Which Clan?
I am daughter of *** McLane, immigrant from Oregon. I’m working on our family history, but have only, including me, and back in time, possibly 6 generations of known ancestors, most in Oregon, 1 - 2 in maybe Missouri. So, we don't know which Clan to whom we belong! Dad always said Duart, but I don't know how he knows. Anyone working on US McLane Genealogy? Are there anyone that has traced decendants to Oregon, 1850s-90s? I know there is another MacClean or such spelling, not our relatives. But have found no others. Seems there is an information wall between CA/Oregon/Washington immigrants (those who went west) and the rest or their relatives who didn't go west! (I have the same problem on several other lines - Foster, Helm. etc,) Any connections would be good!
Answer:
You ask to which Clan – Lochbuie or Duart – you belong.
There are a couple of confusing realities that make this identification tiresome. For those that ‘emigrated” from Scotland or the Ulster plantation to the States, the receiving American immigration officials quite frequently spelled the immigrant’s surnames incorrectly, and as frequently the immigrants were, similarly, only partially literate to realise their names had been mis-spelt. When my grandfathers changed the spelling of our surname from Maclean to Maclaine in the early 1600’s, many Clansmen stayed with the original spelling, adding to the confusion. Then when the Duart chiefs lost their estates in the late 1700’s, most of Mull became Lochbuie adherents. As you know Duart only returned to Mull in 1912.
The only way to provide a rock-solid answer is to know from where on Mull, the adjacent islands or the Argyllshire mainland, your forebears came from. We have the records of our family’s and the Clan’s original land holdings.
Nonetheless, I suspect you are of Lochbuie stock as most “Maclanes/McLanes” seem to have found Lochbuie roots.
In respect of your quest to trace ancestors, I have copied your e-mail to Neill Maclaine, the Clan Genealogist, who will contact you if he can find any information relative to your family. Neill has over 1000 Maclaine names on his data base. Fingers crossed
