page_title: Macaulay family of Lewis
section_title: Wester Ross Macaulays
hierarchical_section_title: Macaulay family of Lewis / Nearby Macaulay clans / Wester Ross Macaulays
caption_attribution_description: English: Ullapool from Morefield. A long brae leads north out of the town. Looking back at Ullapool and Loch Broom.
context_page_description: The Macaulay family of Uig in Lewis, known in Scottish Gaelic as Clann mhic Amhlaigh, were a small family located around Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There is no connection between the Macaulays of Lewis and Clan MacAulay which was centred in the Loch Lomond area, bordering the Scottish Highlands and Scottish Lowlands. The Macaulays of Lewis are generally said to be of Norse origin because of the etymology of their surname and also because of the islands' Viking Age past. However, a recent analysis of the Y-DNA of men with Scottish surnames has shown that a large number of Hebridean Macaulays are of Irish origin. In the 17th century, however, tradition gave the Macaulays an Irish origin. By the end of the 16th century the dominant clan on Lewis was Clan Macleod of The Lewes. Other notable Lewis clans were the somewhat smaller Morrisons of Ness and the even less numerous Macaulays of Uig. The Macaulays were centred in the area surrounding Uig on the western coast of Lewis, and had a deadly, long-standing feud with the Morrisons, whose lands were located on the northern coast around Ness.
context_section_description: According to the traditions of the Mackenzies, there were once Macaulays located in Wester Ross (across The Minch from Lewis). In the 17th century, Dr. George Mackenzie, nephew of Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Seaforth, wrote a manuscript history of the Mackenzies. Within this history, he wrote that the Macaulays, MacIvers, MacBeolans, and Clan Tarlich were the ancient inhabitants of Kintail; and that these families were of Norwegian origin. The history goes on to claim that the Macaulays descended from an Olaus, who was a kinsman to the king of Man; and that Olaus had been granted lands in the area of Loch Broom by "King Alexander". G. Mackenzie's history continues that Olaus's son and successor, Duncan, married the daughter of MacIvor in Kintail; and that Duncan's son and successor, Murdoch, married Isabel who was of the Macaulays of Lewis. Rev. Roderick Morrison wrote the description of the parish of Kintail, in The (Old) Statistical Account of Scotland. Within this account, Morrison stated that the Macaulays inhabited Kintail before the Macraes settled in the area; however, he noted that at the time of writing (the late 18th century) there was no trace of these Macaulays.
  Thomas considered the etymology of Ullapool (Scottish Gaelic: Ulapul) as confirmation of the Macaulay's presence in the area. Thomas and Herbert Maxwell stated that the place-name of this small town, located on the eastern shore of Loch Broom, was derived from the Old Norse Olafr bólstaðr ("the homestead of Olaf"). The 20th scholar William J. Watson derived the place-name from the Old Norse Ullibólstaðr ("Ulli's stead"). More recently Iain Mac an Tàilleir gave two Old Norse etymologies: possibly meaning "wool farm", or "Ulli's farm". Scholars J. Graham-Campbell and C. E. Batey have also noted that Ullapool, which contains the Norse elements ból or bólstaðir, is one of the few examples of a Norse settlement name on the west coast of Scotland.
  Alexander Mackenzie mentioned the Wester Ross Macaulays in his 19th-century history of Clan Mackenzie. He stated that the predecessors of the Macaulays had been granted the lands of Loch Broom and Coigeach by Alexander II. A. Mackenzie stated that during the 13th century, Uilleam I, Earl of Ross was an instrumental force in regaining control from the Norse; and that he was naturally desirous to gain control of Eilean Donan to aid his cause. During this time, however, the fortress was under the control of Coinneach, the eponymous ancestor of Clan Mackenzie, who refused to hand over the fortress to the king. A. Mackenzie stated that Coinneach was supported by the natives of the district, including the Macaulays of Loch Broom. Much later the third chief of the Mackenzies, Coinneach, was captured by Leod Macgilleandrais, a relative and vassal of the Earl of Ross. The Mackenzie chief was then executed at Inverness in 1346; and the lands of Kinlochewe were handed over to Macgilleandrais as reward. A. Mackenzie stated that the son of the executed Mackenzie chief, Murchadh Dubh, was a close friend of Duncan Macaulay who possessed the lands of Loch Broom, and who also commanded Eilean Donan. According to A. Mackenzie, because Ross was determined to capture the young Mackenzie, Macaulay sent both Mackenzie and his own son to the protection of Mackenzie's relative, Macdougall of Lorne. Ross, however, was successful in capturing Macaulay's son, and had him put to death for Macaulay's part in holding Eilean Donan. A. Mackenzie stated that the actual killer of Macaulay's son was Macgilleandrais; and that Ross granted the lands of Loch Broom and Coigeach as reward for this deed. According to A. Mackenzie, Macgilleandrais's seat at Kinlochewe was situated in a convenient location for his military operations; as it lies exactly between Kintail and Loch Broom. A. Mackenzie continued that Macaulay managed to hold onto Eilean Donan despite several attacks. When Murchadh had grown and returned to his lands, he married Macaulay's daughter, and through her the Macaulays' lands ultimately passed into the hands of the Mackenzies.
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caption: Looking south towards Ullapool, upon the shores of Loch Broom.
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