Chisholm Clan Crest
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CREST: A dexter hand holding a dagger erect Proper, the point thereof transfixing a boar’s head erased Or MOTTO: Feros ferio TRANSLATION: I am fierce with the fierce VARIATIONS: N/A |
| The Chisholm family has a long and rich history in Scotland, with records of their presence dating back to the reign of Alexander III. The name derives from the French “chese” meaning “to choose” and the Saxon “holm” meaning “meadow.” The family’s lands were at Chisholm in the parish of Roberton in Roxburghshire.
The Chisholms gained prominence in the north of Scotland in the 14th century when they gained control of an important stronghold in Inverness-shire. Robert de Chishome was appointed constable of Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness in succession to his maternal grandfather. His son, Alexander, married Margaret, heiress to the lands of Erchless, and Erchless Castle was to become the seat of the clan. |
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| The Chisholms remained staunchly Catholic during the early years of the Reformation and were implicated in Catholic intrigue which threatened the stability of the new reformed faith in Scotland. In the 17th century, the clan chiefs became Protestant but remained tolerant of the Catholic faith. Roderic Maciain Chisholm was active in the 1715 rising under the Earl of Mar. Chisholm of Crocfin, an aged veteran, led two hundred men of the clan at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. The family estates were forfeited to the Crown and sold, but a pardon was granted in 1727, and most of the lands were purchased back from MacKenzie of Allangrange. The Chisholms still adhered to the Jacobite cause, and when Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his father’s standard in 1745, Roderick, a younger son of the chief, was appointed colonel of a battalion. Of the Chishoms who fought at Culloden, less than fifty survived, and Roderick was among the fallen.
After Culloden, the ‘Young Pretender’ was obliged to trust his life to seven of his devoted followers, and three of these – Alexander, Donald, and Hugh – were Chisholms. They slept in a cave in Glenaffric and scavenged for food. Having conveyed the prince to the coast of Arisaig, Hugh Chisholm shook hands with him and vowed never to shake hands with another man. He lived to a ripe old age and is said to have kept his vow. The Chisholms experienced a decline in their fortunes in the mid-18th century when the twenty-second chief tried to raise money by increasing his tenant’s rents, which led to mass emigration from the Chisholm lands to the New World. Alexander, the twenty-third chief, attempted to reverse this decline, but he died in 1793, leaving an only daughter, Mary, and the chiefship devolved upon his half-brother William. He made over most of the family land to sheep grazing, and the emigrations continued. In 1887, the chiefship passed through an heiress to James Gooden-Chisholm of Surrey. However, his descendants have since abandoned their English name, and once more the Chisholm takes his place in the Council of Chiefs. Today, the Chisholm clan is a proud and respected part of Scottish history and heritage. |
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