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McCoss
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Angus McCoss of Eathie BSc (Hons), PhD (Geology)
Arms: Per saltire Or and Azure, a fusil Sable in chief and in base, and a lymphad, sail furled, oars in action Or, flagged Argent, in each flank.
Crests: On a rock Proper a stag statant at gaze Or, attired, unguled and langued Azure (McCoss) & a buck’s head erased Proper (Fraser of Lovat: McCoss Armigers may wear a Silver Eagle's Feather behind the plain circlet of Lovat’s Crest badge).
Mottos: "ROCK FAST" (McCoss) & "JE SUIS PREST" (Fraser of Lovat).
Armorial Bearings Granted: Court of the Lord Lyon, 15th February 1994.
Tartan: Fraser of Lovat.
Plant Badge: Yew (Fraser of Lovat).
Pipe Music: “Tha Biodag aig MacThòmais” (McCoss) & “Lovat's March” (Fraser of Lovat).
Genealogical submissions to the then Lord Lyon, Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight, KCVO, WS, were researched by the accredited genealogist, Rosemary Bigwood M.A., M.Litt., A.S.G.R.A., and were considered and accepted by the Court of Lord Lyon, leading to my Grant of Arms. The Armigerous Family of McCoss descend through William II McCoase, who fought in the American War of Independence with the 71st Fraser's Highlanders (1776-1783), raised by General Simon Fraser of Lovat.
Under the auspices of Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick, Slains Pursuivant of Arms to the Earl of Errol, and in respect of our clann’s longstanding association with Clan Fraser of Lovat; Simon Fraser, 18th Lord Lovat, 25th Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, McShimidh, received my Armigerous Family and its kin into the House and Clan of Fraser of Lovat in a Bond between the two Families on 5th November 2001. In recognition of enduring loyalty to the House and Clan of Fraser of Lovat, the Bond permits McCoss Armigers to wear a Silver Eagle's Feather behind the plain circlet of Lovat’s Crest badge.
The etymology of the Name is: mac Thòmais / McHòmais / McCòmas / McCòas / McCòase / McCòse / McCoss. Variants include M’ktaus and MacTavish. Rooted in Lovat’s lands including Stratherrick, they constitute a Sept of Clan Fraser.
An early reference in the 1666 Wardlaw Manuscript is made to Sliochd Hòmais, the tribe of Thòmais, as follows: "Hugh Lord Lovat entered anno 1417, who in his brothers time, and at his own earnest desire, married Margret, daughter to William Fenton, Lord Beufort, and was retoured as heir to his brother, Lord Alexander, in Brayes of Aird, Strathglaish, Erchles, the halfe of Glenelg, which the Lord Fenton had got before with Sicilia Bizet as patrimony in the division of the Lord John Bizets estat; and with this Margret Fenton he had 3 sones, viz. Hugh, Alexander, and James; Alexander married Janet Hey, with whom he got the lands of Gowart, Kinstary and Kinudy in Murray, and of him came the house of Farralin in Stratharick, and the numerous trib of Shlick Hòmais vickean vickallister, a brave people."
Sliochd Thòmais Fraser of antiquity include Alexander Fraser M’ktaus (foster brother of Hugh, Lord Lovat) who in 1574 was Captain of his Lord’s 200 man Garrison in the King’s house, the Castle of Inverness, and who in 1589, two years after the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, was given custody of Ellanwirrich (an island stronghold at the western end of Loch Ness) as Constable by Thomas Fraser, Tutor of Lovat, Strachin and Knocky. The Tutor, venerated guardian of the young Simon Lord Lovat, in the Reign of King James VI, commissioned John M’ktaus and one other of his most trusted Gentlemen to protect Simon during his youthful sortie to the household of the Earl of Antrim in Londonderry, from where he did safely return.
During the 1600s and early 1700s McThomas and McCòmas Frasers flourished in the relatively fertile Lovat lands of Strathglass, The Aird, and the parishes of Kilmorack, Kiltarlity and Wardlaw (Kirkhill). Family traditions recall they also held wilder outposts in Glen Cannich, climbing to the northwest from Strathglass, and Gleann Còsaidh (‘c’th’òasaidh) in the heart of the west coast Parish of Glenelg at the Loch Quoich boundary of Barrisdale, much as Alexander Fraser M’ktaus held the western outpost of Ellanwirrich for Clan Fraser over a hundred years earlier.
In a letter dated 26th October 1745 to Sir Harry Innes, Alexander Brodie of Brodie, the Lord Lyon King of Arms wrote: “...When I left Inverness yesterday, I was told that McDonalds of Knoydart, Barrisdale, and Glengary’s son were at Lovat’s, where there were twelve covered tables on Saturday’s night for the gentlemen conveen’d, and that the number of men there would be above a thousand, including 200 McDonalds and the people of Urquharrt etc. and that they were to march as yesterday for the castle of Brahan, to force Seafort to give them his men, from whence it was said they were to proceed further north to force all the north to join in a general rebellion...”. Alas, McCòas fathers, sons and brothers, gathered from Lovat’s eastern heartlands and western outposts and marched to the edge of oblivion for the Jacobite Cause.
According to McCoss family tradition, William II’s Jacobite father, William I and father’s brother Patrick macdonald McCòas, otherwise McHòmas, and their father Donald McCòmas from whom the sloinneadh macdonald McCòas derives, were reputedly amongst those exiled in France after fighting for Clan Fraser of Lovat and with Macdonnell of Glengarry during the ruinous Rebellions.
Almost extinguished and possessions forfeited, our proud, Catholic, French and Gaelic-speaking, Highland clann steadily rebuilt itself, ‘Rock Fast’, in the wake of post-Culloden persecution and eviction. Through ancient ties they resettled amongst kith and kin, Frasers and Bissets in Strathbogie, becoming Episcopalian, and then Presbyterian, in Scots-speaking, Aberdeenshire. The individual and collective achievements and sacrifices of our clann since those challenging years of cultural transformation and struggles are testament to its strength, resilience, ingenuity and focus on a brighter future.
The four modern branches of McCoss descend from William IV, born in Huntly in 1817, and are familiarly designated with a Stag, Rock, Fusil and Lymphad; specifically, clann mhicUilleim McCoss the senior and Armigerous stem with a Stag; clann mhicDhaibhéid McCoss with a Rock; clann mhicIain McCoss with a Fusil; and clann mhicSéumas McCoss with a Lymphad. The Stag, Rock, Fusil and Lymphad are incorporated in my Armorial Bearings. The tinctures and charges of my Armorial Bearings draw on the clann’s chronicle. As a demonstration of our continuing vitality and fortitude, over forty worldwide Family members signed a Declaration of Restitution of the clann of McCoss on 15th February 2002.
My personal view of Scottish Heraldry and Genealogy is that it forms a vibrant and far-reaching landscape upon which Noble Scots, sensu lato, may step forward to enhance global society through leadership, honest family values and industrious example, and earn their places in tomorrow’s better history.
Interpretation of my Armorial Bearings based on our clann’s chronicle:
Arms:
Per saltire: Scotland (St. Andrew's Cross) and Resolution
Or: Generosity and Thoughtfulness
Azure: Truth and Loyalty (reference to Arms of Fraser)
Fusil Sable: Dependable and Industrious Voyager
Lymphad, sail furled, oars in action Or, flagged Argent: Arduous voyages by Valiant men (reference to Arms of MacDonnell of Glengarry, with whom we fought in the Jacobite Rebellions and reputedly were temporarily exiled in France)
Crest:
Rock Proper: Sanctuary and Steadfast Protection
Stag statant at gaze Or, attired, unguled and langued Azure: Will not fight unless provoked, Advocates Peace, Diplomacy and Harmony, True Strength and Loyal Fortitude, True to one’s Word, Steps forward with Sincerity (to a degree referencing the Crest of Fraser of Lovat).
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