The Mac Donalds of Suriname: The Ancestors - De Mac Donalds van Suriname: De voorouders

By Alphonse L MacDonald

On 25 November 2020 it was 200 years since a young Scot, Alexander MacDonald, entered Suriname, never to return to his homeland. This title provides some historical facts about Alexander MacDonald, his origin and life in Suriname. Like all history, family history is a combination of facts, myths or fiction and mystery. In this account great efforts are made to present facts, although occasionally some myths may have been taken as facts and in some cases even some mysteries may remain.

 

Op 25 november 2020 was het 200 jaren geleden dat een jonge Schot, Alexander MacDonald, in Suriname aankwam; hij keerde nooit naar zijn geboorteland terug. Dit essay verschaft enkele historische feiten over de afkomst van Alexander MacDonald en zijn leven in Suriname. Zoals alle geschiedenis is familiegeschiedenis een combinatie van feiten, mythes of ficties en zelf mysteries. Hier zal in het bijzonder geprobeerd worden feiten te verschaffen, ofschoon soms mythes als feit zijn beschouwd en wellicht ook soms nog mysteries zullen bestaan. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macu Publishing
• Release date: Mar 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798985759419

Book preview

I. Introduction

On 25 November 2020 it was 200 years since a young Scot, Alexander MacDonald, entered Suriname, never to return to his homeland. This essay provides some historical facts about Alexander MacDonald, his origin and life in Suriname. Like all history, family history is a combination of facts, myths or fiction and mystery. In this account great efforts are made to present facts, although occasionally some myths may have been taken as facts and in some cases even some mysteries may remain. The author is indebted to many people, family, friends and even strangers, who helped with the collection of information about Alexander, his parental family and his children. However, the author alone is responsible for any errors or misrepresentations! As this is an essay, no foot- or endnotes will be provided, but only a short list of the main publications consulted.

Surnames are something of recent origin. In much of Europe, and Scotland is no exception, there were no surnames for the majority of the common people.  In Scotland for the nobles and important persons, surnames, patronyms, started to be used by the end of 12th century. The use of surnames was generalised in the 18th century, and people living in the Scottish highlands, in many cases just took the name of the Chief of the clan in whose territory they lived.  Historically the name MacDonald, the English version of the original Gaelic MacDhòmhnaill, meaning son of Dhòmhnaill hence son of Donald, has been spelled in many different ways, in Scotland and beyond. Variations like Macdonald, McDonald, Mcdonald, MacDonnell, and Mcdonnell all exist. In Suriname the name is often spelled as Mac Donald, and Mac-Donald. How this came about is not known.  In 1847 Alexander MacDonald had petitioned the Governor of Suriname to give the children he had with Sophia van Bunschoten, a manumitted slave woman, his name. He used the spelling MacDonald.  In the Governments Resolution number 1738 of 23 December 1847 he obtained permission that his children could be called MacDonald. In this essay the spelling MacDonald will be used for Alexander and the author, because that is how he is known as internationally. For the children of Alexander and their descendants the Surinamese spelling Mac Donald will be used.

From where, why and how Alexander MacDonald came to Suriname is unknown. Alexander’s arrival in Suriname was registered in the Citizens Register (Burgerregister) entry number 734 in which it was stated that he arrived in Suriname on 25 November 1820; that he was born in Glenmorisston (sic) on 8 October 1802; that he was unmarried, and that Fort William, Scotland was his last residence. However, in a family register prepared by his son John Sinclair Mac Donald in 1885 his birthdate is given as 12 September 1800. Efforts to find Alexander and his parental family in Glenmoriston by early family researchers were unsuccessful.  Only in early 2005 did the author (descendant of Samuel (1828–1877) the eldest son of Alexander) and Rosina Hok A Hin (descendant of Alexander Jr. (1842 – 1872) the fourth son of Alexander) independently established that he was born in Caithness, Scotland, where exactly is not known. Caithness is not traditional MacDonald territory; so how they got there is still not clear.

II. Trouble in Scotland

Alexander’s parents were John Macdonald (About 1752 – 3 March 1840) and Barbara Gordon (About 1764 – 24 May 1850); they had seven children, three daughters and four sons. Alexander was the 5th child. Not much is known about the background of the parents; John Macdonald was a tenant farmer and Barbara Gordon was related to Scottish nobility through both her parents, her father being Alastair Gordon, and her mother was Isabella Sutherland. The Gordon and Sutherland families were established Scottish nobility and had a long tradition of travel to the Americas, including the West-Indies, so maybe in addition to the historical pressure to migrate to escape poverty in Scotland Alexander MacDonald followed the example of his uncles.

It is believed that the clan referred to people who had a common ancestry who lived in a specific locality. This might have been the case originally, but over time this changed, and common ancestry may have been only the case of the leading families. Persons from other clans may have sought protection of a particular clan, or may have moved to the clan territory by marriages.  At present Clan Donald, the clan of the MacDonald is one of the larger if not the largest of the Scottish clans worldwide.  They originated in the Scottish Isles and the Highlands, located to the west of modern Scotland. Already in 1100 the Atlantic Ocean was recognised as the western border of Scotland but different royal groups throughout the country vied for dominance over the country. Historically Clan Donald played an important part in the history of the Isles and Highlands and the country as a whole.  Much of the history of clan Donald is unclear and based on folk memory. The ancestor of the clan is one Somerled (? -1164), a person of mixed Gaelic and Scandinavian (Viking) ancestry who as a war lord established himself as Lord of the Isles, initially in the southwest mountainous region and one of the islands, later expanding to the majority, if not all of the Scottish islands.

This he achieved through conquests, clever alliances, inheritances and marriages. Clan Donald is founded by his grandson Donald. The different branches of the clan played important parts in the history of Scotland, dominating the islands and the Highlands, and in 1470 Clan Donald had about a third of Scotland under its control.  The Chief of the leading branch of the clan had the title Lord of the Isles and he dealt on foot of equality with the royal houses of Scotland, England and Norway. However, the control over the whole territory was increasingly implemented by the king of Scotland and the power and prestige of the Lord of the Isles diminished. The title was abolished in 1540; its lands were annexed to those of the Scottish Crown. The title Lord of the Isles is currently one of the titles of the Prince of Wales.

Branches of Clan Donald spread over the Highlands and continued to be of importance in regional and, sometimes, in national events. They were involved in the bloody national uprisings and the European religious wars and wars of succession.  On 13 February 1692 about 30 members of clan MacDonald of Glencoe, men, women and children, were murdered by Campbell-led government troops. This was the punishment for the delayed recognition of the protestant English king, William III, as king of Scotland by the catholic Chief of the MacDonald of Glencoe.  The English king was actually the Dutch  Stadhouder  Willem, Prince of Orange, who had usurped the Crown of England through a coup d’état in 1688.  He had sanctioned the killings. The massacre is widely remembered as murder under trust, because for more than a week the murderers had enjoyed the hospitality of the MacDonald of Glencoe!

Because of political and economic developments the importance of the clan system gradually diminished and after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 the clan system of the Highlands was officially abolished and any manifestation of clan culture was forbidden. A brutal suppression of the Highlanders by the English victors followed, and many Highlanders were banned to the English North American colonies.  Due to the suppression of the clan system and Highland culture many people from the Highlands voluntary went to the Colonies in North America. Also because of the integration of the Highland economy in the British economy, some former Chiefs of clans removed clansmen from their native homelands to make room for modern sheep farming.  During the time that Alexander grew up the population of the Highlands suffered from the consequences of a number of factors: a fast growing population leading to overpopulation, crop failures leading to famine, increased economic pressures to modernise the Scottish economy which implied changes in the agricultural system, including the massive expulsion of farming people. As a result many people from the Highland migrated, some to other parts of Britain, but the majority, voluntary or under duress, to the Americas, mainly North America, especially Canada, but also to the Caribbean. Why Alexander left is not known.

III. The attraction of Suriname

Since the establishment of Suriname as a settlement of Europeans in 1613 its population consisted of people from many different countries. It was first settled by Dutch merchants, followed by French settlers. In 1650 it was colonised by the English, but after