Straight to Clan Society & Branch Addresses

The Organisation of
Clan MacMillan Today

The Clan MacMillan Society (of Scotland) gather at Finlaystone
in 1993 to bury the time capsule celebrating the society's centenary.

The Gaelic word clann means children, so in theory all clanspeople are descendants of the “namefather” (sometimes called the "eponymous") of their clan. In practice, however, these extended families have in the past embraced many others who chose to follow a particular chief - the senior descendant of the clan’s progenitor - whose name they then took when surnames became necessary, which was as late as the 18th century in parts of the Highlands.

As a clan that the accidents of history early broke into branches widely spread within Scotland, many MacMillans in the past followed other clan chiefs; e.g. Lochiel in Lochaber, the Douglas in Galloway, and the Earls/Dukes of Argyll in Knapdale and Kintyre. As a result , when surnames were required, some - certainly in the case of the Lochaber branch - took or were given the surname of the chief they followed; so some "Camerons" even today are probably M'millans (as many certainly are MacMartins, MacGillonies and MacSorlies by male descent). While all bearers of the clan name and its septnames are automatically part of the clan, those bearing other names - especially descendants of married female M’millans - who choose to associate themselves with the clan by joining one of its societies are all welcomed into the kindred as well.

In Scottish law the "clan" is in effect its chief; and between the death of Duncan MacMillan of Dunmore in 1799 and the acceptance by the Lord Lyon of Sir Gordon MacMillan as the MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap in 1952, there was no recognised chief of the Clann an Mhaoil. There was however a strong feeling of kinship and pride in their name among M'millans in Scotland - and indeed around the world - and this led in 1892 to representatives of all the clans’s main branches coming together in Glasgow to form The Clan MacMillan Society, which was presided over by an elected “chief”.
Following the discovery of the clan’s hereditary chief, The Clan MacMillan Society of North America was formed in 1958 - under the umbrella of which various regional and provincial bodies have since emerged. In 1993 all these became separate societies, though some are still referred to as “branches” or "chapters". The North American Society now exists to provide active membership of the clan to those living in parts of the United States and Canada that do not yet have a local or regional society, and to promote cross-border liason between the societies and branches in the two countries that make up North America.
The Clan MacMillan Society of Australia was formed in 1982; The Clan MacMillan Society of New Zealand in 1991; and The Glenurquhart Macmillan Society in 1992.

The Community of the Tonsured Servant, founded in 1995, is an international body of M’millans dedicated to the study of the clan’s heritage, to the support of the Clan Centre, and to honouring the clan’s motto
Miseris Succurrere Disco (“I Learn to Help Those in Need”).
In 2005 The Clan MacMillan Society (of Scotland) decided to merge with Clan MacMillan International - the body set up in 1994 to support the Clan MacMillan Centre and originally called "Friends of the Clan Centre" - and the Glenurquhart Macmillan Society did likewise in 2006 - but the original society's historic name lives on in what is now
CLAN MACMILLAN INTERNATIONAL incorporating The Clan MacMillan Society (1892).

ELDERS, CONCLAVES AND GUIDELINES

All the clan societies remain autonomous, being linked formally only by a shared allegiance to the chief;
though working informally together - and in association with the Clan Centre in Scotland - to further their common interest in the worldwide clan. Representatives of all the existing clan bodies - often called "Elders" - meet from time to time to discuss how best to do this; and at a "Conclave" in 2000 they agreed on this declaration:
The mission of each Clan MacMillan organization is to be part of the world-wide family
(by birth marriage, adoption, or interest), loyal to our Chief and supportive of the Clan Centre,
researching, communicating, and celebrating the story and heritage of Clan MacMillan.
We seek to work among ourselves and with others in the spirit of our motto "Miseris succurrere disco".

The chief in his turn declared that:
The mission of the Clan Chief, with the advice and help of his "executive forum" [the Conclave],
is to support Clan MacMillan and its branches/societies in achieving their objectives,
to uphold the values of the clan and to provide a focal point
for facilitating international initiatives and communication for branches.

SETTING UP NEW CLAN BRANCHES AND SOCIETIES
The Chief and the "Elders" of the Clan are keen to see new branches, societies or chapters emerging in parts of the world where there is no existing clan body. To that end the Conclve of 2000 considered how such bodies should be set-up and run, and the Chief subsequently issued a set of "Guidelines" for aspiring clan groups to try and follow.
Click here for the procedure to be followed by clanspeople interested in founding a new branch or society.

The Conclave of 2000 was also keen to point out that all those born bearing the surname of the clan - however spelt - or a recognised septname are automatically "members" of the clan, and need not feel obliged to join any society or other clan group to be recognised as such.
Membership of such a body does however indicate an active interest in your family heritage, and is also the way in which M'millan descendants bearing other names can demonstrate their allegiance to Clan MacMillan and its chief. Although the various clan groups listed below have a local, regional or individual family membership, most will welcome other M'millans; and there is no bar to joining as many Clan MacMillan groups as you wish.
Membership of Clan MacMillan International is open to all M'millans, descendants of M'millans and septname bearers throughout the world, and is the body that gives clan members a direct link with the Chief and the Clan Centre in Scotland.
Click here for details of how to join CLAN MACMILLAN INTERNATIONAL incorporating The Clan MacMillan Society (1892).

Detailed lists of the various societies' officers are published annually in the
Clan MacMillan International Newsletter
The postal and email addresses, and telephone numbers of the main groups are given below:

The Clan's largest society, The Appalachian Branch, celebrate being chosen as
"Most Outstanding Clan" at the Stone Mountain Games in Georgia, USA, in 1996

Clan MacMillan Societies,
Branches, Chapters & Family Groups

Click relevant names below to go to their own pages
(please note however that the information on these pages is only the last
which has been supplied by the branches to the Clan Centre in Scotland;
so for the latest, interested clanspeople should check with the branches themselves)

THE CLAN MACMILLAN SOCIETY (OF SCOTLAND) now incorporated into CLAN MACMILLAN INTERNATIONAL

Clan MacMillan Appalachian Branch (S.E. of USA)

Clan MacMillan Northeast (N.E. of USA)

Clan MacMillan Pacfic Branch (West Coast of USA)

Clan MacMillan Arizona

Clan MacMillan Society of Utah

Clan MacMillan North Central States (WI, MN, ND, SD, IA)

Clan MacMillan in New Mexico

CLAN MACMILLAN SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA
(for parts of the USA and Canada not covered by local branches above or below

Glengarry and Ottawa Valley Branch

New Brunswick Chapter

Nova Scotia Chapter