McFarling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The Hebrides islands and the west coast of Scotland are the ancestral home of the McFarling family. Their name comes from the personal name Parlan, which is the Gaelic equivalent of Bartholomew. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Pharlain.

Early Origins of the McFarling family

The surname McFarling was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they were descended from the ancient Chief Allan, son of Farlane and settled in Strathdonn in Aberdeenshire about the 9th century.

This Clan were originally known as the Clan Allan. Official documentation is derived from Gilchrist MacFarlane who was brother of Maldowen, third of the ancient Earls of Lennox in the 13th century. Grandson of Gilchrist was Parlan, the first of the Clan so named. Duncan, sixth Chief of the Clan obtained the lands of Arrochar in 1395. They supported the Earls of Lennox at the Battle of Pinkie, and they also distinguished themselves at the Battle of Langside, fighting against Queen Mary and capturing three of the Queen's standards. 1

The MacFarlane Clan acquired the lands of Arrochar from the Earl of Lennox in the late 14th century. The chief, Duncan, gained many of the surrounding lands through marriage in 1395 and claimed the title of Earl of Lennox upon the death of the old Earl, who had left no male heir. In fact, the MacFarlanes had a reasonable claim to the Earldom of Lennox, for which they fought so strenuously, for their eponymous ancestor was Parlan, the great-grandson of Gilchrist. His brother had been Maldowen, the third of the ancient earls of Lennox during the 13th century.

When the title of Earl was conferred upon Sir John Stewart, a bitter feud ensued between the MacFarlanes and the Stewarts, which lasted until the 15th century. Interestingly, in the next century, the warlike MacFarlanes became supporters of their erstwhile foes and distinguished themselves in many battles. However, by the 17th century, the Clan was outlawed and became scattered, with some members immigrating to Ireland and later to America.

Early History of the McFarling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McFarling research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1705, 1734, 1758, 1767, 1768, 1771, 1791, 1792, 1804, 1832, 1857 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McFarling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McFarling Spelling Variations

Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. McFarling has been written as MacFarlane, MacFarlain, MacFarlan, MacFarland, MacParlan, MacParland, MacPartland, MacPartlin, MacPharlane, MacPharlin, MacPharlan and many more.

Early Notables of the McFarling family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Walter MacFarlan (d. 1767), antiquary, second son of John Macfarlan of Arrochar and Helen, daughter of Robert, second viscount Arbuthnot, succeeded his father in 1705. From his early years Macfarlan devoted himself to antiquarian research connected with the history of Scotland. Ecclesiastical records specially attracted him, and he employed a clerk named Tait to make copies of most of the cartularies accessible to him; the copies are notable for their accuracy and neatness. Macfarlan appears to have held strict views on etiquette. 2Duncan MacFarlane (1771-1857), principal of Glasgow University, son of Duncan Macfarlane...
Another 197 words (14 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McFarling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McFarling family to Ireland

Some of the McFarling family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McFarling migration to the United States +

Ancestors of many of the Dalriadan families who crossed the Atlantic still live along the east coast of the United States and Canada. Some Scottish settlers arrived in Canada during the American War of Independence as United Empire Loyalists, while others stayed south to fight for a new nation. The descendants of Scottish settlers in both countries began to rediscover their heritage in the 19th and 20th centuries through Clan societies and highland games. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name McFarling or a variant listed above:

McFarling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter McFarling, aged 25, who landed in Maryland in 1812 3

Contemporary Notables of the name McFarling (post 1700) +

Denis McFarling, American illustrator, best known for his illustrations for The Magic Dishpan of Oz, a 1994 children's book written by Jeff Freedman
Usha Lee McFarling, American Pulitzer Prize winning science reporter, Artist In Residence at the University of Washington Department of Communication
Theodore W. McFarling, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 20th District, 1955-56 4

Historic Events for the McFarling family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Frederick T McFarling, British Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 5

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html