Clan MacNaghten

Clan Macnaghten also known as  Clan MacNachten, Clan MacNaughton or Clan McNaughton is a highland and lowland Scottish clan originating in the Strathtay, Lewis, Argyll and  Galloway districts of Scotland.  According to legend the MacNaghten’s are descendants from the Pict rulers of the Mormaer of Moray.  The first mention of the MacNaughton surname appears in a charter in 1297 when Gilchrist Macnachten received the keepership of a castle by Alexander III of Scotland.

The motto of the clan is I hope in god, and the clan’s crest features a castle tower.

The historic seat of the clan is Dunderave Castle located on the shores of Loch Fyne near Inveraray Scotland.  The castle was built in 1598 to replace an older castle known as Dubh Loch Castle that was destroyed after a plague outbreak.  The MacNaughtons lost control of the castle after the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.  The MacNaughten’s lands were confiscated by the government and control of the castle was passed to the Campbell Clan.  The castle fell into disrepair in the 18th and 19th centuries but was purchased by Sir Andrew Noble in the 20th century and was restored by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1912.

On the 5th of April 1773 at age 83, John MacNaughton the chief of the clan passed away in Springfield Scotland leaving no heir.  In 1818 Edmund MacNaughten from the Irish branch of the MacNaughten family was declared chief of the clan.

The Clan’s Worldwide Association is run by elected officers and their official meeting and elections take place at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in Linville, North Carolina.  The association was founded with four objectives,  to promote clan spirit, to preserve the history of the clan, to provide educational opportunities and to acquire  artifacts of historical importance to the clan.  Membership is open to anyone who can establish a reasonable hereditary connection to the male or female line of the clan.