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Clan Chisholm (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Chisholm

Gaelic Name: Siosal

Clan Crest: A dexter hand holding a dagger erect, Proper, the point thereof transfixing a boar’s head erased, Or

Clan Motto: Feros Ferio (I am fierce with the fierce)

Origin of Name: Placename, Roxburghshire

Clan Badge: Fern

Lands: Roxburghshire and Invernesshire

Clan Chief: Hamish of Chisholm, The Chisholm

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Chisholm Clan History

This name is formed from the Norman 'chese' which meant 'to choose', and 'holm' which is a Saxon word that meant 'meadow'.

The Highlands' Erchless Castle. It was built in the 13th century by the Bisset clan, but passed to the Chisholms through marriage in the 15th century. It remained in the family until 1937, when the estate was sold.

Gododdin was conquered by the Northumbrian English in the seventh century, and then by the Normans three centuries later. The lands claimed by the early Chisholms in Roxburghshire became a feudal barony after they crossed the North Sea.

The name Alexander de Cheschelme appears on a charter from 1249, and Richard de Cheschelme and John de Cheshome are mentioned in the Ragman Roll of 1296, which lists supporters of England's Edward I. The family's seal depicts a boar's head, representing the traditional story of two Chisholm brothers who saved a king from a wild boar.

Today, this symbol is used in Chisholm heraldry. By 1359, the family had risen to the position of constables at Urquhart Castle, a key royal stronghold on the shores of Loch Ness that guarded the pass to the western highlands.

'The Chisholm' were the various Chiefs of the Clan of Strathglass and Glen Cannich. One of them would argue that only three people on the planet have the right to use the definite article in their title: the Pope, the King, and The Chisholm.

Fewer than fifty Chisholms survived the battle of Culloden for Prince Charles (contemporary depiction of the battle top). Alexander, Donald, and Hugh Chisholm were three of the seven men who led the Prince across the country. Hugh vowed never to shake another man's hand after shaking the Prince's at the end of their journey. He kept his promise for the rest of his life.

In the mid-1700s, Ruairidh, the twenty-second chief, followed the lead of other clan chiefs by squeezing his tenants for as much rent as he could. After his death, the pressure was relieved for a generation, but William, the twenty-third chief in 1793, burned his family's loyal supporters out of their homes to make room for sheep.

Clan Chisholm Places & People

Chisholm Clan People

Erik Chisholm (1904-64)

Erik Chisholm was a composer, music professor, and the founder of the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music in Glasgow in 1929. Thanks to Chisholm's efforts, over 200 new works received their first public performances; he dedicated his production of Sorabji's massive Opus Clavicembalisticum to Hugh MacDairmid.

He was appointed Professor of Music at the University of Cape Town in 1946. During this period, he composed a number of short operas. His most beautiful works were written for his wife Lillias, while his major works were to be the Indian and Pibroch Piano Concertos, as well as the Forsaken Mermaid, a ballet written specifically for the Celtic Ballet Company.

Clan Chisholm Locations

From the 15th century until the 1930s, Erchless Castle in the Highlands was a Clan Chisholm stronghold. Clan Bissett held the lands until marriage transferred them to the Chisholms. The current castle was built around 1600 to replace an older structure built in the 1200s. Throughout the nineteenth century, Erchless Castle was renovated and altered. Following the death of the last in the direct line of Chisholms to own the estate, the castle was sold out of Chisholm ownership in 1937.

Clan Chisholm Tartans

The Chisholm tartan is derived from the Vestairium Scoticum and can also be found in 'The Tartans of the Clans of Scotland' by James Grant, published in 1886.

The term 'ancient' refers to lighter dye shades, while'modern' refers to darker colors.

Threadcount R/12 W4 R48 B12 G4 B2 G4 B2 G4 R/2

The Chisholm tartan

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The Chisholm hunting tartan was created when people thought the red tartan was too bright and changed the red to brown.

Brown/12 W4 Brown48 B12 G4 B2 G4 B2 G24 Brown/2 Threadcount

Hunting in Chisholm

Clan Chisholm Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Chisholm Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

A dexter hand holding a dagger upright, Proper, the point of which has been erased, Or

Coat of Arms of Clan Chisholm

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.

CHISHOLM

Argent, a boar's head couped Gules. A System of Heraldry by Alexander Nisbet, 1722

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1) THE CHISHOLM OF THE CHISHOLM

Mrs. Mary CHISHOLM or GOODEN

Mrs CHISHOLM BATTEN 3)

James Chisholm (4) GOODEN-CHISHOLM

A boar's head couped gules Alternatively, Sir James Balfour Paul's Scottish Ordinary;

1a) First matriculation 1816

1b) 2nd matriculation 1831

2) 1827

3) 1860

4) 1887

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1) COMER CHISHOLM

2) Roderick CHISHOLM OF CHISHOLM, Capt.

CHISHOLM OF CHISHOLM Andrew Francis Hamish

A boar's head couped Or langued Azure, gules. Sir James Balfour I Paul's Ordinary in Scotland;

1760

2) Volume II of the Ordinary of Arms, 1902-1973

March 29, 1938 33/12 *

3) Lyon Register, December 12, 1998 (BLG Scotland)

* In addition, Alistair Hamish Wiland Chilsholm yrg's Andre Fraser Chisholm - During his father's lifetime, he was debruised of three point label

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CHISHOLM, William

Edinburgh-based author A boar's head couped Gules within a nebuly bordure of the second. Sir James Balfour is a British politician. Paul's Ordinary in Scotland

1672-7

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STIRCHES' SCOTT CHISHOLM 1st and 4th Gules a boar's head and neck couped Argent 2nd and 3rd A mullet Argent on a bend Azure between two crescents of the first within a bordure of the second charged with two crescents in chief and a mullet in base as of the former. Sir James Balfour is a British politician. Paul's Ordinary in Scotland

1853

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Aeneas CHISHOLM

A boar's head couped Or langued Azure within a bordure engrailed Vert charged with three mitres Argent, the coat of arms of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen. Volume II of the Ordinary of Arms, 1902-1973

6th March 1902 16/78

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Ian Ruari Lambert CHISHOLM Gules, a boar's head couped Or langued Azure within an Argent bordure for distinction. Volume II of the Ordinary of Arms, 1902-1973

April 19, 1939 33/60

[Alistair Hamish Wiland and Andre Fraser Chisholm's brother]

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CHISHOLM, Henry John Henry John CHISHOLM

Australia A boar's head erased in gules Or, armed proper langued Azure within an invected Vert bordure charged with three estoiles of eight points of the second. Volume II of the Ordinary of Arms, 1902-1973

30th November 1961 46/89

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CROMLIX'S CHISHOLM Gules, a boar's head couped Argent langued Azure, a mitre in dexter chief and an open book in base, all Or. Volume II of the Ordinary of Arms, 1902-1973

December 20, 1954 40/71

Arms of love for Chisholm of Cromlix (3rd quarter) of Hon. Evelyn Vane DRUMMOND OF CROMLIX or EDEN

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