SCOTLAND HISTORY

Clan Napier:

Origins:

There is some debate about the origin of the name Napier. One theory holds that a “naperer” is "a person in charge of table linen in a royal or manor house” and that the original Napiers must have been “naperers” from England or France. The other theory is that the name Napier is a derivative spelling of “Nae Peer.” In 1625, Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston, the first Lord Napier, presented an affidavit to the College of Heralds, in which he described this origin of the name Napier, as having been bestowed by the king (probably Alexander II) on one Donald Lennox in recognition for acts of bravery.

Appearance and Movement in Scotland :

The earliest reference to Napiers in Scotland is in the charter of Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, granting lands at Kilmahew in Dumbartonshire to John de Naper, sometime around 1290. This John Napier was probably one of the few defenders of Stirling Castle who were forced to surrender to the English in 1304. The Napiers held lands at Kilmahew for 18 generations. The estate was sold in 1820. The Kilmahew Napiers were the progenitors of most of the Napiers in the United States, when, sometime around 1650, Dr. Patrick Napier, surgeon-general to the Scottish Army, after their defeat by Oliver Cromwell at the battle of Dunbar, emigrated to America. Another branch of the clan appeared in Merchiston, near Edinburgh. The first Laird of Merchiston, Alexander Napier, obtained a charter to the lands of Merchiston in 1436. The Napiers of Merchiston would produce Provosts of Edinburgh, numerous admirals and generals, as well as John Napier, the 8th Laird of Merchiston, inventor of logarithms. Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh still stands, as centerpiece to Napier University’s Merchiston campus.

Clan Nesbitt:

Origins of the Name:

The surname of the Berwickshire line derives from the hamlets of East Nisbet and West Nisbet, Berwickshire. Interestingly, until the 16th century, the lands are most often spelt Nesbit, which has a claim to be the original spelling. Some bearers of Nisbet/Nesbitt (and variant) names may originate from the village of Nisbet in Roxburghshire, Nesbit in Northumberland, or the township of Nesbit in County Durham.

History:

The lowland family of Nesbitt or Nisbet has its roots in the county of Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders. Like the families of Home and Swinton, its descent can be traced from Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria (d. 1073). In 1139 King David I confirmed a charter (now in the archives of Durham Cathedral) granting the lands of Nisbet to Aldan de Nisbet, the founder of the line of Nisbet of Nisbet (i.e. Nisbet of that Ilk). In the 12th century, castles were built by the Nisbet family at West Nisbet, two miles south of the town of Duns, and at East Nisbet, now known as Allanbank, southeast of Duns on the Blackadder Water. The castle at East Nisbet has long gone, but at West Nisbet the original pele tower was incorporated into the east end of a magnificent new fortified mansion house, built by Sir Alexander Nisbet of that Ilk (c. 1580-1660) in the 1630s. Nisbet House still stands, with an eighteenth century tower (with fine interior plasterwork) added to its west end. The house is in private ownership.

Various Spellings :

Nesbitt, Nesbit, Nisbet, Nisbett, Nisbeth (Sweden), Naisbitt

Clan Nicolson:

History:

Scottish clans are family groups and thus Nicholson is a surname. The majority of the Nicolsons can claim descent from MacNicol and thus MacLeod and thus from Leod himself. Leod was a son of Olaf, King of Man and Northern Isles. Leod was the first chief and gave the patronymic McLeod or MacLeod meaning "sons of Leod". However, some believe that the name Nicholson derives from the Norse Christian name Olsen and 'Nic', which means "daughter of" in Gaelic. Still others believe that it could be an adaptation of Nicolassen, Haakon, the last Norse king to attempt an invasion of Scotland, sent a war party to Scotland under Anders Nicolassen and tradition says that he settled in Scotland after the Viking defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263 and the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The Nicolson clan chief of that line is said to have died in 1340, leaving no sons.