Clan MacMillan
Chief George MacMillan of MacMillan & Knap
George MacMillan was born 1930 in London, England, the eldest of the five children of the late General Sir Gordon H. A. MacMillan and Marian Blakiston-Houston. George went to Eton College, Windsor, and then read Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge. He initially pursued an academic career - despite being handicapped from an early age by
George MacMillan was born 1930 in London, England, the eldest of the five children of the late General Sir Gordon H. A. MacMillan and Marian Blakiston-Houston. George went to Eton College, Windsor, and then read Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge. He initially pursued an academic career - despite being handicapped from an early age by an hereditary eye disease (Retinitis Pigmentosa) which makes it impossible for him to read from the page himself - and, after teaching classics at Wellington College, Berkshire, for ten years, was in 1963 invited to Canada to spend a year as "Visiting Professor in Religious Studies" at Trinity College, Toronto.
In 1961 George had married Jane Spurgin, an Oxford University graduate and medical social worker at St.Thomas' Hospital in London.
Despite enjoying all the traveling and other activities that fill his life to overflowing, George's first love, along with his immediate family, is Finlaystone; the gardens and woods of which he cultivates personally every day of the year that he is at home.
MacMillans are specially catered for in the Clan Centre that George and Jane opened in 1991.
He remains devoted to the woods and gardens that he and Jane took so much pleasure in together, and is always delighted to show them off to visiting clanspeople (preferably by prior appointment, but he's usually around the estate somewhere - if not visiting cousins around the world!).
Clan History
The Clan Macmillan traces it's origins back to the very beginning of modern Scottish history, when the traditional tribal societies of the Gaelic speaking Celts were being supplanted by the conquering Normans from the south. The Clan has been traced back to King MacBeth, the last of the Celtic kings, who reigned for seventeen years. Malc
The Clan Macmillan traces it's origins back to the very beginning of modern Scottish history, when the traditional tribal societies of the Gaelic speaking Celts were being supplanted by the conquering Normans from the south. The Clan has been traced back to King MacBeth, the last of the Celtic kings, who reigned for seventeen years. Malcolm Can More's son Alexander I (reigned 1107-1124) appointed the Culdee clergymen Cormac, a great-great-grandson of MacBeth, as the first diocesian Bishop of Dunkeld. It is from this Cormac that Macmillans descend. Through Cormac, Macmillans may claim both royal and Celtic Spiritual heritage. The third son of Cormac, Bishop of Dunkeld, was named "Gillie Crisosd" (Gillchrist), or "Servant of Christ". He is the true progenitor of the Macmillans. He is remembered in the Macmillan Arms, where the three "mullets azure" (blue stars) at the top of the shield are heraldic representations of both an origin in the Mormaorship of Moray, and descent from a third son of an important person of worth.
The Culdees continued their allegiance to Celtic Christianity long after the Roman Catholic hierarchy had triumphed around them. One of their distinguishing marks was a tonsure (clerical haircut) known as the Tonsure of Saint John, their patron. They shaved their hair on the front of the head from ears forward, leaving the hair on the back to grow long. This "Tonsure of Saint John" or (in Gaelic) "Mhaoil-lain", was the center of a heated controversy in the 8th century. Gillie Crisosd was called "an Gillie Mhaoil lain" (Latin: "Malcolium McMolini"; Gaelic: "Mac'ille-Mhaoil-lain").
Macmillin is one of the oldest of the highland clans. Our motto (from Virgil), "Miseris Succerrere Disco") means "I learn to succour the distressed". Clan in Gaelic means "children"; Clan Macmillan can be interpreted as "Children of the sons of the Tonsured Servant". Clan Macmillan was not allowed to remain in one area because they were removed from the land many times and placed in other areas.
There are Macmillans in Knapdale, Lochaber, Galloway, and now around the world.
Clan motto: "Miseris Succurrere Disco"
Clan motto: "Miseris Succurrere Disco"
Clan MacMillan's motto is Miseris Succurrere Disco (Latin for "I learn to succour the distressed"). It derives from The Aeneid by Virgil in which the Carthagian queen Dido says"Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco". This translates as "Not myself being unacquainted with difficulty, I learn to succour the distressed". Who first employ
Clan MacMillan's motto is Miseris Succurrere Disco (Latin for "I learn to succour the distressed"). It derives from The Aeneid by Virgil in which the Carthagian queen Dido says"Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco". This translates as "Not myself being unacquainted with difficulty, I learn to succour the distressed". Who first employed it in this context and when is not known. The earliest record of it being applied in reference to the Clan is the signet ring of Rev. John McMillan of Balmaghie (c.1699 - 1753). It accompanies the coat of arms matriculated in 1742.
Plant Badge: Holly
Clan motto: "Miseris Succurrere Disco"
Well before badges and tartan identified a Highland clansman's affiliation, the plant badge was the only identifying emblem, this affixed to the bonnet. For Clan MacMillan this badge is holly. Other clans sharing the holly badge are Drummond, MacInnes, MacLean and Matheson, this being coincidental and not connoting any other relationship with Clan MacMillan.
Clan MacMillan Names & Septs
Clan MacMillan has over 250 recognized spellings.
The Clan MacMillan International website has a list of the names.
MacMillan Septs
Clan MacMillan like all Scottish clans has several Septs or sub-names that have a relationship to the clan. This can be confusing as we have a Bell Sept and there is a separate Clan Bell. Additionally the septs sometimes started due to a physical trait (Blue eyed lad) or an occupation such as a baker (Baxter Sept). Some of these septs
Clan MacMillan like all Scottish clans has several Septs or sub-names that have a relationship to the clan. This can be confusing as we have a Bell Sept and there is a separate Clan Bell. Additionally the septs sometimes started due to a physical trait (Blue eyed lad) or an occupation such as a baker (Baxter Sept). Some of these septs are wide spread across Scotland and are associated with several different Scottish clans.
A few Clan MacMillan Septs are
Baxter
Bell
Blue
Brown
Walker
Clan MacMillan Tartans
Jane MacMillan Memorial Scholarship
Clan MacMillan Pacific Branch has set up an scholarship to honor the memory of Jane MacMillan, the late wife of Chief George MacMillan. The scholarship is open to all current members, their children and grandchildren for the purpose of post High School education.