Where We Come From, vol. 3
Much obscurity enshrouds the true origins of the ancient McCullough name. McCulloughs are said to be descended from Somerled through his second son Reginald Somerled was a leading figure in the western Highlands and islands of Scotland in 1130 A.D. when he defeated the Norse and became King of the Isles. His oldest son, Dougall, is the father of Clan MacDougall. From Reginald, his second son, not only did the McCulloughs come but also the mighty Clan Ranald (MacDonald). The MacDonalds descended from Donald, the oldest son of Reginald and the McCulloughs sprang from the seed of Ulgrie, King of the Strathclyde Britons.
Sir Alexander MacCulloch of Myretoun (c1440-1532) was knighted by 1488 and gifted the estate of Cardoness by James IV in 1509. A favourite of the King and his father before him, Sir Alex became the Keeper or Captain of the Palace of Linlithgow in 1505 and was the King’s Falconer. It is recorded that in 1504, James IV granted a charter to Sir Alexander elevating Myretoun Castle, his principal seat, into a Burgh of Barony. It was specially noted that this royal favour was done in recognition of the hospitality the King had received from the Knight of Myretoun on the occasion of him passing to and fro on royal pilgrimages to Whithorn on the coast. This intimacy also led to the King appointing Sir Alex as Sheriff of Wigtoun from 1498 to 1501, an important office in those days, the administrative and financial functions of which were more important than the judicial.
Sir Alexander is usually identified as the Cutlar (or Collard) McCulloch, whose exploits against the Isle of Man are such a feature of Galloway history. At the beginning of the 16th century, Thomas, Earl of Derby, a young, fiery warlike chief, was Lord, or rather, King of Man. In 1507, he made a furious descent upon the coast of Galloway, and nearly destroyed the town of Kircudbright. For several years afterwards, many of the houses in the burgh remained uninhabited and in ruins. But Cutler got revenge. He speedily equipped a predatory flotilla and, assembling his retainers, sailed over the Isle of Man, and repaid the visit with interest, carrying off everything which was “not too hot or heavy” for removal. Cutlar McCulloch returned again and again, to the point that terrified locals made it a habit to eat their meat first and finish with the soup so at least to make sure of something substantial before they were disturbed by the ubiquitous McCullochs. Their constant prayer in the 16th century was:
God keep the house and all within
From Cut McCulloch and from sin.
Or as it was sometimes rendered:
Keep me, my good corn, and my sheep and bullocks
From Satan, from Sin, and those thievish McCullochs.
Sir Alexander died peacefully in bed after a colorful and less than peaceful life, August 30, 1523. His son-in-law, also called Alexander McCulloch, was killed at Flodden.
