Kenneth Urquhart of Urquhart
Clan chief and academic who brought 21st-century expertise to an ancient tradition
n Kenneth urquhart of urquhart, academic and clan chief. born: 12 November, 1932, in Louisiana, united States. died: 17 october, 2012, in New orleans, aged 79.
Kenneth Urquhart of Urquhart combined being a member of an old Southern family with the chiefship of Urquhart. As 27th chief – and one of four citizens of the United States currently holding Scottish chiefships – he cut a contrary figure to that of the stereotypical allAmerican clan leader.
Learned, courteous, kindly and of compact stature, Kenneth trist Urquhart brought his clan administration into a business pattern fit for the 21st century, including even a mission statement. An enthusiast for the use of modern technology as a management tool, he was one of those who helped bring about a webstream for gatherings and games so that clansfolk around the world could watch the proceedings live online.
In his Vision For The Future of the Clan, written in recent years, he stated: “As chief, it falls to me to articulate the hopes and aspirations of the family of Urquhart. Let us live by our motto Meane Weil, Speak Weil, and Doe Weil… this exhortation to virtue. Let us teach our motto, by word and deed, to our children.
“By bearing the name of Urquhart, we are marked as members of an old family with a clearly identifiable history and character. this clan in turn depends upon your efforts to make it the best it can become”.
the ancient seat of the chief is the ruined Castle Craig on the Cromarty Firth, and Kenneth’s vision had in place a financial plan for restoration of it as an active clan centre. Additionally, with Craigston Castle near turriff in Aberdeenshire having longstanding Urquhart connections, he played an energetic role as patron of the trust caring for Craigston.
Kenneth trist Urquhart of Urqhart bore a convoluted descent from the early 14th-century William de Urchard, successful defender of the Mote hill of Cromarty in the wars against edward I.
Loyalty to the monarchy was rewarded when King James III gave licence to Sir William Urquhart to build a tower on the Mote hill; the burgh of Cromarty remains linked to the Urquharts to this day. the influence of the family spread across north-east Scotland, the chiefly line establishing lairdships and family ties in Aberdeenshire in Craigston, Byth and Meldrum (now Oldmeldrum).
One of Urquhart’s predecessors was the celebrated Sir thomas Urquhart of Cromarty – royalist, wit, scholar, anti-presbyterian and anti-papist, who fought against his opponents by ridiculing them.
having fought for the Royalists at the Battle of Worcester, he was imprisoned by Cromwell. During his imprisonment he occupied himself by composing a fantastical work, Ekskgbalagron, an extended joke which included the invention of a universal language with 11 genders. he died in a fit of joyous laughter on hearing news of the restoration of Charles II.
A previous thomas Urquhart, builder of Castle Craig, lives in clan legend for reputedly fathering 25 sons and 11 daughters by one, clearly extraordinary, wife. Seven sons of the couple were killed at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547. After Major Beauchamp Urquhart, last chief of the direct Meldrum Urquhart line, was killed in action in 1898 during the Second Sudan War, the chiefship veered via a fourth cousin twice removed, to devolve in 1959 on Wilkins Urquhart, 9th of Braelangwell, from whom his son Kenneth succeeded in 1974 as 27th chief of the arms and name of Urquhart.
the Urquhart came from an old Louisiana family, whose ancestor George Urquhart emigrated a decade before the American Revolution of 1776, establishing himself as a planter, and being elected a representative in the local assembly.
holder of three academic degrees, Kenneth Urquhart was associate professor of history in new Orleans and director of the Confederate Museum. Active in historical affairs in Louisiana, he played a working role in the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
he died three days before the Stone Mountain Gathering near Atlanta, Georgia, an event he and his heir Wilkins Urquhart of Urquhart Ygr (Younger) were due to attend. In spite of his bereavement, Wilkins – the new 28th chief – attended, for it had been the express wish of his father that he be there.
Following the chief’s death, Mike MacKenzie MSP proposed a motion of tribute to Kenneth in the Scottish Parliament.
the Urquhart is survived by his wife Mary, five children, and grandchildren. Wilkins, the new chief, is a lieutenant-colonel in the United States Air Force. 1493: Columbus, on his second expedition, sighted the island of Dominica in the West Indies. 1534: The Act of Supremacy was passed, making the king head of the English Church. 1843: The legs of Nelson were hoisted to the top of the column in Trafalgar Square, London. The 17ft statue had been carved in the square by EK Baily. The top half joined the legs on 4 November. 1942: Montgomery’s Eighth Army broke through Rommel’s front line in Africa. Within a day the Germans were in full retreat. 1948: President Harry S Truman won the United States election. 1957: Laika, a Samoyed dog, became the first space traveller. Her oxygen in Russia’s sputnik II ran out after ten days and she died in space. 1968: Graham Hill became world motor racing champion when he won the Mexico Grand Prix. 1988: Koo Stark was awarded £300,000 libel damages over allegations in the Sunday People that she had an adulterous affair with Prince Andrew after her marriage. 1989: Peter Brooke, Northern Ireland secretary, indicated that the government might enter negotiations with Sinn Fein if the IRA had a ceasefire. 1990: Sarah Brightman accepted a £6m pay-off in her divorce from Andrew Lloyd Webber plus the value of one of his properties. 1990: A World Climate Conference of 700 scientists issued warning of global warming catastrophe. 1991: In New York, Liz McColgan won her first marathon in record time. 1992: Bill Clinton was elected United States president. 1994: The government, under pressure from Conservative backbenchers, ditched plans to privatise the Post Office. 1995: The Scotsman was sold by the Thomson Corporation to European Press Holdings.
Scotsman archive
THEATRE ROYAL REPAIRS 3 November, 1950 FOUR years after the theatre Royal was so badly damaged by fire that it had to be closed for public performances, edinburgh town Council have consented to the reinstatement of the premises on the present site for a limited period of 30 years. the decision, made yesterday by 36 votes to 13, will enable the proprietors, edinburgh Varieties Ltd, to take further steps to secure the reopening of the theatre. It also means a decision 2007: President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, sacked the chief justice, took TV and radio off the air and arrested hundreds of opposition leaders and activists. 2008: Donald Trump, the American tycoon, said he was “greatly honoured” after his £1 bn golf resort plan in Aberdeenshire was approved. 2011: Three Pakistan cricketers, including former captain Salman Butt, were jailed over the conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test match in 2010 against England. Lulu, Glasgowborn singer and actress, 64; Adam Ant (born Stewart Goddard), singer, 58; Tommy Tiernan, Irish comedian, 44; Lord Baker of Dorking, home secretary 1990-92, 78; Roseanne Barr, actress, 60; Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness, paymaster general 1989-90, 64; Kate Capshaw, actress, 59; Larry Holmes, boxer, 63; Viscount Linley, furniture designer, 51; Dolph Lundgren, actor, 55; Jacqui Smith, Labour politician, 50; Ian Wright MBE, footballer and broadcaster, 49. Births: 1801 Karl Baedeker, publisher of guide books; 1879 Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arctic explorer; 1919 Sir Ludovic Kennedy, broadcaster and campaigner; 1921 Charles Bronson, actor; 1943 Bert Jansch, folk musician. Deaths: 1832 Sir John Leslie, physicist and mathematician; 1926 Annie Oakley, Wild West Show markswoman; 1954 Henri Matisse, painter and sculptor; 1958 Harry Revel, composer; 2002 Lonnie Donegan, musician; 2008 Brooks Mileson, former owner of Gretna football club. of the town Council refusing consent, was made in 1947 and the subject of unsuccessful appeals to the Secretary of State for Scotland, has been rescinded. During discussion, Lord Provost Sir Andrew Murray, who moved that consent be given, recalled that the theatre had originally been included in the St James’ Square development scheme under the Advisory town Plan, which suggested that it should be erected on an adjacent site. the present recommendation was that it should be excluded. l archive.scotsman.com