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Who are we?

Thank you for visiting our family website. We aren’t too sure how we will end up using this website, but in the meantime we’ll try and share some interesting history and tidbits about the McArthur Clan.

The McArthur Clan History

Ever see the movie Braveheart? As it turns out, the McArthurs fought alongside Robert the Bruce for Scottish Independence from the English on June 24th, 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. As a result, Mr. Bruce gave the leaders of the clan large plots of land in Argyllshire, including being appointed as hereditary Captains of Dunstaffnage Castle, just north of the town of Oban. This was really the heyday for the McArthurs; best buds with the new King of Scotland, all kinds of land, castles, you name it. Imagine the parties! 

Famous McArthur’s

  • Douglas McArthur (1772-1839) – American politician 
  • John McArthur (1826-1906) – Union General during the American Civil War
  • Bill McArthur Jr. (born 1951) – American Astronaut with 224 days in space
  • Katherine McArthur (born  1971) – American Astronaut with 13 days in space

The end of a great run

It’s all who you know eh? Our good friend Robert came down with a case of leprosy, and died only 13 years after the Battle of Bannockburn. It was all downhill from there for the McArthur’s. While it was probably more of a death by a thousand cuts, you could say the un-official end of the party came with the thump of a sword, when our leader Iain “Leader of a thousand men” McArthur, was beheaded by King James I of Scotland in 1427. Still, thats a solid generation of McArthurs REALLY enjoying themselves.

‘The hills and streams and Mac-alpine but whence came forth McArthur?’ – a line from an old Gaelic poem.

While I am not exactly sure of this lines context, I can provide a loose, modern translation: “Pretty amazing scenery around here – the heck did these McArthur’s come from?”

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