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Clan Henderson

VIRTUE ALONE ENNOBLES


Also known as MacKendrick, from the Gaelic "MacEanruig", clan Henderson have three main origin points - those from the Scottish borders, and those who originated from septs of clan Gunn and clan MacDonald of Glencoe. There is no known connection between these three lines.

Despite not being included in the list of known Border families during attempts to quash the Border Reivers, the Hendersons were an established clan, and eventually acquired lands in Fordell, Fife.

The Henderson clan motto is "Sola virtus nobilitat" (Virtue alone ennobles) and the clan crest is a hand holding a star, with a crescent moon above.

Scottish History

of Clan Henderson


Lowlanders and Highlanders

From the extreme south to the extreme north of Scotland, Hendersons have flourished for centuries and been at the forefront of important events in Scotland’s long history.

In many cases, however, while the numerous Hendersons throughout the world share the same surname, they do not share a common heritage. This is because ‘Henderson’, quite simply, means ‘son of Hendry’, and there were many such ‘sons’ of numerous ‘Hendrys’ to be found not only in Scotland itself but also throughout Europe.

The original form of the name in Scotland was ‘Henryson’, later adapted to Henderson.

The surnames of MacHendrie, MacHendry, Hendry, and Hendrie, although similar to Henderson, have no official relationship, and are regarded as septs of the MacNaughton clan.

Lowland families of Henderson origin are known to have been settled in Dumfriesshire at least as early as the twelfth century, while in 1374 a William Henderson is recorded as holding the powerful post of chamberlain of Lochmaben Castle, reputed to have been the birthplace 100 years earlier of Robert the Bruce.

The Hendersons spread eastwards from Dumfriesshire into the Border lands of Liddesdale, where they became one of the famed riding clans.

Unlike other Border clans such as the Douglases, Kerrs, Elliots, Armstrongs, and Maxwells, however, the Hendersons appear not to have taken any significant part in the bitter and bloody feuds that made much of the lawless Borders a virtual no-go area for outsiders.

This is borne out by the fact that the Hendersons are conspicuous by their absence from a list of Border clans who were subjected to dire ‘letters of fire and sword’ during the reign of James VI as punishment for their unruly behaviour.

A number of the original Dumfriesshire-Borders Hendersons moved to Ireland during what was known as the Plantation of Ulster from 1609 to 1613, and many of them are believed to have subsequently immigrated to North America.

A descendant of Dumfriesshire- Borders Hendersons, James Henderson was appointed Lord Advocate for Scotland under James IV at some time around 1494.

The family’s power and influence received a huge boost in 1511 when he acquired the rich lands and baronetcy of Fordell, near Dalgety Bay, Fife.

It was from this date that ‘Henderson of Fordell’ became the designation of the chiefs of the Hendersons of the Lowlands, and in 1985 the Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland recognised Dr. John William Henderson of Fordell as chief of the baronial house of Fordell and chief of the name and arms of Henderson.

Dr. Henderson’s great-grandfather had emigrated from Scotland to Australia in 1839, and on Dr. Henderson’s death in 2004 his son, Alistair, who lives in Brisbane, Australia, succeeded to his titles.

Built originally as a fortified mansion, Fordell is no longer in the hands of the Henderson family, and at one time was renowned as the home of the colourful and controversial former Solicitor General for Scotland, Nicholas Fairbairn, QC.

Unrelated to the Hendersons of Fordell are completely separate families of Henderson whose territory was in Caithness and the Shetlands. The Hendersons of Caithness took their name from Hendry Gunn, a younger son of a 15th century chief of the Clan Gunn.

He split himself from his family as a means of avoiding the murderous feuds between his clan and the Keiths. The family he founded took their name from him, as ‘sons of Hendry’, or Hendersons.

The Hendersons of the Shetland Islands trace their descent from a William Magnusson who ruled part of the sprawling territory in the name of a Norse king who also held sovereignty over Sweden, Denmark, and Orkney.

His son, Henry Williamson, gave the name Henryson, or Henderson, to succeeding generations.

Another family of Henderson are those Hendersons who once held the wild and rugged lands that embraced Glencoe, both sides of Loch Leven, and Ardnamurchan.

Eanruig Mor MacRigh Neachtan is the Gaelic form of ‘Big Hendry’, a son of the Pictish king Nectan, who ruled in the early years of the eighth century.

From this ‘Big Hendry’ descended the MacEanruig (‘sons of Hendry’) chiefs who at an undetermined date held the Glencoe lands until Robert the Bruce, victor of Bannockburn in 1314, granted the lordship to the MacDonald Lords of the Isles as reward for their valiant military service.

Holding their lands under the vassalage of the Lords of the Isles, the Hendersons became known as the MacIains of Glencoe.

This was after a daughter of Dugald MacEanruig, the last Henderson of Glencoe clan chief, married a MacDonald, and their son was subsequently granted Glencoe.

This son, known variously as Iain Fraoch, MacIain of Glencoe, and Iain Abrach, appointed the Hendersons as both his hereditary pipers and bodyguard at some stage in the 1340s.

They were also accorded the ancient Celtic honour of being the first to ‘lift’, or raise, a chief’s body when it was being carried for burial.

Massacre and conspiracy

It was in their role of bodyguards to the MacDonald chiefs of Glencoe that the Hendersons were involved in one of the bloodiest episodes in Scotland’s grim history.

This was the Massacre of Glencoe, of February 13, 1692, when a Henderson died while bravely attempting to defend the life of his chief.

Although a Jacobite rebellion had been quashed in 1689, one year after James VII had fled to exile in France and William of Orange had been invited to take the united thrones of England and Scotland, the Highlands were still in a ferment of unrest.

This required the garrisoning of troops throughout the Highlands – troops that were badly needed to fight in the foreign wars in which William was engaged.

The problem was how to quell the unrest and pacify the clans that still adhered to the forlorn Jacobite cause.

A meeting of clan chiefs was convened near Bridge of Orchy, in Perthshire, in June of 1691, and all clans that had fought against the government were granted an amnesty on condition that their chiefs signed a personal oath of allegiance to William, before a magistrate, no later than January 1, 1692.

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Sir John Dalrymple, the Master of Stair, was convinced that not all of the clan chiefs would sign the required oath, and accordingly laid plans to punish those who refused.

As a result of circumstances that were beyond his control, Alasdair MacIain, the 12th clan chief of the Glencoe MacDonalds, was late in meeting the required deadline and his name was ominously not entered on the all-important list of those who had signed. The Master of Stair saw his opportunity and resolved to make a harsh example of the MacDonalds of Glencoe.

A secret commission to carry this out was given to Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, who took a force of about 140 men from Argyll’s regiment to Glencoe, armed with a warrant to quarter his men in the homes of the MacDonalds who lived at the bottom of the glen.

Glenlyon and his soldiers spent nearly two weeks enjoying the hospitality of the 500 or so MacDonalds among whom they had been quartered. This was a hospitality destined to be infamously and murderously abused.

Orders finally arrived for Glenlyon to fall upon the unsuspecting MacDonalds and massacre them – sparing no one under the age of 70, women and children not excepted.

The exact figure is not known, but in the early hours of February 13, 1692, at least 38 men, women, and children were slaughtered while countless others died in the severe snowstorm into which they had fled.

MacIain of Glencoe was cold-bloodedly shot as he attempted to rise from his bed, despite the valiant attempt of his bodyguard and personal piper, known as Henderson of the Chanters, to save his life.

Described as a man of great height and strength, Henderson was brutally cut down by the sabre-wielding soldiers.

Hendersons were also involved in two other bloody incidents in 17th century Scotland.

One was the mysterious affair known as the Gowrie Conspiracy, of August 5, 1600, the truth behind which has never been satisfactorily determined even up to the present day.

James VI had apparently been about to set off on his favourite pastime of hunting when he was approached by Alexander, the young Master of Ruthven, and brother of the Earl of Gowrie.

He had a strange tale to relate. He claimed he had discovered a man attempting to bury a cache of gold coins in a field outside Perth, and urged the king to come with him to meet the man and see the gold.

The avaricious James complied, and when he came to Gowrie House, in Perth, he was ushered into a turret room by the young Master.

The ‘official’ account of what subsequently transpired after the unsuspecting king entered the room is that its sole occupant was a man dressed in armour.

This ‘man in armour’ was one Alexander Henderson, the Earl of Gowrie’s chamberlain.

The Master of Ruthven is said to have followed the king into the room and drawn a dagger, telling his monarch he was going to kill him in revenge for his role in the death of his father.

James managed to shout for help from the window of the turret and one of his courtiers rushed in and stabbed the Master to death. The Earl of Gowrie, following close on the heels of the courtier and others who had dashed to the king’s aid, was also stabbed to death.

Alexander Henderson was closely questioned, and apparently claimed that he had been forced into a plot to kill the king. Bafflingly, however, he was not only promptly pardoned by James, but granted lands in Perthshire.

The truth of the mysterious affair is impossible to untangle, but James certainly had a motive for arranging the deaths of both the Earl of Gowrie and his brother, because he owed the family the not inconsiderable sum of £80,000.

There are also dark hints that the complex Stuart monarch had homosexual leanings, and that the death of the young Master may have resulted from a botched attempt by James to seduce him.

Nearly 80 years later, in May of 1679, all of Scotland was stunned when the powerful Archbishop of St. Andrews, James Sharp, was unceremoniously dragged from his coach on Magus Muir, Fife, and hacked to death.

Hated by those Presbyterians known as the Covenanters for his attempts to enforce the Episcopalian form of worship on Scotland, Sharp had been en route from Edinburgh to his opulent residence at St. Andrews when his murderers struck.

They were led by John Balfour of Kinloch and his brother-in-law David Hackston of Rathillet, and among their number was one John Henderson, believed to have been either a Fife farmer or a weaver.

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Family History Mini Book


We hope you enjoyed reading this excerpt from this mini book on the Scottish history of the Henderson family.

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The Crests

of Clan Henderson

Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson (St. Laurence, Scotland, 1672)
Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson
Clan Henderson

Spellings

of Henderson

Hendersonne
Hendersoun
Henryson
Henrisoune
Hendersoune
Hendrisoune
Henryesson
Henrisoun
Hendersone
Henersoun
Henreysoun
Henrysoun
Henresoun
Hendirsone
Hennersoune
Hendirsoune
Hennryson
Henrisone
Henriesoun
Henrison
Endherson
Endirsone
Enderson
MacCanrig
Makhenry
Enrig
Hendery

179 Clan Henderson

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