The Colquhoun Clan originated from Luss, on Loch Lomond in the 13th century.
- Gaelic Name: Maca'Chobaich
- Motto: Si je Puis (If I can)
- Badge: Hazel
- Lands: Loch Lomond-side
Septs : Over the centuries people associated with the area or those who owed fuedal duty to the Laird, and gained the benefit of his protection, became followers of his banner and subsequently Septs of the Clan. When trouble raised its' head they were expected to fight and even die to protect the land and possessions of their Laird. As a result of this we now have a position where different names are considered to be a Sept of the Colquhouns. Septs of the Colquhoun Clan are: Colquhoun (and its' many variants), Cowan, Ingram, Kilpatrick, King, Kirkpatrick, Laing, McCowan, McMain, McManus, McLintock and McOwan. The list of Septs are very subjective and many experts disagree over them, thus, we have the name King which is listed as a Sept of the Colquhouns but is also a Sept of the MacGregors, the one time deadly enemies of the Colquhouns. Similarly the name McLintock is a Sept of the Colquhouns and also the McDougalls.
History of Clan Colquhoun
In 1241, the time of Alexander II, Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, granted the lands of Colquhoun in Dunbartonshire to Humphrey of Kilpatrick. Humphrey's son Ingram is the first person recorded as taking Colquhoun for his surname. Around 1368, Luss, on Loch Lomond, was acquired by Sir Robert Colquhoun through marriage. From then on the chiefship has been described as of Colquhoun and Luss. His grandson Iain Colquhoun of Luss married Margaret, the daughter of the Earl of Lennox. When James I returned from English imprisonment a few years later in 1424, one of the people he took his vengeance upon was the unsupportive Lennox. The position of Lennox was decimated and Iain of Luss took advantage of this to win the King's favour by capturing Dumbarton Castle from Lennox. By 1427 he was Sheriff of Dumbarton and by 1439 he was dead, like his King, killed by those he had treated so badly. By way of compensation, James II made Luss a free barony for Colquhoun's grandson Sir Iain. It remained this way until the Rising of 1745. Luss was raided by thieving MacGregors in 1603, leading to a bloody battle and defeat of five hundred Colquhoun men, three hundred of whom were on horseback, by four hundred MacGregor men at Glen Fruin. Over two hundred of the Colquhoun men were lost when the MacGregors, who had split into two parties, attacked from front and rear and forced the horsemen onto the soft ground of the Moss of Auchingaich. It meant the proscription of the Clan Gregor. It wasn't until the eighteenth century that the enmity between the clans was laid to rest when, at Glen Fruin on the site of the massacre, the chiefs of the Clan Gregor and Colquhoun met and shook hands. The 11th Laird of Luss, Sir John Colquhoun, became a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1625. Seven years later, however, he vanished along with Lady Catherine Graham, his wife's sister. He was accused of using witchcraft and sorcery to woo her and so, wisely, never returned to clear his name. Today the family is seated in the great mansion of Rossdhu near Luss. Gaelic ros dubh for the 'Black Headland', stands the stately Georgian house and romantic ruined mediaeval castle of the Chiefs of the Clan Colquhoun. On a wooded peninsula guarded on three sides by the bonny banks of Loch Lomond, Rossdhu looks out across the loch, with its beautiful views towards the lochs islands and the hills beyond. Loch Lomond is within an hours drive of Glasgow and frequent trains leave Queen Street Station in Glasgow to Balloch at the beginning of the loch.
