MacAlister

Crest: A dexter arm in armour erect, the hand holding a dagger in pale all Proper.

The Macalisters are were one of the first groups to break off from the mighty Clan Donald. The progenitors of the Macalisters were descendants of Alastair Mor, son of Donald of the Isles. Alistair’s name first appears on a charter granted to the Abbey of Paisley in 1253.

In 1481, Charles Macalister was made constable of Tarbert castle and received a grant of land in Kintyre. Charles’ son John became chief next and was the first to be styled ‘of the Lowp’. Tarbert Castle was used by James IV as a naval supply base during his campaign to suppress the Lordship of the Isles. In 1591, Godfrey Macalister of Loup received a charter from the Earl of Argyll for lands around Tarbert which the family held until 1745.

Some of the clan were rogues. In 1598, Godfrey Macalister killed his guardian and tutor, Charles Macalister. He went on to besiege Charles’ sons’ house at Askomull. In 1600, the Macalisters invaded the island of Arran and seized the estates of John Montgomery of Skelmorlie. The plunder was worth around £12,000 Scots. Two years later, Archibald Macalister, heir of Tarbert, led an allied force of local clans in a raid on Bute. His force, numbering around twelve hundred men, ravaged Stewart possessions on the island. Archibald was denounced for this act. In 1605 he and his brother John were taken before the Privy Council and fined surity on pain of being denounced as rebels.

The Macalisters settled in Stirlingshire in the fourteenth century. In the following centuries, their name was anglicized to a lowland version -- Alexander. By the sixteenth century they had settled estates in Menstrie, by Stirling Castle.

William Alexander of Menstrie was a courtier under the Earl of Argyll. He is noted for having promoted Scottish settlement of the Nova Scotia colony and invented a scheme whereby investors in the colony could receive the honor of a Baronetcy of Nova Scotia. The scheme was a huge boost to royal finances. The house at Menstrie has a room filled with the coats of arms of the Baronets of Nova Scotia. William was awarded the Earldom of Stirling.

By 1706, Tarbert had passed to the Macleans. Macalister chiefs continued to do well in Loup. Duncan Macalister settled in Holland in 1717 where he rose to a high military rank. His descendants can still be traced. In time the chiefly family sold off their Kintyre estates. The modern clan centre of Glenbarr Abbey displays many interesting artifacts and mementoes of the clan.