Farquharson

Crest: On a chapeau Gules, furred Ermine, a demi-lion Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Proper

Farquharsons are descended from Farquhar, fourth son of Alexander Cier (Shaw) of Rothiemurcus, who controlled to Braes of Mar in Aberdeenshire. The true progenitor of the clan itself was Finla Mor, Alexander’s grandson, who was the Royal Standard Bearer at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, where he was killed. Mor’s nine sons spread the clan’s numbers and power generating many branches and septs.

Even so, the Farquharsons were a smaller clan and thus joined the Clan Chattan confederation in 1595. They formed the bond of manrent with the chief of Mackintoshes, acknowledging him as their ‘natyff cheiff’.

The clan became known as the “fighting Farquharsons” - a reputation they earned fighting the Erskines for control over the lands around Braemar. In fact, Braemar castle, built by the Erskines to secure territory in Mar, ultimately became a Farquharson stronghold.

The Farquharsons were true supporters of the Stuarts. Donald Farquharson of Monaltrie fought with Montrose in 1644. The clan supported Charles II. In the 1715 Rising, John Farquharson of Invercauld was a colonel in the Clan Chattan regiment. The family also supported the Bonnie Prince. At Culloden their leader was Francis Farquharson of Monaltrie. Captured after the battle, he was doomed to be executed at the Tower of London but was reprieved on the very morning of the execution. Held prisoner, but then paroled, he nevertheless did not see Scotland again for twenty years.  

Francis’s cousin, Anne, daughter of Invercauld, was a famous Jacobite. Married to the chief of Mackintosh, who was a Black Watch officer, she nevertheless raised the Mackintish clan to join the rest of Clan Chattan in support of the Bonnie Prince. Her husband was captured at the Battle of Prestonpans and paroled to home. Anne greeted him, “Your servant, Captain.” To which he replied, “Your servant, Colonel.” Colonel Anne later saved Prince Charles from an attempt to capture him while at Moy. She was imprisoned after Culloden, but released after six weeks.   

Today much of the ancestral Farquharson lands are still in family hands. Braemar Castle still stands and is open to the public. The Braemar Highland Gathering received royal patronage from Queen Victoria and has since grown to be world famous.