The Appalachian Branch of Clan MacMillan was formed as a Non-Profit Organization in 1979, dedicated to the Preservation of our Scottish heritage and promoting the traditions and interests of our MacMillan family and its related Septs.
As a Branch of Clan MacMillan, our purpose is to learn and foster the understanding of our Scottish ancestry, to enjoy historical, genealogical and fraternal aspects of Scotland and promote a closer bond of fellowship among MacMillan Clan members within the Appalachian region and other Societies and Organizations of Clan MacMillan.
The Appalachian Branch gathers at various Scottish Highland Games within the region to promote these efforts on a local level. Members are encouraged to meet at the “Clan Tent” to enjoy fun, food and Fellowship. Many of our members forge longlasting friendships through a bond of Common Ancestry and Historical interests. The Branch distributes a newsletter to its members on a Quarterly basis. Members are also encouraged to utilize the Historical and Genealogical Records maintained at the Macmillan Clan Centre in Scotland.
Clan MacMillan is an ancient clan, descended from airbertach, a hebridean prince of the old royal house of moray who was the great grandson of King Macbeth. The kin of Airbertach were closely associated with the clan Somerhaide ri innse gall (“Kings of the Hebrides”), the ancestors of the Macdougalls and Macdonald “Lord of the Isles”; and like their allies their interests in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ranged throughout the Hebrides and the western coastal regions of the Scottish mainland, and into Ireland.
Airbertach’s son Cormac was a Bishop in the early twelfth century. Bishop Cormac’s son Gilchrist, the progenitor of the Clann an Mhaoil, was a religious man like his father ; and he wore the tonsure (hairstyle) which gave him the nickname Maolan or Gillemaol. The church origins of the Macmillans are reflected in the connection of some of the earliest “Children of Maolan” to two religiously based clan confederations: the Clann ghillefhaolain (“Devotees of St. Fillan”) in Perthshire and Galloway; and the Clann ghillechattain (“Devotees of St. Catan”) in Ulster, the Hebrides, and particularly Badenoch and Lochaber.
Feuding with the Mackintoshes for the captaincy of “Clan Chattan”- the devotees of St. Catan– involved the Macmillans in defeat at the Battle of the Clans at Perth in 1396; and finished with the chiefly family’s near extermination at The Palm Sunday Massacre of 1430. A survivor of the massacre, Alexander Mac Lachlan, fled to Knapdale where some of the clan had settled since the mid-thirteenth century; and the famous cross that he erected may well be a memorial to the family and lands he lost in Lochaber.
Chief of Clan Macmillan
The Chief of Clan MacMillan is George Gordon Macmillan of Macmillan & Knap, whose seat is at Finlaystone, Langbank, Renfrewshire, Scotland. George succeeded his father as Chief in 1986. George continues his work with charities, is an active member of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and works to promote the objectives of Clan MacMillan and its Societies, both in the USA and internationally