of the Muir tree they belong to (there are currently eight identified branches/subclades of BY3374, which emerged ca 1150 CE... at the start of using surnames in SW Scotland). Y-37 and Y-67 tests are a start, and Y-111 is good, but you'll eventually need to upgrade to Big Y-700 for the best possible results. Your overall savings is better by going directly to Big Y-700, especially during sales season.

Please feel free to ask if you have any further questions!

posted by Robert Moore II
Jamie,

I also recommend the Scotland's People Site (it's free) for records. It's an excellent resource.

posted by Robert Moore II
Yes, it's great, I use it pretty much every day!
posted by Jamie Karagianis MD