The Grants of Blairfindy, in Glenlivet It was not uncommon for a highland chief to provide for his younger sons by ceding lands to them at the outermost limits of his sphere of influence. In this manner the chief could insure his own security and provide a heritable property for his son. This no doubt was the strategy of the Laird of Freuchie in the late 15 th century, when he is said to have provided his grandson, William Grant, with the lands of Blairfindy in the wilds of Glenlivet. 1 Although not far removed, as the crow flies, from the friendly environs of the chief s stronghold in Strathspey, Glenlivet would have been a desolate, remote setting for young William to establish his duchas (heritable property). Even today, Glenlivet is considered off the beaten path. Very little is known about the events of those times. In fact, it is not known with certainty that William was an actual descendant of the Laird of Freuchie. Nevertheless, a William Grant obviously a person of some import was noted in a Royal Remission dated February 13, 1527. 2 He may have also been the same William Grant who witnessed a charter in 1534. 3 In 1605, another William Grant and his son, Thomas, had sasine (a deed or document recording the transfer of property) to the lands of Blairfindy. Blairfindy is on the west bank of the River Livet near its confluence with the Avon (pronounced Ah en). There are a number of antiquities in Glenlivet, including ancient standing stones and cairns, and two ruined 16 th century towers (castles). The glen is also known for a famous distillery. The battle of Glenlivet was fought there in 1594. In this action a numerically superior government force led by the Earl of Argyle was crushed by a hastily raised army of highlanders under the leadership of the Earls of Huntly and Errol. It is alleged that prior to the battle, Grant of Gartinbeg plotted with his friend Huntly, and in the midst of combat, a contingent of the Clan Grant led by Gartinbeg changed sides and brought about the defeat of Argyle s forces, thus preventing the destruction and pillage which would almost certainly have followed. 4 It is not known when Blairfindy was first acquired by the Lairds of Freuchie. It is documented, however, that in the year 1606, Blairfindy and other holdings in Stratha en were transferred by John Grant of Freuchie to George, Marquis of Huntly, in exchange for Gartinmore, Riemore and Tulloch in Abernethy parish, and other lands in Strathspey. 5 Even still, the Grants apparently continued to hold Blairfindy by virtue of a previous arrangement with Huntly. Grants also held other properties in Glenlivet at various times, including Nevie, Tomnavoulin, Logan (Laggan), Tombreakachie, Lynebeg, as well as Kilnmaichlie, Glenlochy, Fodderletter, Delnabo, Delavorar, and Achnahyle, in nearby Stratha en. Other holders of Blairfindy during the 17 th century, presumably tenants of Huntly, included Thomas Grant and his wife Katherine Forbes in 1617, their son Thomas in 1654, John Grant and his wife Catherine Gordon, another William Grant, and two other John Grants, one of which was married to Helen Anderson and documented in a sasine in 1702. 6 It is not known if all these Grants were descendants of the original William Grant who held Blairfindy or if they were even related. Traditional folkloric histories of the clan suggest that the Grants of Blairfindy and Nevie were descended from the Clan Allan, a branch family of the clan, but there is no documentary evidence to support this claim.
It is known, however, that the Grants in Glenlivet continued their staunch adherence to the Roman Catholic faith long after their clansmen in Strathspey had embraced the Protestant Reformation. Moreover, they were equally loyal to Prince Charles Edward Stuart and generally supported him during the 1745 rebellion. Considerably more is known about the Blairfindies in the 18 th century. Five Grants of Blairfindy served in the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Some fought at Culloden Moor in April 1746. Three brothers, John, Alexander and William Grant, and two of William s sons, John and David, were officers. 7 In 1765, John and Alexander Grant continued to lease Blairfindy from the Duke of Gordon. Two other brothers had already chosen a different path entirely. Abbe Peter Grant (1708-1784) attended the small Roman Catholic seminary at Scalan in the Braes of Glenlivet and the Scots College at Rome. He returned to Scotland in 1735 and served as a priest in Glengarry before returning to the Vatican in 1737. Later in life, Abbe Peter became acquainted with many British travelers in Rome both Catholic and Protestant. In fact, he was known to have arranged private audiences with the Pope for many of the British gentry during their visits to Rome. In this regard, he was sometimes called l Introduttore. It is said that Clement XIV (1705-1774) was very fond of Abbe Peter Grant and intended to elevate him to the rank of Cardinal, but died before this came to fruition. 8 When young James Grant (the future Sir James Grant of Grant, Baronet, known as the Good Sir James ) toured the continent in 1759-60, Abbe Peter served as his host and agent in Rome, assisting the young laird in purchasing a number of paintings for the collection at Castle Grant. 9 Peter s brother, Abbe Robert Grant (1720-1784), also received his early education at Scalan, before transferring to the Scots Colleges at Paris and Rome. He was ordained in Rome in 1748 and returned to Scotland, where he served as a priest during the years 1749-1764. Abbe Robert eventually became the Principal of the Scots College at Douay, in Flanders, and held that position until his death in 1784. 10 A nephew of the Abbes Grant went to France after the 45 rebellion. Joannis Caroli Adolphi Grant de Blairfindy achieved the rank of Colonel de la Legion Royale in 1774 and was later created Baron de Blairfindy, Aide Marchal General des Logis des Armes du Roi. He married the Countess d Ancelet in 1781. They had a son, Alexander. Colonel Grant, Baron de Blairfindy, died in 1784. 11 In an unrelated chain of events, another member of the family, William Grant, who was born in Glenlivet in 1744 to William Grant of Blairfindy and his wife Jean Tyrie, immigrated to Canada. He became a successful fur trader, businessman and civil administrator. In 1770, he married Marie Anne Catherine Fleury d Eschambault, Baroness Dowager of Charles Jacques le Moyne, 3 rd Baron de Longueuil. William Grant died in Quebec in 1805. His nephew, Capt. David Alexander Grant, also immigrated to Canada from Blairfindy and went to work for his uncle. David Alexander Grant eventually married the Dowager s daughter, Marie Charlotte. A son of this marriage, Charles William Grant, became 5 th Baron de Longueuil, the ancestor of succeeding generations who have inherited the title into the 21 st century. The present holder of this honor is Dr. Michael Grant, 12 th Baron Longueuil, a retired physician who lives on the Scottish Isle of Arran. Dr. Grant is also a distant cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Consequently, the title Baron de Longueuil is the only French colonial title recognized by The Queen. 12
Another noteworthy descendant of this family was Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (1848-1899), a noted scientist, professor, essayist and author of about thirty novels. He was born near Kingston, Ontario, the son of Rev. Joseph Allen and Catherine Ann Grant, daughter of the 5 th Baron de Longueuil. Allen studied in England and attended Merton College, Oxford. Despite his staunchly Protestant upbringing, Allen became an agnostic, socialist and avid exponent of Darwin s theory of evolution. 13 Meanwhile, some of the Grants of Blairfindy continued to reside in Glenlivet. Succeeding generations found it increasingly difficult to prosper during periods of economic upheaval. Several other sons of the family went out to seek their fortunes in the colonies. With the outbreak of war with France in the last decade of the 18 th century, three sons of Alexander Grant of Blairfindy became ensigns in Sir James Grant s 97 th Regiment of Foot, namely Charles Grant of Balgowan, Robert Grant who later achieved the rank of Captain, and William Grant. 14 In 1827, Capt. Robert Grant s daughter Barbara married a local farmer named John Grant. John was born in 1805 at Lynebeg, a small farm about a mile from Blairfindy. From this marriage descended the six generations of Grants who have owned and managed the J & G Grant Glenfarclas Distillery for most of its 175 year history. 15 [See an abbreviated pedigree of the Grants of Blairfindy below.]
1 Fraser, Sir William, LLD, The Chiefs of Grant, Vol. I, Edinburgh, 1883, p. 70 2 Ibidem, p. 70 3 Casillis, The Earl of, The Rulers of Strathspey, Inverness, 1911, p. 25 4 Shaw, Lachlan, DD, The History of the Province of Moray, 1882, Vol. I, pp. 207-09 5 Opere citato, Fraser, p. lxxiii 6 Notes on the Grants of Blairfindy, kindly furnished to the author by Mr. George S. Grant, managing director of Glenfarclas Distillery, 1983 7 Tayler, Alistair and Henrietta, Jacobites of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire in the Forty-Five, Aberdeen, 1928, p. 286 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/peter_grant_(abb%c3%a9) 9 Opere citato, Fraser, pp. 444-45 10 Dictionary of National Biography, Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1885-1900 11 Grant, Charles, Vicomte de Vaux, Memoires Historiques, Genealogiques, Politiques, Militaires, &c., de la Maison de Grant, &c., London, 1796, pp. 60-64 12 Roberts, David, William Grant (1744-1805), EN:UNDEF, Public Citation Publication, Vol. 5, University of Toronto/Universite Laval, 2003; http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/grant_william_1744_1805_5e.html; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/baron_de_longueuil 13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/grant_allen 14 Mackintosh, H.B., MBE, The Inverness Shire Highlanders or 97 th Regiment of Foot 1794-1796, Elgin, 1926, pp. 58-59 15 Buxton, Ian, Glenfarclas An Independent Distillery, a commemorative edition on the occasion of the 175 th anniversary celebration of the Glenfarclas Distillery, Scotland, 2011, pp. 19-24 James Grant, historian Clan Grant Society USA standfast@charter.net