Everyone knows about Rob Roy MacGregor-- and how our clan is chockful of brave, daring warriors! But there are other, unsung heros (and heroines) who have made contributions in the less sexy realms of law, science, formal politics and religion. And I'd like to take a moment to brag about some of our famous-- and imfamous-- unsung ancestors of septs who didn't bear the name MacGregor.

The next time you munch into a handful of macadamia nuts, spare a thought for the chemist, John MacAdams who discovered and named the genus macadamia. And the next time you are stuck in rush-hour, lean out your window and stare at the ground. It was a John Loudon MacAdams (1756-1836) who invented the first roads paved with stone and tar (the macadam)... And if you should happen upon the churchyard at Kirkmichael, you might pause at the ancient stone made famous by Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Medlothian commemorating Gilbert MacAdams, the Covenanter.(Note: many of the early covenanters were banished to America-- but one Pontuis MacAdams was actually martyed in Ayr in 1666.)... There was also John Erskine (1698-1768) known as Erskine of Carnock, a famous jurist who helped coin the phrase Scot verdict-- translated, that means not proven or Scot-free-- And last, but hardly least, is the case of our unfortunate clanfolk, Patrick and Isobell More McKaw who were charged with witchcraft in Bute, 1662 (we know they were related to the MacGregors because a Donald MacKaw was fined for this offense in 1613).

Others of our ancestors were archdeacons, members of Parliament, soldiers and sheriffs. So the next time someone suggests that our fore-fathers lived only by the sword and other men's cattle, answer as Charles II did: We'll see at Doomsday whose backside is blackest. And remember that our multitudes have proven that even with the hundreds of years of scourging that they wha hae a guid Scots tongue in their heid are fit to gang ower the warld.

Sources:Thou Uncommon,Thou UnProper Noun and The Sons Of Adam available through The MacAdams Historical Society.