McGhee family

The McGhee family, also spelled McGhie, McGee, McGie, MacGie, Magee and by other variants, is an ancient family associated primarily with the Scottish Lowlands and the historic region of Galloway. The family is recorded as established landowners in Galloway by at least the thirteenth century. Its early origins are uncertain, although historical accounts commonly connect the family with Gaelic people from Ireland who participated in the conquest and settlement of Galloway between the ninth and eleventh centuries, when the region was not yet part of the Kingdom of Scotland. Unlike most prominent Scottish families later incorporated into the formal clan system, the McGhees traditionally regarded themselves as a Lowland family and did not develop a recognized clan chiefship or distinctive clan tartan. The family has sometimes been treated as a sept of Clan Donald or Clan Mackay, but the historical relationship is disputed in the traditional account: the Mackays are described there as an offshoot of the McGhee kindred rather than the reverse. Because the family never obtained recognized clan-chief status, members have historically used either MacDonald or Mackay tartans when choosing a clan affiliation. The family's principal historic seat was Balmaghie in Kirkcudbrightshire. Balmaghie became a free barony in 1348, and members of the family progressively increased their influence during the late medieval and Stuart periods. Sir John McGhie of Balmaghie was knighted by Charles II. The family also had important branches at Airds, Castlehill, Atrochie, and elsewhere in Galloway, Aberdeenshire, Islay, England and the Caribbean. During the eighteenth century, members of the family appeared in Scottish and London social, political, military, religious and professional life. Their prominence later declined as estates were sold and several branches lacked surviving male heirs. The Balmaghie estate was sold in 1786 and subsequently passed to another family. The name is also widespread in Ireland, where Magee and related forms are treated as a distinct surname family in some heraldic traditions, despite likely historical connections created by migration across the Irish Sea. McGhees and related families included both Catholic and Protestant members. Historical figures associated with the wider name group included churchmen, military officers, physicians, writers, public officials and landowners. The family's heraldic traditions are varied rather than uniform. The Balmaghie arms are commonly described as a black shield bearing three silver leopard heads, although earlier and later records show differences in tincture and design. A traditional Balmaghie motto is “Quae Sursum Volo,” translated as “I desire heavenly things.” The McGhee family is therefore best understood as a historical surname and kinship group, not a commercial consumer brand or operating company.

The earliest documented references associated with the family appear in records from the period of the Wars of Scottish Independence. Gilmighel Mac Ethe is named in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of submissions to Edward I of England. Other men using related forms of the name, including Neel McEth and Gillecryst McEth, appear in the same period in connection with Galloway and political allegiance. In 1297, Edward I credited Gille Michel Mac Gethe and others with suppressing disorder and recovering castles in their region. The family's political position was not fixed, however: in 1304 Michael Macgethe served as a juror in an inquiry supporting the rights of Robert de Brus, later Robert the Bruce, and in 1339 Michael Mcgeth received a pardon from Edward III after having joined Scotland's enemies. The family gained a durable territorial base in Kirkcudbrightshire. Gilbertum McGeth is recorded as a customs collector at Kirkcudbright in 1331. Balmaghie, recorded in forms resembling “Ballem'gethe,” became a free barony in 1348. Gilbert Macge, also written M'Gy, is recorded in 1426 as lord of Balmaghie. The Balmaghie line remained the principal historic branch, while other notable branches were seated at Airds and Castlehill. Related families also appear in records from Wigtownshire, Kintyre, Islay and Aberdeenshire. The family's standing expanded under the Stuart monarchy. Sir John McGhie of Balmaghie received a knighthood from Charles II, and members of the wider family held military, administrative, religious and professional offices. The family's relationship with the Stuart cause was pragmatic rather than consistently partisan: the traditional account describes it as gaining favor at some moments and rejecting Stuart interests at others. By the eighteenth century, McGhees were visible in Scottish and London society. William M'Ghie, a merchant in Edinburgh, inherited Balmaghie unexpectedly after the death of a relative's son, but sold the estate to the Gordon family in 1786. He was associated with the Honourable Society of Hunters and moved in the social circle of figures including James Boswell. Other individuals bearing the name were active in public life. A London physician named William M'Ghie was associated with Samuel Johnson and Tobias Smollett and served against the Jacobite rising of 1745. John Macghie was appointed Physician to the King in 1709 in connection with his support for the Hanoverian succession. Members of the name group also served in military roles, the church and colonial society. A branch based in England was associated with Upcott House in Somerset, while a Jamaican branch held the Greenside sugar estate in the late eighteenth century. The history of that estate is part of the wider context of British colonial plantation ownership. The family declined institutionally before the nineteenth-century romantic revival of Scottish clan identity. The branches of Balmaghie, Airie and Airds, and Castlehill were described as nearly extinct by the early eighteenth century because estates were sold and male lines ended. The absence of a surviving recognized chief and the early timing of this decline help explain why the family did not acquire its own tartan. Heraldic records nevertheless preserve several variants of arms for Scottish, English, Irish and West Indian branches. These records should not be treated as proof of one uniform arms-bearing family, because the designs and mottos differ by branch and period. In modern usage, McGhee and its variants remain surnames rather than the name of a unified institution or business. The historical family is remembered through genealogical, heraldic and local-history traditions, especially those connected with Balmaghie and Galloway. The Wikipedia subject does not identify a current commercial owner, corporate structure, product portfolio or operating brand.

• 1962

  McGhie associated with the Jamaican flag's design

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Reverend William R. F. McGhie, a Church of Scotland missionary, is credited in the reference account with designing Jamaica's national flag.

• 1786

  Balmaghie estate sold

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  William M'Ghie sold the Balmaghie estate to the Gordon family, ending the family's direct ownership of its historic principal estate.

• 1709

  John Macghie appointed Physician to the King

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Macghie was appointed to a royal medical office in recognition of his loyalty to the Hanoverian succession.

• 1426

  Gilbert Macge recorded as lord of Balmaghie

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  Gilbert Macge, also rendered M'Gy, is identified in records as lord of Balmaghie.

• Early appearance in the Ragman Rolls

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  Gilmighel Mac Ethe is recorded among those submitting allegiance to Edward I, while other related-name bearers appear in contemporary Galloway records.

• Gille Michel Mac Gethe receives royal thanks

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edward I thanked Gille Michel Mac Gethe and others for suppressing disorder and recovering castles in their country.

• McGeth recorded as Kirkcudbright customs collector

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  Gilbertum McGeth appears in an exchequer record as a collector of customs at Kirkcudbright.

• Balmaghie becomes a free barony

  [1]McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Balmaghie property was elevated to a free barony, strengthening the family's territorial position in Kirkcudbrightshire.

A historical Scottish Lowland family and surname group, rather than a commercial brand. Its identity is associated with Galloway landholding, the Balmaghie estate, varied surname spellings, heraldic tradition and a position outside the formal Scottish clan system.

1. 1McGhee familyen.wikipedia.org