!BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEOD
CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society,
1969, p. 11.
!SOURCE: Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East Kilbride,
Scotland, 1986.
Murdo,… became the ancestor of the MacLeods of Gesto. [BANNATYNE
MANUSCRIPT].
!SOURCE: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS:
THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section III, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod
Society, 1970, pp. 262-269.
According to the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT, this family is descended
from Murdo, the third son of Malcolm, the 3rd Chief of the MacLeods of
Harris. "He received as his patrimony the MacLeod half of Glenelg, which
his family held for generations. The race became known as the MacLeods
of Gesto, and the "head of the family was always known as Mac vic
Tormod".
We are fortunate to possess the Gesto pedigree compiled by Captain
Neil MacLeod (c. 1754-1836), the last of the family to hold the ancestral
tack, and he had apparently received it from the family bard. A cursory
glance at the document leaves no doubt that it is far from complete. At
least 4 members of Captain Neil MacLeod''s ancestors are omitted.
Murdo, the progenitor of the Clann mac mhic Tharmaid must have been
born about 1332. Captain Neil MacLeod of Gesto was born about 1754.
Between these dates there is a span of some 422 years, and if we
represent a generation on the average as 32 years, there should be 14
and not 11 "mac mhic Tharmaids'' in the pedigree list. The BANNATYNE
MANUSCRIPT gives a good clue that the first blunder in the genealogy
occurred at the very beginning. The MANUSCRIPT states quite clearly
that Tarmad Caol, a notable warrior in his day, was the son of Murdo
MacLeod the progenitor of the family. Ye he is strangely omitted from
the Gesto pedigree, where he has obviously been confused with Tormod,
the 2nd Chief of the Clan MacLeod. It will be noted that Tormod in the
Gesto pedigree had a son Malcolm, who is also presumed to be the Chief
of the Clan. We know that Malcolm the 3rd Chief was married (1) to a
daughter of Sir Neil Campbell of Loch Awe and (2) to Martha, daughter of
Donald, Earl of Mar. Yet Malcolm, who appears in the Gesto pedigree
married a daughter of Gillies, a great Skye chief. This proves that he
was not Malcolm, the Clan Chief, but a member of the Clann mhic
Tharmaid or Gesto family. Malcolm, in turn had a son, Murdo, whom the
Gesto pedigrees assumes to be the progenitor of the race. Our previous
deductions make this impossible for he was a son of Malcolm 3rd of the
Clann mac mhic Tharmaid. Instead of being Murdo 1st, he would be Murdo
4th. His pedigree should read as follows: Murdo son of Malcolm son of
Norman son of Murdo son of Malcolm 3rd Chief son of Norman 2nd Chief.
Here the first group of three names is identical with the second group of
three names, which probably led to the confusion of the early members
of the Clann mhic Tharmaid with the chiefs of the Clan MacLeod as
shown in the Gesto Pedigree of Captain Neil MacLeod. The discovery of
these early missing members of the Clann mac mhic Tharmaid will go far
to enable us to compile a full pedigree of this ancient race.
1. Murdo MacLeod (c. 1332 - c. )
Murdo was the third son of Malcolm 3rd Chief of the Clan MacLeod of
Harris, probably by the daughter of Sir Neil Campbell of Loch Awe. He
was granted the MacLeod half of Glenelg, which his father had secured by
Royal Charter in 1342, although the area had been possessed by the
MacLeods for generations. Murdo was married and had issue, Tarmad
Caol (Norman, the slender), who succeeded him.