The Gaelic word
Maol is the stem of the name MacMhaolain. It's the
intention of M’millan Ancestry On Line
to collect all the known genealogy of the clan and to compile it on
computer in such a way that clanspeople will be able to use it to trace
their deceased ancestors in Scotland, and to contact their living cousins
around the world. The scale of the project will become apparent if you
stop and think about the numbers involved. The MacMillans are one of the
oldest clans in Scotland, with namefather Gilchrist “Gille-Maol /
Maolan” living in the early 12th century and having had, so far as we
can calculate, some 27 generations of descendants. Start with Gilchrist
himself; credit him with, say, 3 surviving and breeding sons; then give
each of them their 3 (bear in mind that pre-contraceptive era families
were generally very large, even if not too many survived to breed
successfully, and you’ll realise this is probably a gross
under-estimate). Go on and do the arithmetic along the same lines for all
20+ succeeding generations. Then add in the children who didn’t
breed, but who we want for complete-ness sake; and don’t forget the
breeders’ wives. You’ll need a computer to add them all up, let
alone record all of their details!
In fact of course hardly any of the first dozen or so generations of the
clan are recorded at all (the names of those who are, and the sources in
which they appear, can be found in lists accessed through the
Genealogy Page). Even so, there are still
a vast number of individuals to be dealt with in the ten or twelve
generations since 1700, so the amount of information made available
on-line for each one must be limited - even though in many cases the Clan
Centre may hold considerably more detail - and given our limited resources
it'll be many years before all the information we already have in the form
of books and paper family trees can be entered, collated, and put on the
website. So if you don't find your ancestors in it at the moment it
doesn't necessarily mean we don't have any information about them.
The key on-line elements are the Search Indexes which list all the people bearing a clan surname about whom we have information in Project MAOL, along with sufficient details to help distinguish between individuals bearing the same forenames (and because it was the practice in Scottish families for forenames to be handed down from generation to generation, there were hundreds of individuals at any one time in the clan bearing the same "given-names"). In some cases, especially for the larger and more important families in the clan, the index entries will reference detailed genealogies that can also be found on-line (the number of full family trees on-line is always increasing, with the intention one day of having all that include five or more generations available in this way). In many cases however it'll be necessary to contact the Clan Centre to ask for a print-out of details held on the computer there, or for copies of paper family trees and genealogies filed in the Archive Room (please see Making Genealogical Enquiries).
Please bear in mind that the on-line search indexes only list clanspeople born bearing one of the clan surnames, but individuals bearing other surnames (i.e. descendants of female "M'millans" or septname bearers) often appear in the full on-line family trees and in the genealogies held at the Clan Centre. We do aim to help all descendants of M'millans - all of whom are welcomed into the clan as members if they wish to join, whatever surname they bear - but the numbers involved mean it's impossible to enter more than those bearing the clan surnames into the search indexes. Similarly, while our Project MAOL submission guidelines concentrate on minimum details of ancestors bearing the clan surnames, we welcome as much additional information as possible about all clan ancestors and their descendants, of whatever name - and we will make it all available to searching cousins by one means or another.
SPELLINGS
AND SEPTS
There are two Gaelic versions of the main clan surname (the other
being MacGhillemhaoil); three standard English forms of it in use
in modern Britain (Macmillan, MacMillan and McMillan); and over 200
different spellings recorded over the centuries - quite a number of which
survive in North America to this day - for details of which see the
Spellings of M'millan page of this
website. In order to avoid confusion and duplication Project MAOL will use
the neutral form M’millan for all ancestors of that name -
whilst recognising and using the preferred spelling of all present-day
clanspeople in correspondence etc.
In addition to M’millan, the surnames of the clan's various septs will be included in Project MAOL - see Septs page of this website - with each name having a separate set of files. Where individuals or families are recorded with more than one of these names - as happened for instance with many Bells/MacGilveils in Argyllshire - the relevant information will be entered into both sets of files.
SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO PROJECT
MAOL
You can submit your family history for inclusion in Project MAOL either
in electronic or paper form - though we would always suggest sending a
paper back-up in addition to electronic submissions (we do of course keep
electronic back-ups of Project MAOL but what we put into Project MAOL may
not be the whole of what you submit - for the reasons outlined above - so
sending us a paper back-up is always advisable). Guidelines for electronic
and paper submissions can be accessed by clicking the links below, and
obviously the closer you keep to our guidelines the quicker it's likely
that your information will appear on the website in Project MAOL. Please
note however that all information submitted is subject to a process of
collation by clan genealogist Graeme Mackenzie which is primarily designed
to avoid the duplication of information - i.e. to stop the same individual
appearing more than once in the search indexes - but which also allows the
spotting of links with existing information, and the possible putting
in-touch of hitherto unknown cousins (one of the prime aims of the whole
project).
PM Electronic Submissions
| PM Paper
Submissions.
In both cases please read the rest of this introduction, which
explains the principles behind the project,
before either submitting information or using the on-line data available
through Project MAOL.
The Search Indices
are sorted by given name(s) and then by birth dates.
NAME:
Surname: As explained above one form of the surname is used for
all entries, but the form preferred by later members of the family in
question may appear in the "ADDITIONAL INFO" column against some
clanspeople. Be aware too that some M'millans were occasionally - or
always - recorded in Scotland with other surnames, such as Bell, Cameron,
or Buchanan (for reasons given elsewhere on this website - see
Septs, History,
and Genealogy pages). Where an individual
is known to have been recorded with one or more of these other surnames he
or she will appear in the relevant index listing with an "alias ..."
entry in brackets; e.g. Finlay (alias Cameron) M'millan.
Firstname: The "given-names" - as Scots usually called
them - of most people born in Scotland before 1900 have been entered in
standardised modern English forms so as to avoid the confusion emanating
from spelling variations and Gaelic-English translations. In some cases
however, where an individual is recorded with differing English names as
translations of one Gaelic name (e.g. as Donald and Daniel or Peter and
Patrick) both may be entered. Not all occasions when this happens will be
known however, and you should be aware of the equivalence of certain
English names as translations of the Gaelic and be prepared to search for
both. Consult the Gaelic-English
Equivalents Page for help in relation to this. Names of individuals
born in Scotland after 1900, and most of those born elsewhere, are entered
as recorded at birth or in the form most frequently found in other
records. But you should still be aware of the possibility of variations
and search accordingly if you cannot find the person you are looking for
under the name you expect.
Middle names and some nicknames - the later enclosed in quotation
marks - are included with the given-name in the index (other nicknames may
given in the fuller entries to be found for families with on-line
genealogies - see FAMILY below) but you should be aware of the fact that
many people who later bore a middle name were not baptised with it; and of
course nicknames were usually adopted or given in later life. The adoption
of middle names was particularly prevalent amongst 19th century emigrants,
and just as the single forename they were baptised with in the old world
was "given" for an ancestor, so the middle name they took in the
new world was usually that of a close relative - often their father or
grandfather. If therefore you can't find the person you are looking for
with the middle or nickname you know they bore, look for them without such
additions; and similarly be aware of the possibility of your ancestor
being recorded with such an additional name even though you are not aware
of it.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
This column contains details (titles, occupations, places of residence,
dates of emigration etc.) that may further help identify the individual in
question.
BIRTH DATE:
In theory only those dates not preceded by abt ("about")
or est ("estimated") are proven by contemorary entries
in registers. Click date formats to
see the distinction between abt and est.
Even where a date is not so qualified however it should be treated with
caution - especially if only the year is given - since many of these dates
come from family histories submitted by clanspeople who may not have
checked reported dates against official records. Bear in mind that before
the mid-20th century (when bureaucrats insisted that we all know our dates
of birth) few people - and especially older people - really knew exactly
how old they were. So if you don't find your ancestor entered against the
year of birth you expect then look for him/her up to ten years either side
of the date you have.
BIRTH PLACE: Again, before the 20th century people were not always sure where they were actually born, and places of birth given in censuses could well be the places where they grew up. Please note that abbreviations in this column do vary somewhat according to those favoured by our submitters. So both "Scot" and "SCT" are used for Scotland; "NI, "NIre" and "NIR" may appear for Northern Ireland; etc. etc. In most cases it should be obvious what is intended as we would alter anything that looks too obscure. Generally the format for the place of birth is Parish/Town/City, State/Province, Country, though farms, villages or counties may often appear in place of the parish, town or city.
SPOUSE: The surname of a wife should be her maiden name - which may of course have been the same as the husband's surname since intermarriage within a clan was common - but again this should be checked and not taken as read. The same rules often apply to the names of spouses as to the names - both forenames and surnames - of clanspeople (i.e. standardised English spellings), so you may need to look for versions other than the one you have on your records.
FATHER: The father's name is entered if known, and the same considerations apply as above (i.e. spelling, middle and nicknames etc). If a father's name is included then you can go on to search the index for him too - using the name of MOTHER/SPOUSE to differentiate the father from others bearing the same given name.
MOTHER: The mother's name is entered if known, and again the same considerations apply as above.
FAMILY: If a three or four digit number is entered in this column it may be used on the M'millan or Septname Key pages to access a full genealogy for this family - if it has been put on-line (only a limited number of families have so far) - or it can be quoted in correspondence as a means of referencing full family trees and the names of their submitters held at the Clan Centre.
Please note that not all the information given in the search indices is guaranteed as accurate. Where we know there are doubts we have indicated as much with qualifiers (in addition to abt or est before dates, doubtful places or people are indicated with a ?). We cannot possibly check all the information we are sent, and we can easily make mistakes when entering these huge amounts of data; SO YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK ORIGINAL RECORDS OR SOURCES FOR YOURSELVES WHEN YOU GET INFORMATION FROM US (OR INDEED ANYONE ELSE). Information in on-line family trees or pedigrees that we send out should contain references for individuals or families that show either the historical or genealogical sources, or the names of the clanspeople who submitted the information (or, where submitters prefer not to have their details published, the Clan Centre should be able to put potential cousins in touch). A list of sources and submissions can be found at the PM Sources Page, which also serves as a useful bibliography for Clan MacMillan genealogical and historical research.
Project
MAOL Appeal
Although you have free access to the PM Search Indices and on-line
pedigrees, you may be charged for any detailed information sent from the
Clan Centre archives as there will be staff time and various costs
involved in making this available to you (copying, media - paper or disk -
Postage & Packing etc.). The charges will usually depend on your
membership status within the clan. Members of Clan MacMillan
International will generally only be charged for copying, media and P&P;
members of other contributing Clan MacMillan Societies and Branches will
be charged a percentage for the curator's or genealogist's time; and
non-members will be charged the full amount for the time involved.
There is of course no charge for contributing information to the Project;
but please bear in mind, either as a contributor or a consumer of Project
MAOL material, the vast amount of time involved in collating and entering
all this data (even electronic submissions have to be checked against
existing data to avoid duplication before they are merged into the master
file). The Clan Centre is not a commercial organisation and has to raise
money from donations and subscriptions to help pay for some small amount
of the Clan Genealogist's time in doing this. We do therefore have an
appeal fund for the scheme, which we ask you to contribute to generously.
Donations should be sent, payable to “Clan MacMillan Centre”, to
Clan MacMillan International Centre,
Finlaystone, Langbank, PA14 6TJ, Scotland.
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