By Carrie Sanderson January 31, 2025

Throughout January we have been celebrating all things Clan MacBean. We have met some famous faces, visited many sites, and gained great insight into the history of this ancient clan. Finally, we called upon the valued Clan members to share their stories and we had a wonderful response; read the blog to find out more!

Read the MacBean Stories

Scott McElvain - Vice President of Clan MacBean, Inc.

The Vice President of Clan MacBean, Inc., Scott McElvain, kindly sent us this fascinating bit of history about the McElvains/McIlwains, a sept of Clan MacBean. If you're a McElvain/McIlwain, this is a must read for you! 

"The McElvain/McIlwain (and assorted spellings) sept has seemingly always been considered a part of Clan MacBean.  Our current Chief’s father, however, admitted that there was no smoking gun that connected our family to the Clan other than the Gaelic spelling and pronunciation.  The main line of the McElvain/McIlwain family, known as the Lairds of Grimmet, lived near the town of Maybole, Ayrshire, in the southwest of Scotland and far from the Clan lands.  They owned the lands of Attiquin and Grimmet, and married into Thomastown Castle, which currently exists as a ruin in the area around well-known Culzean Castle.   

Thomaston Castle 20100926 by Otter Thomaston Castle by Otter

In the late 1600s, the main line of the family left for Ireland and after around 25 years of farming, continued on to the colonies.  Attiquin and Grimmet are each known to also have had castles.  While there is evidence of McElvains and MacBean getting together in the Inverness area, the dates of graves indicates a period after the main branch left for Ireland, and were most likely a branch that moved to Inverness and did not originate there. 

William Ordway is the primary author of what is considered to be the “Bible’ on the family, “The House of Grimmet, A Family Genealogy”.  In it he goes into the history of the family taken from the notes of a WWI Captain Frank McElvain who researched the family, and a genealogy of the main line including inputs from families all over the United States.  It is a very difficult book to find for sale, but fortunately, one of the co-authors is a member of the sept’s “House of Grimmet” Facebook page and has included all the chapters in the file section.   In it, he mentions possible Norman and Gaelic origins of the family and their participation in activities not only in Ayrshire, but in several significant Scottish events. McElvains were there at the battles of Largs in 1263, Bannockburn in 1314, Flodden in 1513, and Pinkie in 1547.  A McElvain was a Baillie for Crossraguel Abbey in 1523 and the family was close to the Kennedys, Lords of Cassillis and later, Culzean.

Mc Elvain Modern and Ancient McElvain Modern and Ancient

The McElvains have a registered tartan with Modern and Ancient versions.  The Ancient Shire of Carrick, and Ayrshire, which includes the old counties of Carrick, Cunningham, and Kyle, have area/district tartan that would be appropriate, as would the Ireland County of Antrim tartan where they spent time before sailing for the colonies."

Thank you, Scott, for sharing this valuable bit of information! We've enjoyed learning more about the family.

We'd love to hear from the McElvains/McIlwains, so if you have a story to share for this blog, please get in touch

Jeremy McBain

We were delighted to hear from Jeremy McBain about his connection to his McBain heritage and a town in Michigan with the same name! Read on to find out more.

"Jeremy, what does your MacBean/McBain heritage mean to you?
It means family to me and a connection to my grandfather. Learning more about it, is in a way, a homage to him and those that came before him. Learning about them and sharing what I learn with other family members helps keep their memories alive for the next generation.  

Family photo Jeremy Mc Bain Family photo - Jeremy McBain

Have you always been interested in your Scottish ancestry?
Yes, thanks to my grandfather. His stories of his family and traditions resonated with me and made me want to learn more about history, in general. So much so that I had a double major in college in journalism and history — with a particular interest in British Isles history.  

You’ve mentioned there is a McBain in Michigan, USA founded by your great-great-grandfather – please tell us more about that! How did that happen? Have you visited, assuming you don’t currently live there?
The town was created by two brothers, Gillis and John. John is my great-great-grandfather. The brothers had come from Canada to start a lumber camp (their father came from the Inverness area of Scotland — some say Tomatin/Moy area, others say Inverness proper). After establishing the camp, they set up a homestead and town. Each of the streets were named after their children, and many of the family members, to this day, are buried in the McBain cemetery. I have been there often, mostly to visit my grandparents graves and to play the bagpipes for other relative's funerals.  

Please tell us about being a Highland athlete – did you travel around the world to compete? What were your favorite games? Was there one particular element you loved the most?
I traveled mainly in the Midwest United States and was an athlete for about 20 years. I became interested in it after piping at several highland festivals in my youth and tiring of being in pipe bands. After my first game I fell in love with it. While never a top-level athlete I did become pretty good at it with several overall first place finishes over my career, leaving me with a couple of walls of trophies and medals in my home. My best event was the caber toss, and some considered me one of the best at that. I don't know if I agree, but I enjoyed it. 

Caber Jeremy Mc Bain Caber toss - Jeremy McBain

You wore a MacBean Ancient kilt to compete in, do you have any other MacBean tartan kilts/garments? Which MacBean tartan is your favourite?
I have many other MacBean tartan kilts and items. I have three MacBean kilts, including the MacBean ancient kilt, a couple of ties, a scarf and a throw-blanket. My MacBean modern kilt is my favorite though, as that is the kilt I was married in 30 years ago. However, I dearly want to get a MacBain of Tomatin kilt in the future, because I actually like that style over MacBean modern.  

How do you celebrate your heritage these days?
Learning even more about my family and extended family, as well as the history and culture (both historic and modern) of Scotland. Scotland is such a wonderfully diverse place with a great mix of urban and rural areas — similar in a lot of ways to Michigan. In my visits there it was wonderful to get not only a glimpse of life in the past, but experience the modern beauty and opportunities of the present day cities. I am a cheerleader for the country, encouraging everyone I know to visit. Beyond that, I also still enjoy wearing one of my kilts to special events, making Scottish and British inspired foods for my family and I also am a judge for the highland games in my area."  

Thank you so much, Jeremy!

Heather MacBain

Heather shared with us some lovely photos and a bit about her and her husband's connection to Clan MacBean. She says, "Scottish heritage is really important to us. Since we met in our early 20s we have incorporated MacBain into our lives in many ways - beyond our surnames." 

Heather Mac Bain husband Michael Heather's husband Michael MacBain

"The MacBain tartan has been a feature at many milestones. Including Michael’s 30th birthday where he ordered a custom tartan kilt with all the MacBain accessories to match. Even cufflinks and his sgian-dubh have the MacBain crest on them. It was an investment that he was looking to make for years and turning 30 seemed like the right moment to commit. Even more family members joined the kilt order since, so we now have a full family kilt set up. It looks great in photos at family occasions. I hope I can pass the kilt down to family members in the future, or when it doesn’t fit!" 

Heather Mac Bain wedding Handfasting at their wedding

"The MacBain tartan has featured at all of our family weddings. During a traditional hand fasting at our wedding in 2018 and at my brother's wedding in 2023 on our daughter's flower girl dress. And it’s not just the humans that are adorned in tartan. Our dog Murphy has a custom MacBain tartan collar for special moments so he isn’t left out. 

Back in 2018, Michael's dad took time to start a project to trace our family history. The results were fascinating!" 

Heather Mac Bain flower girl MacBean tartan flower girl

"The MacBain name and ancestral land can be traced to the Inverness area. A branch of the MacBain family were also forced South from Inverness to Dundee as work on the land up North was becoming difficult to find and Dundee was becoming a booming city with opportunities connected to the port." 

Heather Mac Bain dog Murphy in MacBean tartan

On holiday a few years ago both Michael and his dad went to do some further investigating at the local church and council offices in the Highlands. Michael confirmed that MacBain was in the census back in the late 1800’s in Nairn at a visit to the local library. 

Today, there are MacBains (relatives included) all over Scotland. We haven’t engaged with the clan officially before. But it comes up in conversation every so often at family gatherings. Maybe this will be our nudge to connect with the clan and keep the MacBain name alive."

Thank you Heather and Michael, wonderful to hear about both your connections to the clan and we hope you get to meet more people from the clan! 

Charles Bean

Charles Bean from North Carolina sent in a couple of photos of him and one with his son, Charlton. They were taken at the Loch Norman Highland Games in Huntersville, N.C. Don't they look great in their MacBean kilts?

Thank you, Charles!

Charles Bean and son Charlton Charles with his son Charlton
Charles Bean Mac Bean tartan Charles Bean

Clan MacBean's War Cry

We love these two photos that Ross McEwen, Vice Chair of the Clan MacEwen Society, and Committee Member & Trustee for the Heraldry Society of Scotland, sent us! They're from The Lyon Office and depict Clan MacBean's war cry. Aren't they wonderful?!

Mac Bean standard from Ross Mc Ewen credit Lyon Office Credit: The Lyon Office
Mac Bean war cry from Ross Mc Ewen credit Lyon Office Credit: The Lyon Office

 

Unfortunately January has come to an end, that certainly doesn't mean our love for Clan MacBean is over, so be sure to get in touch with us if you fancy chatting all things MacBean!