Clan Farquharson

History and Origins

The Farquharsons take their name from Fearchar, a Gaelic personal name meaning 'dear man' or 'beloved man', and established themselves as one of the principal clans of Upper Deeside — the mountainous Aberdeenshire country that flanks the River Dee from Ballater to the Cairngorms.

The clan trace their origins to Farquhar, son of Shaw of Rothiemurchus, who established his seat at Invercauld on the banks of the Dee near Braemar. This placed the Farquharsons at the heart of one of the most strategically significant passes in the Highlands — the route through the Cairngorms that connects Deeside with Speyside and the north.

The Farquharsons were passionate Jacobites. They rose in the 1715 Rebellion and again — most decisively — in the 1745. At Culloden in April 1746, a Farquharson regiment fought in the front line of the Jacobite army. The clan chief at the time, John Farquharson of Invercauld, was absent due to illness, but his wife, Anne Farquharson — known to history as Colonel Anne — led the clan's active support for Prince Charles Edward Stuart. She was celebrated in Jacobite song and later pardoned.

After Culloden, the Farquharson country became part of the Balmoral estate region. When Queen Victoria purchased Balmoral in 1852, the Farquharson territory became the royal heartland — the Dee valley that the British monarchy has returned to every summer since. The Invercauld estate remains in Farquharson hands to this day, one of the longest continuously held Highland estates.

Notable Farquharson Bearers

• Colonel Anne Farquharson — led Jacobite support for the 1745 Rising; celebrated in song as 'Colonel Anne'
• John Farquharson of Invercauld — chief during the 1745; the Invercauld estate has been in family hands continuously
• William Farquharson — 18th-century figure associated with Highland estate development in Upper Deeside

The Farquharson Diaspora

Farquharson families scattered across the Atlantic world following Culloden and the subsequent Highland Clearances. The name is found throughout Canada (particularly Nova Scotia, the 'New Scotland' that received so many Highland emigrants), the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

In North America, Farquharson emigrants settled in the Glengarry communities of Ontario and the Cape Breton Gaelic communities of Nova Scotia, where the language and culture of the Cairngorms was preserved for generations after it had faded in Scotland itself.

Genealogy Research Guide

National Records of Scotland (Old Parish Registers and census records). Aberdeenshire Archives in Aberdeen. The Invercauld Papers held at the National Archives of Scotland. The Clan Farquharson Society maintains genealogical records. The Court of the Lord Lyon for arms and heraldry.