"The three great Scottish families of Garthland, Logan, and Freugh all bore, with certain differences, the arms of the old lords of Galloway, azure, a lion rampant argent gorged with an antique crown Or."                   Agnew's Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway (1893)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The McDoualls/McDowalls had long-established ties with the Lords of Galloway, and the three principal families ruled a substantial area of the Rhinns for centuries. Their histories were closely intertwined through military campaigns, marriage and a common ancestry.

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The Origin of the McDouall Name

    After Duegald’s time, killed in 1185, his family were called the Macdougalls of Galloway. The clan name Macdowall and its variations are anglicised forms of the Gaelic Mac Dubhghaill, meaning "son of Dubhghall". The Gaelic personal name Dubhghall means "dark or black stranger", somewhat akin to Mac Dhu Alan, the son of the Black Alan. Indeed, the name Alan appears twice in the line of succession of the Lairds of Galloway.

    There is no proven relation to the MacDougalls of Argyll, who are a quite separate clan located further north on the west coast, though their shared original Gaelic name suggests that both have a Norse heritage. One theory is that when Julius Caesar landed on England’s shores in 55 and 54 BC, the MacDougall clan was ready to assist the Britons in defending their lands. As they moved southwards, part of the clan settled in Galloway from whom we may be descended.

    In 1292, on the Ragman Roll, the name of Macdougall in Galloway was modified to distinguish it from those in Argyll when the letters ‘ug’ were substituted with ‘w’ (i.e. ‘uu’ pronounced ‘oo’) in a Norman transliteration introduced under King Edward I of England. It is worth noting that in general terms, surnames, as opposed to clan names, only came into use during the 12th - 14th centuries.

​    Read more about our early history in the document entitled: "Lost in Antiquity"

    And find out about our ancestors who pursued their dreams in the young colony of Australia in the 19th century.

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The Significance of Several Hill - The First Freugh Stronghold?

    We are indebted to Mike McDowall, family historian and author of ‘The Copper Inheritance’, for his research into the original location of the residence of the early Lords of Galloway including Alan the last Lord, considered a possible forefather of the McDoualls, who occupied Cruggleton Castle.
   Moreover, Mike suggests that evidence points to the first Freugh stronghold being built on Several Hill, to the north of the airfield at West Freugh, before it was burnt to the ground by Cromwell's men in 1654 - read article.