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SPECIAL NOTE ADDED 2015: "The Irish word for lake is Lough. The name was originally Scottish. The clan was originally Macdonald, some of them moved to the head of the Lake and they were known as the Locheed Macdonalds. Loch being the Scots spelling of Lake. When part of the Clan was transplanted to Ireland the Irish spelling of Lake was used making it Lougheed. The transition from Scotland was in 1688 following the Battle of the Boyne from which King William the III (King William of Orange) emerged victorious and cemented his position by transplanting English but chiefly Scots to Ireland, we being among those transplanted. That is also why Orange day is celebrated and why so many Lougheeds are Williams.
Different spellings of the name were found in the archives, each alternate linked to the root source of the surname. Lougheed, occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was spelt Lochhead, Lochead, Lockhead, Lockheed, and these changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son.Note:The Scottish variant, Lockhead, referred to one who lived on or near lands situated at the head of a loch or lake. It is also akin to the surname Kinlock, from the Gaelic ceann an locha meaning head of the lake.
Alternatively, the surname Kinlock refers to the lands or barony of Kinloch at the head of Rossie loch, in the parish of Collessie, in Fife.
The spelling Lochhead, is a common Scottish name from the shires of Lanark, Renfrew and Dumfries.
While Lougheed is thought to be an Irish spelling, the name is not indigenous to Ireland and must have been brought there during on of the Plantations, when British subjects were settled in Ireland to make it easier to govern. The name is quite UNCOMMON, with only 7 children bearing the surname Lougheed being born in Ireland in 1890. By 1890, our family line had already left Ireland for Canada arriving in 1825.
However, we have as yet been unable to trace our family further than Robert Lougheed, Sr. (Husband of Maria Cuff) who sailed from Sligo, Ireland in 1825. Family folklore passed down from Olin Decker Lougheed (the great-grandson of Robert Lougheed, Sr.) indicates our family line was originally thought to be Scottish. We are in the process of tracing the line back from Robert to Scotland.
The Border region of England and Scotland is where our roots lie. The first record of the name Lougheed was found in Lanarkshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
The family name Lougheed is believed to be descended originally from the Strathclyde Britons. This ancient, founding race of the north were a mixture of Gaelic/Celts whose original territories ranged from Lancashire in the south, northward to the south bank of the River Clyde in Scotland.
From 400 A.D. to 900 A.D. their territory was overrun firstly by the Irish Gaels, then the Angles from the east, and, finally the Picts and Dalriadans from the north. However, their basic culture remained relatively undisturbed. By 1000 A.D., the race had formed into discernible Clans and families, perhaps some first evidence of the family structure in Britain.
Tracing its ancient development, the name Lougheed was found in Lanarkshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Lochhead, Lochwinnoch, Scotland with manor and estates in that shire. Lochwinnoch is near Glasglow.
Gilbert Lochead rendered homage to King Edward, I of England on his brief conquest of Scotland in 1296. Walter Lochead also rendered homage in Aberdeen. Gilbert de Lakenheued of Lanarkshire and Wautier de Lagenheuede of Aberdeenshire, rendered homage in 1296 (Bain).
The Locheads became distinguished business people of Glasgow and Aberdeen. They flourished on their estates for several centuries. Notable amongst the family at this time was Gilbert Lochead of Lanarkshire.
The border of England and Scotland was created on a line from Carlisle to Berwick in the East. Many Strathclyde families straddled the border but continued to be unified clans, powers unto themselves.
After 1000 A.D., border life was in turmoil. In 1246, 6 Chiefs from the Scottish side and 6 from the English side met at Carlisle and produced a set of laws governing all the border Clans. These were unlike any laws prevailing in England or Scotland or, for that matter, anywhere else in the world. For example, it was a far greater offence to refuse to help a neighbor recover his property, wife, sheep, cattle or horses than it was to steal them in the first place. Hence the expression "Hot Trod", or, a hot pursuit, from which we get the modern "Hot to trot". For refusal of assistance during a "Hot Trod", a person could be hanged on the instant, without trial. Frequently, the descendants of these clans or families apologetically refer to themselves as being descended from 'cattle or horse thieves' when; in fact, it was an accepted code of life on the border.
By the 16th and 17th centuries many of our modern family names descended directly from this ancient race, including Lougheed. In 1603, the Union of the Scottish and English crowns became reality under King James VI of Scotland, who was also crowned King James 1st of England. The Crown dispersed these "unruly border clans ", clans which had served loyally in the defense of each side. The unification of the governments was threatened and it was imperative that the old "border code” should be broken up. Hence, the Border Clans were banished to England, northern Scotland and to Ireland. Some were outlawed and banished directly to Ireland, the Colonies and the New World.
Some of the Border Clans settled in Northern Ireland, transferred between 1650 and 1700 with grants of land provided they "undertook" to remain Protestant. They became known as the "Undertakers ". Many became proudly Irish. There is NO evidence the family name migrated to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility of their scattered migration to that country.
Many were dissatisfied with life in Ireland, and sought a more rewarding life. They looked to the New World and sailed aboard the "White Sails " an armada of sailing ships such as the Hector, the Rambler, and the Dove which struggled across the stormy Atlantic. Some ships lost 30 or 40% of their passenger list, immigrants who were buried at sea having died from diseases and the elements.
In North America, some of the first kinsmen of the family name Lougheed and their spelling variants include the following. Hugh Lockhead settled in New York in 1775 with his wife Isabel and five children, and it is believed that it is from this source that the famous Lockheed Aircraft were derived.
The migrants formed wagon trains westward, moving to the prairies or the West Coast. During the American War of Independence those that remained loyal to the Crown moved north into Canada and became known as the United Empire Loyalists. Our specific family line did not participate in this war, having arrived in Canada in 1825.
Certification Number – 943320-12.10 H-15657