When I traveled to Disney World with my son and his family several years back, I was quite disappointed for I only saw my favorite Disney princess once. That is Merida from “Brave.” One of things I like about Merida is she chooses her own path to travel, and she does not require a prince to save her. Yada, Yada! The film was released in 2012, but no one then was complaining about the prince not saving Snow White. Yet, that is another story for current times, not the purpose of this post.

When the clans arrive to bring their suitors from which Merida is to choose, I automatically scream “Macintosh” along with the voice over from Craig Ferguson. My granddaughters always looked at me curiously, but only recently have I explained that my 9th Great-Grandfather on my father’s side is the 7th Chieftain of the clan, John Mccomie (Iain Mòr), who has passed into the folklore of Perthshire. [https://www.maclaine.org/legends] You see, the reason I screamed “Mackintosh,” was the fact that the progenitor of the Clan MacThomas was Thomas, who was a Scottish Gaelic speaking Highlander. He was known as Tomaidh Mòr and it is from him that the clan takes its name. He was a grandson of William Mackintosh, 7th chief of Clan Mackintosh and 8th chief of the Chattan Confederation. [Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 258–259.]

According to the tale of the Mccomies, my 9th great-grandfather objected to the taxes the Earl of Atholl had placed on them. One must remember that the Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl (Ath Fodhla), now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. ANYWAY, the Earl of Atholl thought to be done away with my great-grandfather by employing a champion swordsman from Italy. One problem existed; Mccomie slew the swordsman instead. Or, at least, that is how I heard it.

Clan MacThomas supported Charles I during the 17th Century Scottish Civil War. My ancestor, Ian Mor MacThomas joined James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, in 1644 at Dundee. When the royalists captured Aberdeen, Iain Mor himself captured Sir William Forbes who was sheriff of Aberdeen and commander of the Covenanter cavalry. However the chief of Clan MacThomas withdrew his support from Montrose after he was defeated at the Battle of Philiphaugh and instead devoted his time to extending his lands which included purchasing the Barony of Forter from the Earl of Airlie.

“After the Restoration of 1660 Macthomas was fined heavily by Parliament and the Earl of Airlie set about trying to recover some of his lands. Airlie’s legal action was successful but the chief of Clan MacThomas refused to recognize this and continued to pasture his cattle on the disputed land. In response Airlie used his legal right to lease the land to men of the Clan Farquharson which led to a feud. On 28 January 1673 Farquharson of Broughdearg was killed along with two sons of Iain Mor MacThomas. The lawsuits that followed crippled the MacThomas chief and when he died in 1676 his remaining sons were forced to sell the lands.”

The MacThomas chief is mentioned again in 1678 and 1681 in Government proclamations but the clan had begun to drift apart. Some moved south to the Tay valley where they became known as Thomson and others to Angus in Fife where they are known as Thomas, Thom or Thoms. The tenth chief took the name Thomas and then later Thoms. He settled in northern Fife and successfully farmed.

After all the battles, and following Iain Mor’s death, his remaining sons were forced to sell their lands. The clan drifted apart some going to the Tay Valley and some to Angus and Fife where they took the names Thomas, Thom or Thoms. Others moved to Aberdeenshire where the name became corrupted to McCombie of Tillyfour.

“In 1954 the Clan MacThomas Society was formed. The Clan is unusual as most of its members do not have the name MacThomas. But have a name of one of its septs. These are Comb, Combie, McColm, McComas, McComb, McCombie, McComie, McComish, Macomie, Macomish, Macthomas, Tam, Thom, Thomas, Thoms and Thomson.

“The current chief is Andrew MacThomas of Fingand. During his lifetime the clans ancient gathering ground ‘The Cockstane’ was purchased as well as the new bridge at The River Shee was named after the family. Historic links with with the Glenshee family have been re-established. The current chief has one son, Thomas born in the late 1980s.” [MacThomas Clan History]