| Clan Forsyth | |
|---|---|
| Fearsithe | |
 Crest: A griffin sergeant Azure, armed and membered Sable, crowned Or | |
| Motto | Instaurator ruinae (A repairer of ruin) |
| Profile | |
| Region | Lowlands |
| Chief | |
 | |
| Alistair Forsyth of that Ilk | |
| Chief of the Name and Arms of Forsyth | |
| Seat | Ethie Castle |
| Historic seat | Forsyth Castle Inchnoch Castle |
Clan Forsyth (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Fearsithe, IPA:[ˈkʰɫ̪aun̴̪ˈfɛɾʃɪhə]) is a Scottish clan.[1]
The Clan Forsyth's history dates back to before the twelfth century and as is usually the case with families who date back this far, the derivation of the family's surname is uncertain.[1] If the name is of Celtic origin, then it may derive from Fearsithe, which is Scottish Gaelic for man of peace.[1] However, there is a tradition that gives a Norman origin from Forsach, who was amongst the Norsemen who settled on lands on the River Dordogne in Aquitaine, France.[1] The Viscomte de Fronsoc accompanied Eleanor of Provence to marry Henry III of England in London and from 1236 to 1246 lived at the English court.[1] This family are believed to have obtained lands in Northumberland and from there moved to the Scottish Borders.[1]
In 1296 William de Fersith appears on the Ragman Rolls submitting to Edward I of England.[1] Sometime after 1306, Osbert, the son of Robert de Forsyth, received a grant for the lands of Sauchie in Stirlingshire from Robert the Bruce.[1] During the Wars of Scottish Independence Osbert distinguished himself at the Battle of Bannockburn and received confirmation of the realm of his lands under the great seal in 1320.[1]
In 1368 Osbert's son was appointed as the king's macer and as constable of Stirling Castle.[1] Fersith the clerk received a royal pension of one hundred pounds from Robert II of Scotland.[1] Many prominent burgesses and civic dignitaries bore the name and the family became settled around Stirling.[1]
Sometime before 1488, David Forsyth of Dykes acquired his lands in Lanarkshire.[1] He specifically claimed the de Fronsocs as his ancestors and his seal bore heraldry similar to their arms.[1] Forsyth Castle which was at Dykes was demolished in 1828.[1] A branch of the clan moved from Dykes to Inchnoch Castle in Monklands and their descendants spread throughout Glasgow and Ayrshire.[1]
William Forsyth had been baillie of Edinburgh in around 1365 and his son, William, moved to St Andrews in 1423 where he subsequently acquired the barony of Nydie.[1] Alexander the fourth Baron of Nydie died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.[1] His grandson, James, married Elizabeth Leslie who was a granddaughter of the Earl of Rothes and a great-granddaughter of James III of Scotland.[1] The Forsyths fortunes were tied to their extremely powerful relatives and they acquired lands near the royal Falkland Palace.[1] John Forsyth was appointed the king's macer in 1538 and later Falkland Pursuivant.[1] The present chiefs of Clan Forsyth are descended from the Falkland Forsyths.[1]
Another branch of the Clan Forsyth settled near Monymusk and William Forsyth represented Forres in the Parliament of 1621.[1] Alexander John Forsyth was a pioneer in the development of modern firearms.[1] In the eighteenth century his work led to the replacement of the flintlock with the percussion lock.[1]
William Forsyth (b.1737), was a distinguished horticulturalist who went to London to study botanical gardens in Chelsea.[1] He was appointed Chief Superintendent of the royal Kensington Gardens and St James's Palace in 1784.[1]
Peter Taylor Forsyth (b.1848) was Principal of Hackney Theological College and in 1909 published his most influential work, The Person and Place of Jesus Christ.[1]
Robert Wallace Forsyth (b. 1843) founded his eponymous chain of departments stores, RW Forsyth, in Glasgow in 1872. By 1925 RW Forsyth had expanded into Edinburgh's Princes Street and London's Regent Street. The business remained in family ownership for 111 years until it was sold in 1983. A marble bust of Forsyth by Sir William Reid Dick R.A. is on display at the People's Palace, Glasgow.
When, in 1672, Charles II instituted a public register of the clans the then chief of Clan Forsyth refused to attend. The clan was subsequently stripped of its recognition and the chief lost his legal title. This situation continued for the next 300 years until St. Andrews Day 1978 when Lord Lyon, King of Arms, accepted the claim of Alistair Forsyth, the Baron of Ethie, to become Chief of the Forsyth clan.
Alistair Forsyth resides in a Li chateau having set up a Highland cattle ranch in Western Australia.[2]
Allan Forsyth acts as Clan commissioner in New Seaworld [3]
