A Kaighin Coat of Arms?

A Kaighin Coat of Arms?

For any Kaighin wondering if our family has an official Coat of Arms or other armorial bearings, the best answer I can give is… unlikely, though possible. With the exception of a couple of prominent families, there are no recognized Manx family arms. A very critical discussion of this topic can be found here. Although we are probably descended from clan MacEachain, no assumption should be made that we are until it can be proven. Prior to his death in 1981, Chevelier John Alexander McCaughan, 43^rd Head of the house of McCaughan, the last recognized chief of Clan MacEachain, wrote in a report for the Heraldry of Ireland that the surname “Kaighin” and its Manx variants (i.e. Kaighen, Kaighan, Caighan, etc.) was a phonetic derivative of MacEachain and bearers of the name were clan members. So is this an official endorsement by Clan MacEachain, and by extension does it secure our membership in the clan? Since I’m not an expert on this matter, I’d like to hear from anyone who knows how to determine this, to please clue me in. Is this a question to present to the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms? My belief is that the only positive way to determine this is by DNA comparison between a Kaighin male and a Clan MacEachain male. But that is a project for some other year.

Many of the online Coat of Arms retailers and the “fast fact genealogists” who want to sell you their product will tell you that the Kaighins are descended from Clan MacEachan, the hereditary chiefs of ClanRanald of MacDonald, and thus have you believe that we are MacDonalds. This myth is borne from a flawed assumption based on the fact that Kaighin is a phonetic derivative of MacEachan. While this fact is true, the ClanRanald MacEachans are descended from Eachann MacRory, born c.1450, the second son of Roderick (Rory) MacAllen, third chief of ClanRanald of MacDonald. The MacCackins (Kaighins) were established long before this in the Isle of Man, rendering the myth dispelled. I was taken in by this myth early in my research, because the earliest records I had known about referring to Kaighins in the Isle of Man were the Manorial Rolls of 1511/1515. The existence of a handful of Kaighins at that time made for a plausible scenario even if they would have had to have been sons or grandsons of Eachann MacRory. Further research revealed evidence of Kaighins as early as about 1200 residing in Kirk German, Isle of Man, where BallaKaighin (Kaighin’s farm) in that parish was their likely residence and is still there as a testament to their existence. So, in case you’ve already purchased one of these MacDonald Coat of Arms, I’m here to tell you it’s rubbish.

Keeping all that in mind, MacEachain genealogist Minniebell McKaughan Perkins has put together a website here, in which she presents the Armorial Bearings of the Chief of Clan MacEachain. The description at the bottom is hers.

http://members.tripod.com/~McCoin_Geneology/index.html.

ARMORIAL OF CHAVELIER JOHN A. McCAUGHAN

THE MEANING OF OUR ARMORIAL, SEAL & HOUSEBADGE

By Minniebell McKaighan Perkins

This is the ARMORIAL of Chevalier John Alexander McCaughan, Esquire, KH, BS E, LGH, FAS, FSA SCOT, 43rd traditional representative, 29th historical head and 10th McCaughan of Ballyverdagh. Born 1906, Ballverdagh, N. Ireland, died 25 October 1981 Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This Armorial is a story of his life. The motto: "Sian Mac Eachain Per Ardua Ad Alta" means: "Safe be McCaughan's through difficulty to the Top, or Heaven". The eagle without the belt is his seal. The object that looks like a hat is actually a breast plate meaning John was in the military. In the shield: the two red cropped hands and one red lion means he was Knighted twice in Ireland. The cropped hands being the first seal John found us using in 1147 A.D. The wavy blue lines means John left the motherland and the three leaf clover connected by one stem means he went to Canada. The Horses and base to the shield was added when John received his third Knighthood in 1979. His three Knighthoods are in the base, around the bottom of the shield. One is the Rose of Jerusalem, I don't know what the eagle in the shield means and the cross at the bottom of the shield means John was Grand Prior, or head of the Anglican Churches in Canada, representing the Queen. The horses I will explain later. Since an Armorial is for the Head of the Clan and not the clansmen, we should respect it by only using it in our homes in picture form, never on jewelry, clothing, or stationery.

McCAUGHAN CLANSMAN SEAL: The motto means the same as above. The clansmen's Eagle is the same as John's. The belt around it indicates it is the Clansmen's seal and not the Head of the Clan. They used the seal by pressing it to berry juice or later to an ink pad and placed it at the end of their signature and also dropping a few drops of wax on the flap of an envelope and pressing the seal into the wax. We can use this any way we choose.

THE HOUSE BADGE was given to us by the Heraldry of Ireland in 1979 after Chevalier John received his third Knighthood. It is for ancient and extended families. Since Chevalier John researched and documented us back to 247 A.D., we have been around for a while. Again, the motto. The white Horse standing on his back legs means we are documented back to the "Horse Lord". The ancient crown around the horse’s neck and chain draped over its back means we are documented back to the Pictish Tribes. Our name is the English version of MacEachain, which means, "Son of or Descendant of the Horse Lord". The red cropped hand on the horses shoulder was the first seal John found them using after they started using records in "Pict Land", which is now southern Scotland. It also is rarely given these days for it is the symbol of the Ulsters but since we used it hundreds of years before the Ulsters, the Heraldry placed it on our Horses shoulder of which John was quite pleased.

Submissions, corrections or suggestions kindly

received by the editor at kaighin@iname.com