Donald Nicolson
Encyclopedia
The Reverend Donald Nicolson of Scorrybreac (died between 1698 and 1702) was an Episcopalian
minister of Kilmuir in the Isle of Skye and head of the Clan MacNeacail
, or MacNicol.
, but they lost much of their power and prestige the Macleods
succeeded to the island by marriage to a MacNicol heiress. Hebridean tradition claims that this was a forced marriage, with the bride seized and the warriors of the Clan MacNicol attacked, with their vessels sunk by the MacLeods off the coast of the island. By 1450, however, the MacNicols were firmly established in the Trotternish
peninsula in Skye, serving as members of the Council of the Lordship of the Isles. By the end of the eighteenth century, the clan would become distinguished by the large number of clergymen within its roll call, present in parishes across the Western Isles and northern Scotland, and the ecclesiastical tradition appears to have been laid down by their Medieval ancestors. The MacNicols were the principal benefactors of the Cathedral Church of St. Columba at Snizort on Skye, where tradition holds that one hundred leading men of the clan received burial.
The number of the Reverend Donald’s wives is uncertain, but he is generally credited with twenty-three children, through whom he is a common ancestor of many Skye families. He himself was a man of substantial means, appearing in the 1690s as a significant creditor of Macleod
of Dunvegan
. 'The Great Song of Scorrybreac', a Gaelic ballad composed in celebration of the marriage of Donald's son Malcolm to a daughter of MacLeod of Raasay records the affluence and splendour of the Nicolson household, and the success of the young men of the clan in 'wooing maidens' and 'winning wagers'.
In 1689, the settlement following the Glorious Revolution remodelled the Scottish Church in a Presbyterian form and required ministers to swear an oath of loyalty to the new king, William III. Those Episcopalian 'Non-Jurors' who refused were branded as Jacobites and ejected from their livings, and Skye tradition records Rev. Donald Nicolson as one of the most forthright among their number, being eventually driven from his parish in 1697. His son Malcolm, who concluded his studies at Edinburgh in 1689, had been originally intended for the church, but also refused to accept the new establishment, and never served as a minister. The close association of the Nicolsons of Scorrybreac with Skye's leading Jacobite families, the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods of Rassay, makes it altogether credible to count Donald and Malcolm among the ranks of the Non-Jurors.
. A large number of his descendants (including at least two of his younger sons) entered the Church. These included two grandsons, Reverend Malcolm Nicolson of the parish of Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, who served as a military chaplain with the Fraser Highlanders in the British capture of Quebec in 1759, and John Nicolson, minister of Portree for over forty-years before his death in 1796, whose pastoral devotion was long remembered in Skye, and whose character was warmly recorded in Thomas Pennant's journal of his 1769 tour of Scotland. Notable descendants of Rev. Donald outside the church include Alexander MacDonald of Kingsburgh, who masterminded the sheltering of the fugitive Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart on Skye in 1746, and Major Malcolm Hassels Nicolson (1843-1904), a veteran of the British campaigns in India and Afghanistan, who was promoted to ADC to Queen Victoria, and married the poet Adela Florence Nicolson.
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
minister of Kilmuir in the Isle of Skye and head of the Clan MacNeacail
Clan MacNeacail
Clan MacNeacail, sometimes known as Clan MacNicol, is a Scottish clan long associated with the Isle of Skye. The clan is closely associated with Clan Macleod, with whom the MacNeacails have been aligned since around the 14th century...
, or MacNicol.
Origins
The origins of Clan MacNeacail are mysterious. The traditional account (as relayed, for example, by the Rev. John Morison of Bragar in Lewis in about 1680) holds them to have been the ancient proprietors of LewisLewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, but they lost much of their power and prestige the Macleods
Clan MacLeod of Lewis
Clan Macleod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis, is a Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the beginning of the 17th century there were two branches of Macleods: the...
succeeded to the island by marriage to a MacNicol heiress. Hebridean tradition claims that this was a forced marriage, with the bride seized and the warriors of the Clan MacNicol attacked, with their vessels sunk by the MacLeods off the coast of the island. By 1450, however, the MacNicols were firmly established in the Trotternish
Trotternish
Trotternish or Tròndairnis is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland.One of its more well-known features is the Trotternish landslip, a massive landslide that runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some...
peninsula in Skye, serving as members of the Council of the Lordship of the Isles. By the end of the eighteenth century, the clan would become distinguished by the large number of clergymen within its roll call, present in parishes across the Western Isles and northern Scotland, and the ecclesiastical tradition appears to have been laid down by their Medieval ancestors. The MacNicols were the principal benefactors of the Cathedral Church of St. Columba at Snizort on Skye, where tradition holds that one hundred leading men of the clan received burial.
Life
Rev. Donald was the son of Malcolm MacNicol of Scorrybreac, tenth chief of the clan, and, according to family genealogies, the nephew of Sorley MacNicol of Drumuie, who had fought in the royalist armies of the Marquis of Montrose in the Civil War. He was brought up in the household of Sir James MacDonald of Sleat, as servitor to Sir James's son and heir. Donald graduated from Edinburgh University in 1659 (as recorded in the Catalogue of students in the faculties of the arts, divinity and law), and it is possible that it was his experience in the south of Scotland that prompted him to Anglicise the clan name as 'Nicolson'.The number of the Reverend Donald’s wives is uncertain, but he is generally credited with twenty-three children, through whom he is a common ancestor of many Skye families. He himself was a man of substantial means, appearing in the 1690s as a significant creditor of Macleod
Clan MacLeod
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
of Dunvegan
Dunvegan
Dunvegan is a town on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod...
. 'The Great Song of Scorrybreac', a Gaelic ballad composed in celebration of the marriage of Donald's son Malcolm to a daughter of MacLeod of Raasay records the affluence and splendour of the Nicolson household, and the success of the young men of the clan in 'wooing maidens' and 'winning wagers'.
In 1689, the settlement following the Glorious Revolution remodelled the Scottish Church in a Presbyterian form and required ministers to swear an oath of loyalty to the new king, William III. Those Episcopalian 'Non-Jurors' who refused were branded as Jacobites and ejected from their livings, and Skye tradition records Rev. Donald Nicolson as one of the most forthright among their number, being eventually driven from his parish in 1697. His son Malcolm, who concluded his studies at Edinburgh in 1689, had been originally intended for the church, but also refused to accept the new establishment, and never served as a minister. The close association of the Nicolsons of Scorrybreac with Skye's leading Jacobite families, the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods of Rassay, makes it altogether credible to count Donald and Malcolm among the ranks of the Non-Jurors.
Descendants
On his death, the Reverend Donald was succeeded by his son Malcolm, who married Margaret Macleod of RaasayRaasay
Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is most famous for being the birthplace of the poet Sorley MacLean, an important figure in the Scottish literary renaissance...
. A large number of his descendants (including at least two of his younger sons) entered the Church. These included two grandsons, Reverend Malcolm Nicolson of the parish of Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, who served as a military chaplain with the Fraser Highlanders in the British capture of Quebec in 1759, and John Nicolson, minister of Portree for over forty-years before his death in 1796, whose pastoral devotion was long remembered in Skye, and whose character was warmly recorded in Thomas Pennant's journal of his 1769 tour of Scotland. Notable descendants of Rev. Donald outside the church include Alexander MacDonald of Kingsburgh, who masterminded the sheltering of the fugitive Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart on Skye in 1746, and Major Malcolm Hassels Nicolson (1843-1904), a veteran of the British campaigns in India and Afghanistan, who was promoted to ADC to Queen Victoria, and married the poet Adela Florence Nicolson.