Clan Forsyth ( gd, Clann Fearsithe, IPA:
ˆkʰɫ̪aun̴̪ˈfɛɾʃɪhÉ™ is a
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...
.
[Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The ]Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...
). Published in 1994. Pages 140 – 141.
History
![Tartan Forsyth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Tartan_Forsyth.jpg)
Origins of the clan
The Clan Forsyth's history dates back to before the twelfth century and as is usually the case with families who date back this far, the derivation of the family's surname is uncertain.
If the name is of
Celtic origin, then it may derive from ''Fearsithe'', which is
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, GÃ idhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
for ''man of peace''.
However, there is a tradition that gives a
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
origin from ''Forsach'', who was amongst the
Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pr ...
who settled on lands on the
River Dordogne in
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquità nia ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
The Viscomte de Fronsoc accompanied
Eleanor of Provence to marry
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
in London and from 1236 to 1246 lived at the English court.
This family are believed to have obtained lands in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
and from there moved to the
Scottish Borders.
Wars of Scottish Independence
In 1296 William de Fersith appears on the
Ragman Rolls
Ragman Rolls are the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favour of Balliol i ...
submitting to
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
.
Sometime after 1306, Osbert, the son of Robert de Forsyth, received a grant for the lands of Sauchie in
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
It borders Perth ...
from
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
.
During the
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...
Osbert distinguished himself at the
Battle of Bannockburn and received confirmation of the realm of his lands under the great seal in 1320.
![Stirlingcastle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Stirlingcastle.jpg)
In 1368 Osbert's son was appointed as the king's macer and as constable of
Stirling Castle.
Fersith the clerk received a royal pension of one hundred pounds from
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of St ...
.
Many prominent burgesses and civic dignitaries bore the name and the family became settled around
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
.
14th, 15th and 16th centuries
Sometime before 1488, David Forsyth of Dykes acquired his lands in
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...
.
He specifically claimed the de Fronsocs as his ancestors and his seal bore heraldry similar to their arms.
Forsyth Castle which was at Dykes was demolished in 1828.
A branch of the clan moved from Dykes to Inchnoch Castle in Monklands and their descendants spread throughout
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
Ayrshire.
William Forsyth had been baillie of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
in around 1365 and his son, William, moved to
St Andrews in 1423 where he subsequently acquired the barony of Nydie.
Alexander the fourth Baron of Nydie died at the
Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...
in 1513.
His grandson, James, married Elizabeth Leslie who was a granddaughter of the
Earl of Rothes and a great-granddaughter of
James III of Scotland
James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh ...
.
The Forsyths fortunes were tied to their extremely powerful relatives and they acquired lands near the royal
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of ...
.
John Forsyth was appointed the king's macer in 1538 and later
Falkland Pursuivant
Falkland Pursuivant of Arms is a Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
The title was first mentioned in 1493 and it is derived from the Royal Palace of the same name located in Fife. The title is often used for a Pursuivan ...
.
The present chiefs of Clan Forsyth are descended from the Falkland Forsyths.
17th, 18th and 19th centuries
Another branch of the Clan Forsyth settled near
Monymusk
Monymusk ( gd, Monadh Musga) is a planned village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
History
Malcolm Canmore first established Celtic foundation on the site in 1078 The Culdees of Munimusc are recorded as inhabiting the site in 117 ...
and William Forsyth represented
Forres
Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There a ...
in the Parliament of 1621.
Alexander John Forsyth was a pioneer in the development of modern firearms.
In the eighteenth century his work led to the replacement of the
flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also know ...
with the
percussion lock
The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
.
William Forsyth (b.1737), was a distinguished horticulturalist who went to London to study botanical gardens in
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
He was appointed Chief Superintendent of the royal
Kensington Gardens and
St James's Palace in 1784.
Peter Taylor Forsyth (b.1848) was Principal of Hackney Theological College and in 1909 published his most influential work, ''The Person and Place of Jesus Christ''.
Clan chief
When, in 1672,
Charles II instituted a public register of the clans the then chief of Clan Forsyth refused to attend. The clan was subsequently stripped of its recognition and the chief lost his legal title. This situation continued for the next 300 years until
St. Andrews Day
Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew is ...
1978 when Lord Lyon, King of Arms, accepted the claim of Alistair Forsyth, the Baron of Ethie, to become Chief of the Forsyth clan.
Alistair Forsyth resides in a French
chateau having set up a
Highland cattle ranch in Western Australia.
Allan Forsyth acts as Clan commissioner in New Zealand.
Clan Forsyth Society - N.Z Forsyth Clan Committee
clanforsyth.org.nz. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
Clan Castles
*Ethie Castle
Ethie Castle is a 14th-century castle, situated around 3 miles north of the fishing town of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland.
History
Ethie Castle dates to around 1300, when the monks at nearby Arbroath Abbey built a sandstone keep. The castle pass ...
, Angus & Dundee: About 5 miles north east of Arbroath, on minor roads 2 miles east of A92, about 0.75 miles west of the sea, at Ethie Castle. Now in private ownership. www.ethiecastle.com for more details.
*Inchnoch Castle, Lanarkshire & Glasgow area: About 2.5 miles north of Coatbridge, on minor roads north of B804, about 0.5 miles north east of Mamock. (Ruin – Slight remains survive of a tower house).
*Dykes Castle, Lanarkshire & Glasgow area: About 2 miles west of Stonehouse, on minor roads north of A71, just north of Glassford. (Ruin). Dykes was long a property of the Forsyth family and they built a castle here about 1350. The story goes that the family had defeated an English force and were given the property as a reward.
*Nydie Castle, Fife, about 5 miles west of St Andrews, on minor roads north of B939 or south of A91, south of River Eden, 2 miles north and west of Strathkinnes, at or near Nydie Mains. (Ruin). Nydie was a property of the Forsyth family from 1435 to 1608. 'Needy' is marked on the Atlus Novus map of Fife.
*Polmaise Castle, Stirlingshire & Clackmannan: about 3 miles east and south of Stirling, on minor roads north of A905, just north of Fallin, on southern shore of River Forth, at Polmaise. (Ruin). In the 14th century the lands of Polmaise Marischal were given to the Forsyths.
*Ecclesgreig Castle, located just northwest of St Cyrus, a coastal village in Aberdeenshire. The house and estate has had multiple names and families associated with it throughout the ages. Initially it was known as Criggie, then Mount Cyrus and finally given the name Ecclesgreig by the Forsyth-Grants. It identifies in the Forsyth-Grant ancestry in the period after 1843. House is a ruin and in private ownership. www.ecclesgreig.com for more details.
See also
*Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...
* Forsyth (surname)
*Ethie Castle
Ethie Castle is a 14th-century castle, situated around 3 miles north of the fishing town of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland.
History
Ethie Castle dates to around 1300, when the monks at nearby Arbroath Abbey built a sandstone keep. The castle pass ...
, the Clan's seat.
*Forsyth–Edwards Notation
Forsyth–Edwards Notation (FEN) is a standard notation for describing a particular board position of a chess game. The purpose of FEN is to provide all the necessary information to restart a game from a particular position.
FEN is based on a sys ...
, a standard notation for describing a particular board position of a chess game.
*, a United States Navy patrol frigate in commission from 1945 to 1946.
*The Forsyth Institute
The Forsyth Institute, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the leading centers for dental and craniofacial research in the world. It was envisioned in 1908 by James Forsyth, who left $500,000 in his will for the establishment of a dent ...
, an oral health research institute based in Boston, Massachusetts.
*Nicolas Denys
Nicolas Denys (1598? – 1688) was a French-born merchant, governor, author, and settler in New France. He founded settlements at St. Pierre (now St. Peter's, Nova Scotia), Ste. Anne (Englishtown, Nova Scotia) and Nepisiquit (Bathurst, New Br ...
, "Falsified Genealogies" Section.
* William Forsyth (merchant)
* James W. Forsyth
* Forsyth, Montana
Forsyth is a city in and the county seat of Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,647 at the 2020 census. Forsyth was established in 1876 as the first settlement on the Yellowstone River, and in 1882 residents named the t ...
* John Forsyth (loyalist) John Forsyth (December 8, 1762 – December 27, 1837) was a partner in the influential commercial house of Forsyth, Richardson & Co. He was a politician, co-founder and vice-president of the Bank of Montreal, and Colonel of the Royal Montreal Caval ...
* Forsyth - Music
References
External links
* New Zealand Branch of Clan Forsyth Societ
http://www.clanforsyth.org.nz/default.htm
* USA Branch of Clan Forsyth Societ
http://clanforsyth.com/
* Clan Forsyth Societ
http://www.clanforsythsociety.net
* Clan Forsyth Australi
* History of Forsyth Cla
http://www.rampantscotland.com/clans/blclanforsyth.htm
* Forsyth Heraldr
* Dead PC Tycoon's Estate Eaten up by Credit Card Debt
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/04/22/charles_forsyth_legacy/
* Clan Heir Jailed For Frau
* Downfall of Clan Heir Jailed over a Multi-million Co
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Downfall+of+clan+heir+jailed+over+a+multi-million+con;+Computer+fraud...-a0131369574
{{Scottish clans
Scottish clans, Forsyth