McPearson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland

Etymology of McPearson

An ancient Scottish people known as the Picts were the forefathers of the McPearson family. McPearson is a name for a parson. The Gaelic forms of the names are Mac a' Phearsain and Mac a Phearsoin, which mean son of the parson. This was the surname of various ecclesiastical families in Scotland and is descended from a Chief of the great Clan Chattan ('tribe of the cats'), called Gille Chattan. This Chief can, in turn, be traced back to Feachar the Long, King of Lorn who died in 697 AD. The Clan's original territories were in Stratthnairn, Strathdearn and Badenoch from whence they long contested the leadership of the Clan Chattan with the MacKintoshes, who also claimed descent from the Gille Chattan through a female heiress.

McPearson Coat of Arms Creation

The Macphersons carry a cat as their crest, and their motto is " Touch not the cat bot (without) a glove."

The story is that young Angus Oig Macdonald went over to Ireland to help an Irish king, and there he got the king's daughter in marriage. While the clansmen after the nuptials were waiting to return to Scotland, there came into the camp an Irish piper, a Macneil, who managed to smuggle himself into one of the boats. A black cat followed, and when a Highlander tried to catch and throw it overboard, he got badly scratched for his pains, and the piper gave him the advice which became the motto of the clan, and the black cat accompanied them to Scotland. This piper when in Scotland took to preaching, married, and settled among the Argyllshire MacDonalds. His sons were known as Mhic a Pharson, and thus the Clan Macpherson originated.

The clan has a galley in its coat of arms, perhaps in memory of the trip to Ireland, or perhaps to their being once driven by stress of weather on to the coast of Caithness. They also carry a dagger, point up, for killing the Cummings, and " a black cat for luck " has been a proverb, for the Macphersons have been lucky since they settled in Scotland. They are a branch of the great Clan Chattan. 1

Early Origins of the McPearson family

Early History of the McPearson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McPearson research. Another 524 words (37 lines of text) covering the years 1490, 1528, 1600, 1645, 1672, 1675, 1688, 1689, 1700, 1715, 1745, 1776, 1783, 1784 and 1932 are included under the topic Early McPearson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McPearson Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, there was no basic set of rules and scribes wrote according to sound. The correct spelling of Scottish names were further compromised after many haphazard translations from Gaelic to English and back. Spelling variations of the name McPearson include MacPherson, McPherson, MacPhersone, Mac a' Phearsoin (Gaelic) and many more.

Early Notables of the McPearson family

James MacPherson (1675-1700), the Scottish outlaw, famed for his Lament or Rant supposedly written on the eve of his execution, a version of which was rewritten by Robert Burns; and Colonel Duncan MacPherson, the Clan Chief, who commanded a battalion in North America from 1776 to...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McPearson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McPearson family

Scots left their country by the thousands to travel to Australia and North America. Desperate for freedom and an opportunity to fend for themselves, many paid huge fees and suffered under terrible conditions on long voyages. Still, for those who made the trip, freedom and opportunity awaited. In North America, many fought their old English oppressors in the American War of Independence. In recent years, Scottish heritage has been an increasingly important topic, as Clan societies and other organizations have renewed people's interest in their history. An examination of passenger and immigration lists shows many early settlers bearing the name of McPearson: Aeneas MacPherson, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1685; Alexander McPherson, who settled in south Carolina in 1716; along with Angus, Daniel, Donald, Duncan, John.