Cuimhnich air na daoine o'n d' thàinig thu
Remember the men from whom you sprang
       
This website represents an attempt to trace the Campbell Genealogy from the 
Campbell Boys of Ithaca, New York up through the centuries in Scotland.  I make no 
claim to the authenticity or accuracy of any relations claimed herein, and it's a 
wonder I didn't list Prince William and Spare Harry as siblings... My interest in 
genealogy springs from my strong desire to sit on a throne, anywhere's fine, with 
jesters and supplicants and concubines easing my passage through a lordly 
existence.  Actually, my curiosity was piqued at Christmas dinner 2006 when my 
brother Rory and I were reviewing the family history and easing Guinness from it's 
orphanage in the can to its more rightful location deep in our souls.  We were thick 
into embellishing our primary school accomplishments when he informed me that our 
grandfather had many siblings, whilst for years I was under the impression that 
Grandpa Charles Campbell had one twin brother and no more.  Have you ever had a 
seismic paradigm shift in your perception of the world? Well I haven't either, but I 
was surprised to discover that the familial DNA had splashed over the rim of the 
small pool I thought I had been swimming in since old enough to misremember these 
things... 
Much jockeying of the computer keyboard ensued, with the result that I've been able 
to wander the centuries and meet the relations that have not attended the annual 
family reunions. 

As improbable as it seems, the descendency from Irish and Scottish Kings to the 
Campbell boys of Ithaca may in fact exist, and if you subscribe to the theory that 
we're all descended from monkeys then perhaps this doesn't tax the imagination 
to any great extent... 

The connection is through Dad's grandmother Grace McIntyre's great-great grandmother 
Margaret Buchanan.  The original Buchanan ancestor to arrive on the west coast of 
Scotland was a displaced Irish King, Dermod Buidh O'Cathan (O'Kyan), King in Ulster, 
who was forced to flee Ireland in 1016 A.D. by the invasion of Danes into Ireland.  
Dermod is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Aodh mac 
Domhnaill O'Neill, King Of Ireland. The interceding antecedants were regional 
Kings and Princes of various districts in Ireland.  Dermod O'Cathan landed 
near Lennox, on the northern coast of Argyleshire, and on at least two 
occasions assisted our 27x great-grandfather King Malcolm the Second ("The 
Destroyer" - I ask you) in repelling Viking invasions into western Scotland, for 
which he was granted lands in Scotland. Dermod's son, Anselan, thus became Anselan 
Buidh O'Cathain, 1st of Buchanan. King Malcolm II and the Campbell destinies nearly 
intersected eleven years earlier, when in 1005 A.D. Malcolm murdered his cousin 
Kenneth III (King of Alba 997-1005) on the north shore of Loch Monzievaird at the 
Battle of Monzievaird, to gain access to the throne of Scotland. The battlefield is 
abutted on all sides by Glenturret, Brae of Monzievaird, Locherlour and 
Currochs, all farms that Campbells and their relatives worked in the 18th, 
19th, and 20th centuries. Malcolm II discouraged the aspirations of his relatives and 
ruled for 29 long years largely by force of sword - and in keeping with Scottish 
tradition, he relinquished his crown when he was murdered at Glamis in 1034. 

Further consolidation of the Campbell Boys claim to a throne, somewhere, is our 
descendency from Robert Bruce, King of Scots (1274-1329). We are descended from two 
of his daughters. Marjory Bruce, who married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of 
Scotland in 1315 and produced one child, a son, who would become Robert II, King of 
Scots. King Robert II's birth was remarkable in that he was delivered by caesarian 
section on March 2, 1316 after his mother Marjory was thrown from a horse and died as 
a result of her injuries (or perhaps a hasty caesarian section).  Robert II was the 
first Stewart King of Scots, and reigned from 1371-1390.  Through this lineage Robert 
the Bruce is our 20x great grandfather, and his grandson Robert II is therefore our 
18x great grandfather.  We are also descended through a different line from his 
daughter Elizabeth Bruce, who was married to Sir Walter Oliphant and was the mother 
of Sir John Oliphant, and thusly down to me, Sir Kyle Campbell.    

I was really impressed to discover that I am a regal sproutling sprung from 
royal loins, until I fiddled with the math and discovered that I have 
roughly 1,048,000 20x great grandparents. Impossible!  In 1600 A.D. the population of 
Scotland was only about 800,000 so how can I possibly have over 1 million 20x g-
grandparents in 1300 A.D.? Simple - inbreeding!  As you wander backwards in time and 
descend your ancestral tree a single person can occupy multiple different positions 
in your various ancestral lineages - so your 20x great grandfather through your 
mother's line may be your 18x great grandparent through your father's lineage - 
interesting to contemplate, and surprising that we're not all six-fingered and 
cycloptic... 

I am unable to confirm the descendency of Duncan Campbell b. 1742 from John 
Campbell b. 1720. Although this connection was provided by The Clan Campbell 
Society of North America, a quick perusal of Duncan's entry and photograph of 
his birthsite at Braefordie on a fine February afternoon makes it seem 
incredible that a shoemaker in Glasgow (John) would move to a windswept 
hillside in the Highlands to raise a family. If onomastics are observed Duncan's 
eldest son Archibald would most likely be named for Duncan's father, so "John" 
doesn't quite fit here.  I think Duncan's mother was a McEwen, possibly one of the 
McEwens that were formerly MacDougalls and changed their surname to McEwen after they 
relocated from Fearnan on the north shore of Loch Tay to Ardtalnaig on the south 
shore of Loch Tay. I also suspect that our Campbells are related to the Campbells of 
Glenlyon that resided in and around Lawers, on the north side of Loch Tay. These 
Campbells sold the land they owned in that area in the 1500s, collected some of the 
soil from there and relocated to Strathearn, between Comrie and Crieff.  They 
deposited the soil on their newly acquired land and dubbed the location "Lawers".  If 
you peruse an old map of that area of Perthshire you will see two "Lawers" roughly 10 
miles apart and separated by Loch Tay. Travellers asking for directions to Lawers are 
routinely never seen again...  The Campbell origins in this region that are confirmed 
from as early as 1742 lead me to believe that we are descended from the Breadalbane 
Campbells... 
(MORE)

There have been other surprises - at least five of Duncan Campbell's 
(b.1742) thirteen children emigrated from Perthshire to New York State in the 
early and mid 1800's. Son Duncan (b. 1790), a physician and Presbyterian 
minister, returned to Perthshire from Caledonia, New York in 1859 or 1860, 
twenty years after his departure from Scotland in 1839. Henry, John and Daniel farmed 
in Madison, Montgomery, Herkimer and Schenectady Counties in upstate New York, and 
sister Christian was a nurse in New York City.  Henry and Christian died without 
marrying or producing offspring, but John has many desdendants farming that area to 
this day.  Another son, Peter, was a M.D. general practitioner in Bridge of Allan, 
about 20 miles south of Comrie.  

I would like to acknowledge Mary Payne, a Campbell relation presently living in 
Tennessee, for all the information she has provided in connecting the Campbell 
relatives, particularly more recent Campbells and the descendents of Duncan Campbell 
(b.1742) - thank you!  I would also like to thank my uncle, Brian Craik, who has done 
extensive research on the Craik/Dowey/Tinsley/Kelly side of the family - almost all 
my information is borrowed directly from his efforts - thank you, Brian!

Please contact me (Kyle Brodie Campbell) at kcampbell11@twcny.rr.com with any 
corrections or additional information.   

Enjoy!