File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking on a character will take you to their section.)
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
rect 248 18 310 85 Eider McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
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File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
poly 226 265 243 261 259 271 269 289 261 308 250 325 270 346 282 351 279 356 262 363 240 377 241 404 231 399 204 399 214 382 201 349 197 329 219 316 213 292 213 276 Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
poly 222 231 232 213 245 209 246 181 283 174 293 204 295 224 304 228 299 249 292 251 284 282 303 275 305 309 289 347 275 345 255 324 271 289 258 266 237 257 218 260 229 240 Angus "Pothole" McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
default Glasgow 1877
The Clan McDuck is a fictional
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, 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 ...
of cartoon ducks from which
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
character
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
is descended. Within the
Donald Duck universe
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Don ...
, the clan is related to the American
Duck family through the marriage of Hortense McDuck and Quackmore Duck,
Donald
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
and
Della Duck
Della Duck (sometimes named Dumbella Duck) is a fictional character created in 1937 by Al Taliaferro and Ted Osborne. She is a core member of the Disney Duck family, as the niece of Scrooge McDuck, the younger twin sister of Donald Duck and the ...
's parents, giving both of them partial Scottish ancestry.
Clan McDuck was created by American comic book author
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
, who also created the character of Scrooge McDuck. Barks' 1948 story "
The Old Castle's Secret
"The Old Castle's Secret" is a 32-page Disney comics adventure/mystery/horror story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. It was first published by Dell Publishing in ''Four Color'' #189 (June 1948). Characters include Scrooge McDuck, Donald ...
," in which Scrooge and his nephews search for hidden treasure in McDuck Castle, introduced the backstory of the clan. Other authors built on Barks' work, most notably
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
in his 12-part comic saga ''
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
'' (1992–94) which introduced Scrooge's immediate family.
Literary origins
In the early 1950s, Carl Barks was in his second decade of creating comic book stories starring Donald Duck and his various relatives. He had personally created several of the latter, including cousin
Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
and uncle Scrooge McDuck, although the specific relationships between them were still uncertain. To better define these relationships, Barks created a version of the McDuck/Duck/Coot
family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
for his own personal benefit, incidentally creating several additional characters.
During his retirement, Barks' stories remained popular and gained him unexpected fame. Barks gave several interviews during which he answered questions about his stories and the characters he had created. In 1981, Barks described his personal version of Donald's family tree, which was used by amateur artist Mark Worden in drawing the family tree and including portraits of the characters mentioned. Worden's tree was first published in several
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
s, and later in the Disney-licensed ''
Carl Barks Library
''The Carl Barks Library'' (''CBL'') is a series of 30 large hardcover books reprinting all of the Disney comics stories and covers written and/or drawn by Carl Barks. Stories that were modified in the original publication, sometimes for producti ...
'', a ten-volume hardcover collection of Barks' stories in black-and-white.
In 1987, Don Rosa, a long-time fan of Carl Barks and a personal friend of Mark Worden, started creating his own stories featuring Scrooge McDuck. His stories contained numerous references to older stories by Barks as well as several original ideas. After several years he gained a fan base of his own. In the early 1990s, the
Egmont Group
The Egmont Group (formerly The Gutenberghus Group) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise mass me ...
, the publishing house employing Rosa, offered him an ambitious assignment: he was to create the definitive version of Scrooge's biography and a family tree to accompany it. The project was intended to end decades of contradictions between stories which caused confusion to readers. The project was to become ''
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''. The family tree accompanying it was first published in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
on July 3, 1993.
In the process of working on Scrooge's biography, Rosa studied Barks' old stories in detail. Rosa made note of as many clues as he could of Scrooge's past given by Barks – which Rosa dubbed "Barksian facts" – and used them to write new stories. Despite the ambitious nature of the project, Rosa himself stressed in the introduction to the book "...this version of Scrooge's life is not the 'official' version – there's no particular reason why I (or anyone else) should expect other Duck writers to adhere to my vision of Scrooge's history. As carefully and authentically as I sought to construct it, it was never intended to be anything but my personal telling of the life of Scrooge McDuck."
Modern family tree by Carl Barks
The family tree below shows the McDuck portion of Donald's family tree according to Carl Barks. The chart is based on a 1950s sketch made by Barks for personal use, which was later illustrated by artist Mark Worden in 1981. According to Barks, Matilda McDuck is married to Goosetail Gander, and the couple adopts Donald's cousin Gladstone. The character Old "Scotty" McDuck does not appear in any stories, but eventually became Fergus McDuck in Don Rosa's stories.
Modern family tree by Don Rosa
This family tree is based on the work of
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
.
The seat of Clan McDuck
The
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
of Clan McDuck is McDuck Castle (alternately called Castle McDuck) which is located in Dismal Downs, somewhere in
Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor (, gd, Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, where it extends from and into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Highland), and the area of ...
, a non-fictional location within Scotland. The nearest village is the fictional MacDuich. The castle usually appears in good condition considering its great age. However, in the Barks story "Hound of the Whiskervilles" (1960) the castle is in ruins.
The comics continuity does not establish when McDuck Castle was built, but it first appears (on the fictional timeline) in 946 when the
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
laid siege to it. For many centuries the castle served as the home of the
clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...
. In 1675, the McDucks were run out of the castle due to the depredations of a "monstrous
devil dog
Devil Dog is a nickname for a United States Marine coined during World War I.
History
Multiple publications of the United States Marine Corps claim that the nickname "Teufel Hunden"—"Devil Dogs" in English—was bestowed upon the M ...
" in Dismal Downs, later discovered to be a plot by the rival Clan Whiskerville.
At this time, many of the McDucks moved to the village of MacDuich and to
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 ...
. Even after their departure, the clan still owned the castle and continued to pay the taxes by pooling their incomes. By 1885, only Fergus and Jake McDuck remain to pay the taxes, but their combined income is not enough, causing
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
to auction it off. Scrooge then buys the estate, allowing his family to reoccupy the castle. He also hires local
dogface Dogface may refer to:
*Dogface (TV series), ''Dogface'' (TV series), UK sketch show
*Dogface (military), US military term
*Dogface (album), ''Dogface'' (album), by Leash Law
*DogFace (book), ''DogFace'' (book), by Barbara O'Brien
Dogface may also ...
Scottie McTerrier as caretaker.
Sometime after Scottie's death, Scrooge's sister Matilda becomes caretaker.
In the ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' continuity, Castle McDuck was built by Scrooge's great-great grandfather Silas who incorporated the castle into an existing
Druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...
to save on construction costs. This story would date the castle itself to about the 18th century. The Druids, seeking revenge on the McDucks for taking away their sacred meeting place, scared the clan away using trained phosphorescent hounds. Years later, Scrooge returns with Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby and uncovers the mystery. Scrooge befriends the Druids and partners with them to turn Castle McDuck into a tourist attraction. Scrooge plans to give a share of the profit to the Druids as
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
for desecrating their stone circle. The story is loosely based on the Barks story "Hound of the Whiskervilles", which was in turn loosely based on ''
The Hound of the Baskervilles
''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...
''. In the
2017 ''DuckTales'' series, the castle is Clan McDuck's ancestral home, as in the comics, and is protected by the spirits of the McDuck ancestors buried there. Scrooge used part of his fortune to purchase and restore the castle as a home for his parents, but because he used discount druid stones, his parents were cursed with immortality and bound to the castle, which appears only once every five years.
The castle appears in the Carl Barks stories ''The Old Castle's Secret'' (1948) and ''Hound of the Whiskervilles'' (1960) and in the Don Rosa stories ''
The Last of the Clan McDuck
"The Last of the Clan McDuck" is a 1992 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the first of the original 12 chapters in the series ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. The story takes place from 1877 to 1880 when Scrooge is a child in Glasgow ...
'' (1992), ''
The New Laird of Castle McDuck
"The New Laird of Castle Mcduck" is a 1993 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the fifth of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place in 1885.
The story was first published in the Dani ...
'' (1993), ''
The Billionaire of Dismal Downs
"The Billionaire of Dismal Downs" is a 1993 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the ninth of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place from 1898 to 1902.
The story was first published ...
'' (1993) and ''
The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter from Home
"The Old Castle's Other Secret", alternately titled "A Letter from Home", is Don Rosa's 2004 sequel to "The Crown of the Crusader Kings". The title is a reference to "The Old Castle's Secret", which was the second story to feature Scrooge McDuck a ...
'' (2004). Other comic book authors have also used the castle, such as Andrew Galton, Dave Angus, and
Vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
in ''The Crying Monster'' (1982). In the 1987 TV series ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'', McDuck Castle appears in the episode
"The Curse of Castle McDuck". In the
2017 ''DuckTales'' series, the castle is the setting of the episodes
"The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" and
"The Fight for Castle McDuck!".
Tartan of Clan McDuck
![McDuck tartan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/McDuck_tartan.png)
The fictional McDuck
tartan
Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
first appears in 1960 in ''Hound of the Whiskervilles''. However, the coloring of the tartan was not Barks' decision but that of
colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...
s working for
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
, which first published the story; subsequent publications showed the tartan having differing colors. When Don Rosa decided to include the tartan in his stories, he used the original coloring of green and orange. Nevertheless, some European publications have still shown variations in Rosa's color scheme. (See Sir Roast McDuck's
tam o' shanter cap in the illustration at the top of the page, which was first published in France.) The old clansmen seen on ''DuckTales'' wear a green and orange tartan, but of a slightly different design from that of the comics.
Ancient McDucks
Scrooge Shah and Prince Donduk
Scrooge Shah was the last king of Sagbad and the earliest known ancestor of Scrooge McDuck. A young King Khan Khan (2050 BC-1967 BC) sacked the city of Sagbad in 2033 BC, but Scrooge Shah and Prince Donduk, his heir apparent, managed to escape. Khan Khan lost their tracks, but would much later locate their distant descendants. Scrooge Shah features in the story "King Scrooge the First" (1967) by
Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
and
Tony Strobl
Anthony Joseph Strobl ( ; May 12, 1915 – December 29, 1991) was an American comics artist and animator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland School of Art from 1933–37, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who actually g ...
.
Postclassical McDucks
Eider McDuck
Sir Eider McDuck (880-946; from earlier Eider MacDuich) was the
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
of Clan McDuck during an
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
invasion in 946 (despite England and Scotland signing a peace treaty in 945). Eider was killed during the Anglo-Saxons'
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
of McDuck Castle after his
serfs
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
abandoned him. He had refused to buy them arrows because they were too expensive, and only paid his serfs, collectively, 30 copper pieces an hour.
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
Birth And Death Dates Of The Ducks, Coots And McDucks
/ref>Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
: ''The Old Castle's Secret
"The Old Castle's Secret" is a 32-page Disney comics adventure/mystery/horror story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. It was first published by Dell Publishing in ''Four Color'' #189 (June 1948). Characters include Scrooge McDuck, Donald ...
''. First published in 1948
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
. Eider McDuck is first mentioned in Barks' ''The Old Castle's Secret'' (1948).
Friar Juicy McDuck (910-971) and Sir Smokt McDuck (b. 931) are buried in the McDuck cemetery as seen in the Carl Barks painting ''Dubious Doings at Dismal Downs''.
He makes a cameo appearance in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", both as a statue in front of the titular Castle McDuck and as a ghost.
Quackly McDuck
Sir Quackly McDuck (1010-1057; from earlier Quackly MacDuich) was clan chief when King Macbeth was killed in 1057. That same year, Macbeth offered Quackly a treasure chest in exchange for his support in the ongoing war for the throne. Quackly agreed and served the king during the war, but became obsessed with protecting the treasure, eventually trapping himself inside the castle walls with it. Quackly and his treasure became a McDuck legend, and it is believed that his ghost continues to protect the treasure and the castle.
In 1877, Quackly's ghost saves a young Scrooge McDuck from the Whiskervilles of Dismal Downs. Without revealing his true identity, he suggests to Scrooge that he travel to America and work for his Uncle Pothole, thus serving as the catalyst for all of Scrooge's adventures. In 1885, Quackly again tries to save Scrooge, but his action unintentionally brings about Scrooge's temporary death. In heaven, Quackly is reprimanded by his relatives for interfering in earthly events. Quackly McDuck is first mentioned in ''The Old Castle's Secret'' (1948) by Carl Barks, and first appears in ''The Last of the Clan McDuck
"The Last of the Clan McDuck" is a 1992 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the first of the original 12 chapters in the series ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. The story takes place from 1877 to 1880 when Scrooge is a child in Glasgow ...
'' (1994) by Don Rosa.
Murdoch McDuck
Sir Murdoch McDuck (?-1066; from earlier Murdoch MacDuich) was a businessman who patented the longbow. Most notably in 1066, when the Normans invaded England, he had the latter sign a contract with him so they would have enough longbows to fight off the invaders. However, they did not have enough arrows as Sir Murdoch charged extra for them. He is also the last of the Dark Ages McDucks and the one who modernized their family name "MacDuich" to the more familiar "McDuck". He only appears in the unfinished sketch-only story "The History of the Clan McDuck" (written and drawn approx. in 1992 by Don Rosa, but not released until December 2011), which was meant to serve as a prologue to "The Last of the Clan McDuck" before it was scrapped.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", Downy McDuck relates Murdoch's history (which remains intact) to Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nep ...
, and Webby Vanderquack
This article includes a list of characters from the The Walt Disney Company, Disney ''DuckTales'' animated franchise, including the DuckTales, original 1987 series and the DuckTales (2017 TV series), 2017 reboot series, as well as DuckTales the Mo ...
. His longbow is later used as a clue that the boys use to uncover the mystery behind their mother, Della's, disappearance.
Stuft McDuck
Sir Stuft McDuck (1110-1175) was a successful chief of Clan McDuck who oversaw a period of prosperity.
Roast McDuck
Sir Roast McDuck (1159-1205) succeeded his father, Stuft McDuck, as clan chief, while Clan McDuck was one of the richest clans in Scotland. However, in 1189, Roast offered much of the clan's wealth to the king of Scotland, William the Lion
William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...
, after William asked for his help in paying tribute to Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
. This act of patriotic generosity led to financial ruin for the clan. Aside from this imprudence, Roast is primarily remembered for his gluttony. In 1205, he raided the king's pantry and ate himself to death. Roast's memorial suit of armor displayed in Castle McDuck holds a knife and fork in its hands.Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The Last of the Clan McDuck" (part 1 of ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''). First published 1992
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
. The character is first mentioned in ''The Old Castle's Secret'' (1948) by Carl Barks. He has a small speaking role in ''The Last of the Clan McDuck
"The Last of the Clan McDuck" is a 1992 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the first of the original 12 chapters in the series ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. The story takes place from 1877 to 1880 when Scrooge is a child in Glasgow ...
'' (1994), but makes his first appearance in ''The New Laird of Castle McDuck
"The New Laird of Castle Mcduck" is a 1993 Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa. It is the fifth of the original 12 chapters in the series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. The story takes place in 1885.
The story was first published in the Dani ...
''.
His ghost makes a cameo appearance in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!"
Swamphole McDuck
Sir Swamphole McDuck (1190-1260) succeeded his father, Roast McDuck, as clan chief and inherited its financial problems. In 1220, Swamphole sealed the dungeon of Castle McDuck, which he claimed was an attempt to decrease maintenance costs. He did, however, create secret passageways in the castle leading to the dungeons. (These passageways would later be useful during subsequent sieges.) After his death in 1260, Swamphole was not buried in the clan cemetery; rather, his skeleton was placed inside his memorial suit of armor, which was placed in Castle McDuck. Swamphole McDuck is first mentioned in ''The Old Castle's Secret'' by Carl Barks. In ''The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter from Home
"The Old Castle's Other Secret", alternately titled "A Letter from Home", is Don Rosa's 2004 sequel to "The Crown of the Crusader Kings". The title is a reference to "The Old Castle's Secret", which was the second story to feature Scrooge McDuck a ...
'' (2004) by Don Rosa, it is revealed that Swamphole sealed the dungeons not to reduce maintenance costs, but to conceal a treasure.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", he is stated to be a treasure hunter (like Scrooge) who constructed secret passageways underneath Castle McDuck and let loose a demon dog to protect his treasure. His ghost later appears to ward off said demon dog alongside the ghosts of several of his family members.
Donald McDuck
Sir Donald McDuck, nicknamed "Black Donald Black Donald (Scottish Gaelic: ''Domhnall Dubh'' or ''Domnuill-dhu'') is a Highland colloquialism for the Devil in Scottish mythology. The defining characteristic of Black Donald is his cloven feet, which betray whatever disguise he assumes.
In h ...
" because of his foul temper, is said to have invented golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
, the hammer throw
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...
, and the caber toss
The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...
in 1440. His temper while playing golf resulted in James II of Scotland
James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...
outlawing the sport. Black Donald is mentioned in "The History of the Clan McDuck" by Don Rosa.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode "The Missing Links of Moorshire!", Scrooge McDuck relates the story of how "Black Donald" McDuck invented golf and subsequently got it banned due to his temper to Dewey, Louie, and Webby before participating in a golf tournament in Scotland.
Simon McDuck
Sir Simon McDuck (1437-1509) was the treasurer of the Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
and hid their treasure beneath McDuck Castle. He is mentioned in ''The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter from Home'' (2004) by Don Rosa.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck", Scrooge McDuck states Simon was the "accountant" to the Knights Templar who had stolen and hidden their treasure somewhere underneath Castle McDuck, and he had returned to his father Fergus to reluctantly ask for his help in finding it since he knows where it is. His ghost appears later in the episode to stop a ghost hound from attacking Scrooge's grandnephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Early modern McDucks
Malcolm McDuck
Malcolm "Matey" McDuck (1530-1564?) was a McDuck relative who settled in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and is suggested to be a previous incarnation of Scrooge McDuck. Malcolm served in the English Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, and in 1563 he became first mate of the frigate HMS ''Falcon Rover'', serving under Captain Loyal Hawk. The ''Falcon Rover'' raided Spanish targets in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
between 1563 and 1564. Also serving on the ''Falcon Rover'' was the boatswain, Pintail Duck, whose descendant, Quackmore Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, would marry Malcolm's descendant, Hortense McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
. The two were the parents of twins Donald
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
and Della Duck
Della Duck (sometimes named Dumbella Duck) is a fictional character created in 1937 by Al Taliaferro and Ted Osborne. She is a core member of the Disney Duck family, as the niece of Scrooge McDuck, the younger twin sister of Donald Duck and the ...
.
Malcolm is said to have lost his life on 9 December 1564 when the Spanish fleet sunk the HMS ''Falcon Rover''. However, in 1579, Malcolm was also said to have commanded the newly founded Fort Drakeborough, an establishment that in 1818 was taken over by Cornelius Coot
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of the ...
and renamed Fort Duckburg.Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
: "Back to Long Ago!". First published 1956
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
Malcolm first appears in "Back to Long Ago!" (1956) by Carl Barks.
He is mentioned on Webby Vanderquack's family chart in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series.
Locksley McDuck
Locksley McDuck was an 18th-century McDuck relative. Sometime after 1707, he became an associate of Scottish outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor
Robert Roy MacGregor ( gd, Raibeart Ruadh MacGriogair; 7 March 1671 – 28 December 1734) was a Scottish outlaw, who later became a folk hero.
Early life
Rob Roy was born in the Kingdom of Scotland at Glengyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, a ...
who is characterized as a noble thief who would "rob from the rich to give to the poor". Locksley's alliance with MacGregor would come to an end after Locksley was unable to "give to the poor" after having robbed the rich. He is mentioned in ''The History of The Clan McDuck'' by Don Rosa. His name is derived from the English village of Loxley, the traditional birthplace of Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
.
Hugh McDuck
Captain Hugh "Seafoam" McDuck (1710-1776) was a McDuck relative who settled in 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 ...
in 1727, as the clan had been driven from their ancestral home of Dismal Downs in 1675. Hugh turned to the sea for a living and became a successful merchant. He obtained his own ship, the ''Golden Goose'', and became known by the nickname "Seafoam".
In 1753, Seafoam McDuck signed a contract with Swindle McSue to deliver a cargo of horseradish
Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide ...
to Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. But McSue sabotaged the ''Golden Goose'' and the ship sank before reaching Jamaica. Upon returning to Scotland, Seafoam McDuck learned that his contract with McSue contained fine print stating that if the shipment was not completed, McDuck would forfeit all his possessions to McSue. Seafoam escaped with nothing but the clothes on his back, a silver pocket watch, and the golden dentures in his mouth.Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
: Untitled Uncle Scrooge story, later known as "The Horseradish Story". First published 1953
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
. It is later presumed that Seafoam was involved in the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and died in 1776. His descendant Quagmire McDuck inherited the silver pocket watch. Seafoam McDuck first appears in ''The Horseradish Story'' (1953) by Carl Barks.
His ghost makes a cameo appearance in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck".
Modern McDucks (1st generation)
Dingus McDuck
"Dirty" Dingus McDuck, was Scrooge's paternal grandfather. He worked as a coal miner
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
, married Molly Mallard, and had three sons – Angus, Fergus, and Jake. He appeared in Don Rosa's illustrated family tree, but has not appeared in any comic book stories. A 1960s story by Bob Gregory and Tony Strobl
Anthony Joseph Strobl ( ; May 12, 1915 – December 29, 1991) was an American comics artist and animator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland School of Art from 1933–37, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who actually g ...
identifies Scrooge's grandfather as Titus McDuck.
In the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck", Dingus is revealed to have had an antagonistic relationship with his son, Fergus (not unlike that of the latter and his son, Scrooge). In fact, knowing he would seek out Simon McDuck's treasure, he left his son a note telling him to work hard and not accept hand-outs inside a hidden chamber underneath Castle McDuck.
Molly Mallard
Molly McDuck (née Mallard) was the wife of Dingus McDuck, Scrooge's paternal grandmother, and the mother of Angus, Fergus, and Jake McDuck. Her first and only appearance was in an illustrated family tree created by Don Rosa; she has not appeared in any stories. Coincidentally, her maiden name is the same as the title character of ''Darkwing Duck
''Darkwing Duck'' is an American animated superhero comedy television series produced by Disney Television Animation (formerly Walt Disney Television Animation) that first ran from 1991 to 1992 on both the syndicated programming block ''The Disn ...
.''
Her ghost makes a cameo appearance in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series' episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!"
Quagmire McDuck
Quagmire McDuck was Dingus McDuck's brother and Scrooge McDuck's paternal great uncle. He inherited a silver watch from his ancestor Hugh "Seafoam" McDuck and passed it on to his nephew Fergus. After his death, Quagmire's estate remained unclaimed. Quagmire appears in the Carl Barks story "The Heirloom Watch" (1955).
His ghost makes a cameo appearance in the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck".
Modern McDucks (2nd generation)
Angus "Pothole" McDuck
Angus "Pothole" McDuck (born 1829) is the first child of Dingus and Molly McDuck, and is Scrooge's paternal uncle. Angus was born in 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 ...
in 1829. He was first mentioned in "The Great Steamboat Race" by Carl Barks and later appeared in person in a handful of stories by Don Rosa.
Angus migrated to the United States during the late 1840s. In 1850 he was working as a cabin boy in the Mississippi riverboat ''Drennan Whyte'' when it sank. He was the only survivor.Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The Master of the Mississippi" (chapter 2 of ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''. First published 1992
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
. He continued working on Mississippi riverboats and he had obtained his own by 1861, named ''Cotton Queen''. Around the time of the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861–1865) he became quite successful as a river boater. Soon after the end of the war in 1865 he and fellow river boater Porker Hogg became the co-owners of Cornpone Gables, a Southern plantation that had gone bankrupt. The two were unable to settle their differences and they decided to have a riverboat race in 1870 to decide who would be the owner. Both riverboats sank. Porker had two more riverboats but Angus spent the next ten years as a professional card player.
In 1880, in a poker game with Porker, Angus won the rights to one of his rival's riverboats, named ''Dilly Dollar''. Porker soon lost his other riverboat to Blackheart Beagle and his sons, the first generation of the Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of cartoon characters created in 1951 by Carl Barks for the Donald Duck universe. They are a family clan of Organized crime, organized criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first a ...
, a family of outlaws, and retired. Angus on the other hand hired his nephew Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
and a penniless inventor named Ratchet Gearloose
Gyro Gearloose is a cartoon character created in 1952 by Carl Barks for Disney comics. An anthropomorphic chicken, he is part of the Donald Duck universe, appearing in comic book stories as a friend of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and anyone who ...
as his crew. Business wasn't going well and Angus decided to retire in 1882. He left his riverboat to his nephew and settled down in .
He became the writer of a series of dime novel
The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...
s under the title ''The Master of Mississippi'', based on a highly exaggerated description of his life. His dime novels became very popular and to have more material to add he occasionally traveled through the country.Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff". First published 1996
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
In the story "The Vigilante of Pizen Bluff" by Don Rosa, he is seen appearing at Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
's Wild West. After the show's money is stolen by the Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because four of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted double ...
, Angus rides out with Bill, Scrooge, P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
, Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
, and Geronimo
Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...
to stop the bandits.
Angus' exact date of death is unknown.
In 1955, Porker's nephew, Horseshoe Hogg, and Scrooge McDuck would bring their uncles' steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
s back to the surface to finish the race for Cornpone Gables. Scrooge won, only to learn that 85 years of disuse made the mansion so fragile that he accidentally destroyed it with a sneeze.
A character based on Angus named "Catfish" McDuck appears in the 1987 ''DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' episode, "Once Upon a Dime", voiced by Peter Renaday
Peter Renaday is an American actor. His career spans several films and television shows. His major roles include Master Splinter in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', as well as Abraham Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents, and Henry in Countr ...
,
Fergus McDuck
Fergus McDuck (1835–1902Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The Billionaire of Dismal Downs" (part 9 of ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''). First published 1993
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
.) is the second child of Dingus and Molly McDuck and the father of Scrooge McDuck. As such he is a prominent character in ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''.
He was born in 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 ...
in 1835 to Dingus McDuck and Molly Mallard, who were both working as coal miners at the time. He spent most of his life as a mill worker.
According to a story by William Van Horn
William Van Horn (born February 15, 1939) is a Disney comics artist and writer, and has been since 1988. He draws mostly Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge stories, and he has also written and/or illustrated stories based on the animated series ''DuckT ...
, Fergus at some point had a short marriage with an unidentified woman, with whom he had the son Rumpus McFowl
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
. He later married Downy O'Drake, his wife in Rosa's stories, who became the mother of three of his children – Scrooge, Matilda, and Hortense.
The rest of Fergus' biography is shown in ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck''. In 1877 he encouraged his son to work to have his own money. Scrooge's obvious intelligence, skill at hard work and ambition made his father believe that Scrooge would be able to restore Clan McDuck to its former glory. In the story ''Of Ducks, Dimes, and Destinies'', it is revealed that Scrooge's Number One Dime came from Fergus, who gave it to the man who used it to pay Scrooge for shining his shoes.
In 1885 the Clan's hereditary lands would have been seized due to Fergus' inability to pay his taxes. But Scrooge spent his savings at the time ($10,000) to pay the taxes and become the new owner of their lands.Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The New Laird of Castle McDuck" (part 5 of ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''). First published 1993
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
. While Scrooge was away, Fergus and his family moved back to Castle McDuck, abandoned for centuries in Dismal Downs. The family continued to work to pay for the taxes and Scrooge sent them most all of the money he earned while traveling. Fergus became a widower in 1897.
Scrooge became rich in the Klondike and returned to Scotland in 1902 as a billionaire. Scrooge's intention was originally to settle in Dismal Downs but he quickly changed his mind and decided to settle in the United States. He wanted to take his family with him. His sisters accepted but Fergus decided to stay. He died during the night, aged 72, and was re-united with his wife Downy and the rest of the McDuck Clan as his three children left Scotland.
In Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
's ''The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter from Home
"The Old Castle's Other Secret", alternately titled "A Letter from Home", is Don Rosa's 2004 sequel to "The Crown of the Crusader Kings". The title is a reference to "The Old Castle's Secret", which was the second story to feature Scrooge McDuck a ...
'', it's revealed that Fergus tried to find the Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
treasure hidden in the castle McDuck by one of his ancestors, a Knight himself. Even though Fergus decided not to tell Scrooge about the treasure, he learns about it through other ways and, like Matilda McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
, thinks Fergus kept the secret from him because he disapproved of Scrooge. In the middle of their way to the treasure, Scrooge, Matilda and Scrooge's nephews find a letter from Fergus, who believed Scrooge would eventually find it, revealing the reason he hid the secret from Scrooge is that Scrooge would feel better building his own fortune instead of inheriting one.
Fergus appears in the classic 1987 ''DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' episode, "Once Upon a Dime", which explores Scrooge's history. Here he is referred to as "McPapa." Fergus' name and image are also present in the 2017 ''DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' series, which draws heavily from the comics. He later appears in the episode "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", having survived to the present day due to Scrooge rebuilding Castle McDuck using magic stones that granted his parents immortality. Scrooge and Fergus' relationship is initially tense, with the latter expressing apparent disapproval of the former; though in reality, he was upset because Scrooge had not been a part of his life. They later reconcile after Fergus reveals he was the one who gave Scrooge his Number One Dime, via Burt the Ditch Digger, in order to give him the gift of "self-reliance" since he was unable to afford a proper gift for him. Alan Young
Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...
, who voiced Scrooge in the original series, was meant to provide Fergus's voice, but passed away before he could record any dialogue and the role went to Graham McTavish
Graham McTavish (born 4 January 1961) is a Scottish actor and author. He is known for his roles as Dwalin in ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy, Vlad Dracula Țepeș in the Netflix animated franchise ''Castlevania'', Loki in various Marvel animated pr ...
.
In the 1993 NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
game ''DuckTales 2
''DuckTales 2'' is a platform video game developed by Make Software and published by Capcom. It is a sequel to the original '' DuckTales'' based on the Disney animated series of the same name. It was released on the Nintendo Entertainment Sy ...
'', Scrooge and his nephews found a piece of a treasure map that led to the lost treasure of a character named Fergus McDuck. However, this Fergus is not Scrooge's father but Scrooge's great-great-uncle.
Downy O'Drake
Downy McDuck (née O'Drake; 1840–1897) is Scrooge McDuck's mother. She was created by Don Rosa and first appears in ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''. She is of Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
origin and was born in 1840.
She was a very devoted housewife
A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...
and mother. She settled in Castle McDuck at Dismal Downs, Clan McDuck's old castle, along with her family in 1885. She died in 1897, and was buried in the McDucks' cemetery. She later appeared to her husband Fergus at his own passing, and together they joined various McDuck ancestors.
Downy's image and name are also present in the 2017 incarnation of ''DuckTales'', usually alongside those of her husband. Alongside Fergus, she makes a physical appearance in the episode, "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", voiced by Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series '' Extras'', in which she appeared from 2005 to 2007. She was a cast member of the ABC series ''Ugly Be ...
.
Jake McDuck
Jake McDuck (1832–?) is Scrooge McDuck's uncle. He was mentioned in the story "A Christmas for Shacktown
"A Christmas for Shacktown" is a 32-page Disney comics story written, drawn, and lettered by Carl Barks. The story was first published in '' Four Color'' #367 (January 1952), and tells of Donald Duck's attempts to raise money for a Christmas pa ...
" (1952) by Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
, in which Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
dresses up as Jake in an attempt to trick Scrooge into giving money to charity.
The character was later used by Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
, and appears in three of twelve original chapters of Rosa's ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''. He lived in the same house as his brother Fergus McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
and helped Fergus and his wife Downy O'Drake
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
to raise their children. He settled in McDuck castle along with his brother in 1885. However, it appears that by 1902, Jake was no longer living there.
According to Rosa's sketches and timelines, Jake was born in 1832 to coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
miners Dingus McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
and Molly Mallard, and grew up to become a stockyard hand in Glasgow. His date of death is unknown, but it appears that both Scrooge and Donald believed him to be alive in 1952.
Modern McDucks (3rd generation)
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck (1867, according to Don Rosa) is the first child of Fergus and Downy McDuck and is the protagonist of most stories involving the Clan McDuck. Unlike his two younger sisters, he remains unmarried, but in "The Last Adventure!" of the DuckTales series, Webby is revealed to actually be Scrooge's daughter via cloning and her original F.O.W.L. given name is April. This is in a reboot/alternate universe. In the original Webby and April are two separate characters and neither are related to Scrooge. Also, he comes to maintain close relationships with his nephew Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and his grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-nep ...
.
Matilda McDuck
Matilda McDuck (born 1871) is one of Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
's two younger sisters, the maternal aunt of his niece and nephew, Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and Della Duck
Della Duck (sometimes named Dumbella Duck) is a fictional character created in 1937 by Al Taliaferro and Ted Osborne. She is a core member of the Disney Duck family, as the niece of Scrooge McDuck, the younger twin sister of Donald Duck and the ...
and the maternal grandaunt of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. She was first mentioned in Carl Barks' 1950s sketch for a Duck family tree, where she was shown to have adopted Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
.[Carl Barks' Duck Family Trees](_blank)
/ref> The Matilda McDuck character was dropped in Barks' 1991 Duck Family Tree sketch (where Gladstone Gander is the biological grandson of Grandma Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
and not related to Scrooge), but Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
picked up the name, and used Matilda McDuck as a prominent character in ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''.
Matilda McDuck was born in 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 ...
, Scotland, in 1871 to Fergus McDuck
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and Hugh (Clicking o ...
and Downy O'Drake
File:Glasgow 1877 by Don Rosa.jpg, 329px, ''Glasgow 1877'', Clan McDuck portrait by Don Rosa; left to right: Jake, Matilda, Downy, Fergus, Hortense, Scrooge McDuck, Scrooge (age 10), and Angus; wall portraits: Malcolm, Eider, Quackly, Roast, and H ...
. She is the younger sister of Scrooge McDuck. She has a younger sister named Hortense.
In contrast to Scrooge and Hortense's fiery tempers, she usually had a calm demeanor. In 1902 Scrooge returned to Scotland and took both of his younger sisters with him to go to America. When he established his base in Duckburg
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donal ...
, Calisota
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the D ...
, United States he left Matilda and Hortense to run his empire from 1902 to 1930. In the meantime he traveled the world expanding his financial empire. In 1930, a conflict with Scrooge ended all relationships between him and his family, and his younger sisters are believed to have left Duckburg.Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa (), known simply as Don Rosa (born June 29, 1951), is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created fo ...
: "The Richest Duck in the World" (chapter 11 of ''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''). First published 1994
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
In the story ''The Old Castle's Other Secret or A Letter from Home'' (2004), Don Rosa used Matilda McDuck in a non-''Life and Times'' story for the first time. In this story, it is shown that she was hired by her nephew Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
(son of Hortense) to tend the McDuck castle in Scotland. The story shows the reconciliation between Matilda and Scrooge. It is suggested that Donald deliberately set them up for a reunion. Unfortunately, he did not get the thanks he expected until Scrooge admitted his shameful actions and regrets. This is the first time Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
met their maternal great aunt. In that story, Scrooge returns to McDuck Castle for another treasure and learns from Matilda that his family already knew about the treasure but their father Fergus decided not to tell Scrooge about it. Both Scrooge and Matilda thought that was because of Fergus' disapproval of Scrooge's greedy ways but after finding a letter on the way for the treasure (hence the other title "A Letter from Home") they learn Fergus's real motive was that he thought Scrooge would feel better building his own fortune instead of simply inheriting one.
Matilda, while trying to leave the castle, mentions Hortense. However, in the commentary in the American printing of the story, Don Rosa states that he was prevented from using Hortense because he would have had to explain why she had abandoned her family. So Hortense's fate remains a mystery. In the notes to the Danish publication of the story (Hall of Fame - Don Rosa Book 10), it is stated that the publisher decided that Hortense was "officially dead".
Matilda is usually drawn with a flower on her hat, which loses a petal in each panel in which she appears.
Don Rosa has suggested that Matilda McDuck could have married the well-known Disney character Ludwig Von Drake
Professor Ludwig Von Drake is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company. He is the paternal uncle of Donald Duck. He was first introduced as the presenter (and singer of " The Spectrum Song") in the cartoon ''An Adventure in ...
.
A picture of Matilda appears in the 2017 DuckTales series pilot episode, "Woo-oo!", as part of Webby's research on Scrooge's family. She later appears in person in the episode "The Fight for Castle McDuck!", voiced by Michelle Gomez
Michelle Gomez (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy series ''The Book Group'' (2002–2003), ''Green Wing'' (2004–2007), and '' Bad Education'' (2012–2013). She went on to appear ...
.
Hortense McDuck
Hortense Duck (née ''McDuck''; b. 1876) was introduced as a relatively well-connected member of her family. A daughter-in-law of Humperdink Duck and Elvira Duck, a younger sister to Matilda McDuck and Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
, wife to Quackmore Duck
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
, sister-in-law of Goostave Gander
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of th ...
and Duck family (Disney)#Daphne Duck, Daphne Duck, aunt to Gladstone Gander
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...
, mother of Della Duck
Della Duck (sometimes named Dumbella Duck) is a fictional character created in 1937 by Al Taliaferro and Ted Osborne. She is a core member of the Disney Duck family, as the niece of Scrooge McDuck, the younger twin sister of Donald Duck and the ...
and Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
, and finally maternal grandmother of Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
.
Hortense was born in 1876 in 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 ...
, Scotland as the youngest child of Fergus McDuck and Downy O'Drake. In Barks' tree, her oldest brother was Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
and her older sister Matilda McDuck. Some non-Barks writers gave Scrooge two half-brothers, Rumpus McFowl and Gideon McDuck, though these do not appear in Barks' conception of the family. De' Paperoni is a twin of Scrooge in a story. Jake McDuck, her paternal uncle, was also living with them.
Hortense was born in a working class family living in relative poverty. In 1877 her ten-year-old brother Scrooge started working as a shoe polisher in an effort to help support his family. At the time Hortense was merely an infant sucking on her thumb. She observed from a distance with her father and sister while her brother earned the Donald Duck universe#Number one dime, number one dime. Scrooge would spend some of his leisure time with his younger sisters, and occasionally repaired their dolls. Otherwise Hortense spent most of her time clinging to her older sister.
By 1880, Scrooge came to realize that his earnings were not enough despite his hard work and efforts. He emigrated to the United States in hopes of earning his own fortune. He was hired as a cabin boy on a merchant ship heading to . Scrooge noted that Hortense's "Bye, Scroogey" were her first spoken words. Before that, all she could say was "glxblt".
From an early age it was obvious Hortense had a fairly nasty temper combined with considerable strength, and on at least one occasion (in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Chapter 10) she has been called a spitfire. In 1882, Scrooge was hired as a cowboy by Murdo MacKenzie. To do this he had to ride Widow Maker, a mare who had already managed to dispose of five other cowboys. Scrooge soon managed to become her rider although he never really managed to tame her. He renamed the horse List of Donald Duck universe characters#Hortense, Hortense after his spirited six-year-old sister. The latter found this idea unflattering at best.
In 1885, the Clan McDuck's hereditary lands were in danger of being seized due to her father being unable to pay taxes. The lands also included Dismal Downs, the Clan's castle which had been abandoned since 1675. The Whiskervilles, traditional enemies of the McDucks since the 15th century, planned to gain ownership of the lands and were already trying to plunder the castle and its graveyard in search of old relics and treasure. Fergus and Jake guarded the Castle in order to stop them. Nine-year-old Hortense offered to help them and proved more effective in conflict than either of the elder McDucks. The Whiskervilles came to fear her.
In 1902 Scrooge McDuck returned to Scotland to fetch Hortense and their sister Matilda McDuck. When Scrooge established Duckburg
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donal ...
, Calisota
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the D ...
as his home base he started journeying the world trying to expand his financial empire. One of her proudest moments was when she single-handedly caused the entire United States Armed Forces, US military to flee Killmotor Hill armed only with a broom and her bad temper, much to the shame of the current president, Theodore Roosevelt, and the fear of the soldiers. From 1902 until 1930, she and Matilda ran Scrooge's empire from his home base while he was away. During these years Hortense met her boyfriend, Quackmore Duck, whom she married in 1920. Later the same year she gave birth to twins. Her son was named Donald Duck and her daughter Della Duck. Of the two only Donald inherited his mother's temper. A fight with Scrooge in 1930 ended all relationships between Scrooge and his family and she retired.
Scrooge may have claimed that he is the last McDuck, as he is the only male left. Hortense and Matilda changed their names to Duck after marriage, so, technically, Scrooge is the last McDuck.
Hortense is mentioned and pictured in the ''DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four seas ...
'' 2017 premier "Woo-oo!", where Webby Vanderquack
This article includes a list of characters from the The Walt Disney Company, Disney ''DuckTales'' animated franchise, including the DuckTales, original 1987 series and the DuckTales (2017 TV series), 2017 reboot series, as well as DuckTales the Mo ...
cites her as a connecting link between the triplets and Scrooge.
Rumpus McFowl
Rumpus McFowl was created by William Van Horn
William Van Horn (born February 15, 1939) is a Disney comics artist and writer, and has been since 1988. He draws mostly Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge stories, and he has also written and/or illustrated stories based on the animated series ''DuckT ...
and introduced as a lazy and greedy cousin of Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
. It was soon revealed that he was in fact Scrooge's half-brother, born during his mother's brief marriage to Fergus McDuck.
Rumpus McFowl is a tall, obese duck who wears a green coat and a black bowler hat. He is not ashamed to take advantage of Scrooge McDuck's money at every chance he gets, citing his relationship to Scrooge as the reason. He has never been shown to do any work. Scrooge views Rumpus as a useless good-for-nothing and tries his best to get rid of his company.
Gideon McDuck
Gideon McDuck (''Gedeone de' Paperoni'' in original Italian) is Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
's moralistic brother, and is a recurring character in Italian comic stories; in those stories, Gideon is the editor of the newspaper "The County Conscience",[Romano Scarpa: "Paperino e i gamberi in salmì". First published 1956]
I.N.D.U.C.K.S. entry
the most credible newspaper in Duckburg. The newspaper is originally known as "Il Grillo Parlante", which is the Italian name of the Pinocchio character The Talking Cricket and its Disney version Jiminy Cricket; a statue of Jiminy is therefore present in Gideon's office. Gideon also has an antagonistic relationship with his brother Scrooge.
The character was created by Romano Scarpa, and first appeared in the story "Paperino e i gamberi in salmì" (1956). The character's debut story is the only one that was printed in the United States, as it was published in 2015 under the title "Shellfish Motives".
Gideon's existence is inconsistent with a statement made in Carl Barks
Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...
's "The Old Castle's Secret". In this story, Scrooge states that he is the last of the Clan McDuck, which would mean that he couldn't have a living sibling. However, Gideon is not the only living relative of Scrooge to carry the surname "McDuck", and therefore cause the same inconsistency with Barks's story; others include his sister Matilda and first cousin Douglas. In the American translation of "Shellfish Motives" Gideon is said to be younger than Scrooge, while the original version doesn't specify which one of them is younger.
Douglas McDuck
Douglas McDuck is a cousin of Scrooge who has appeared in several Danish Disney comic stories. He looks like Scrooge not only in appearance but also in temperament. He is so incredibly stingy that he considers Scrooge a spendthrift, often criticizing a frustrated Scrooge for not being "McDuck-like" enough. Douglas is, however, hopeless at finding and identifying gold; he generally lives a rustic life in mining country, locating only fool's gold and earning a modest living. In the story
Smarter Than The Toughies
, Douglas was portrayed as being the uncle of Whitewater Duck.
Moocher McDuck
Moocher McDuck is the beggar cousin of Scrooge who appeared for the first time in the story
Too Many McDucks
by Tony Strobl
Anthony Joseph Strobl ( ; May 12, 1915 – December 29, 1991) was an American comics artist and animator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Cleveland School of Art from 1933–37, with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who actually g ...
. Moocher's look is very similar to Scrooge's, except for the fact that he wears tattered clothes, but unlike his very rich cousin, Moocher is a sweetheart. He was used in some Brazilian comic stories in the 1970s.
Other relatives
Duck family
The Duck family are Scrooge's American relatives and include his nephew Donald
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
, niece Della and grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are triplet cartoon characters created by storyboard artist ( screenwriter) Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company from an idea proposed by cartoonist Al Taliaferro and are the nephews of Donald Duck and the grand-ne ...
. They are related through Hortense's marriage to Quackmore Duck, Donald's father.
Aunt Eider
Aunt Eider is the aunt of both Scrooge McDuck and John D. Rockerduck. The Italian story "La Stella di Burbank", where she is portrayed as a myopic old woman who doesn't realize she needs to wear glasses, is presumably her first comic book appearance. But Aunt Eider appears wearing glasses in her next three comic book appearances. Dick Kinney wrote the last three comic stories where this character was used, and three famous cartoonists respectively drew those ones. Al Hubbard, Marco Rota and Giorgio Cavazzano. Neither of these stories was published in America. The story "Most Helpful Aunt Eider" is the only one where Aunt Eider doesn't meet her wealthy nephews. It's a Junior Woodchucks story.
Since there isn't any clue on how the tireless and slightly bossy Aunt Eider could be the aunt of both Scrooge and Rockerduck in the comic stories with her, some fans of this universe have invented their own explanations for this fact. It really seems she never had a surname, so she has been connected to Scrooge's family through his paternal grandmother, Molly Mallard, who would be an aunt of Eider. This wouldmake Eider a ''Mallard'' too, but, of course, this is not a widely accepted explanation at all. According to this same invented explanation, Aunt Eider would be a sister of Rockerduck's mother.
The first version of Scrooge's grandmother, Nonna Jenny, looks like Aunt Eider. She was created by the Italian comic artists Guido Martina and Giovan Battista Carpi especially for the handbook ''I pensieri di Paperone'', first published in 1973.'I Pensieri Di Paperone' di Guido Martina
/ref>
Ludwig Von Drake
Ludwig Von Drake is Donald Duck's uncle. Their exact relationship has only rarely been described. Don Rosa fans have speculated that Ludwig is married to Matilda McDuck, while the Disney company have portrayed him as a bachelor. Walt Disney stated Ludwig is Donald's father's brother.
In other languages
* ar, عشيرة البط, "The Duck Clan"
* bg, Семейство МакДък, "Family Makdak"
* da, von And-Klanen
* nl, McDuck clan
* fi, MacAnkan Klaani
*french: Le clan McPicsou
*german: Der Duck-Clan
* el, Γενιά των Μακ Ντακ, "The line of the Mac Ducks"
*, "Family Aethalönd". The term Ættin refers to an extended family, dynasty, or clan.
* id, Klan Bebek
* it, Il clan de' Paperoni
* no, McDuck-klanen
* pl, Klan McKwaczów
* pt, Clã Mac Patinhas/Clã Mac Pato
* es, El clan McPato
* sv, Klanen von Anka
* tr, McDuck Klanı
In the Dutch and Finnish languages, Scrooge personally drops the "Mac/Mc" from his last name while other members of his family retain it.
See also
Donald Duck universe
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Don ...
:
*Duck family (Disney)
*List of Donald Duck universe characters
*''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
''The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (''Lo'') is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein (American editions), first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine ''Anders And & Co.'' ...
''
Real-life:
*Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor (, gd, Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, where it extends from and into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Highland), and the area of ...
*List of Scottish clans
*List of family seats of Scottish nobility
References
External links
Various Duck family trees with commentary.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDuck
Clan McDuck,
Comics characters introduced in 1948
Characters created by Carl Barks
Disney core universe characters
Disney comics characters
Fictional families
Fictional family trees
Fictional ducks