Chapter I
Origins
Page 2
History records some of the early individuals and groups who used the name 'Buidhe".
Occasionally the name or one of its forms was adopted; in most instances, name was eventually discarded. Eochaid Buidhe of the Seventh Century has been mentioned. About 806 A.D. the Viking Bui the Big, thought to be a descendent of the god Odin, lived in the Hebrides. His name was probably derived, however, from another meaning in the Norse language. Some historians contend that the clan Ogilvuy of the eastern Highlands originally wrote their name
'O' Gillie Buidhe'. The constable of Eilean-Donan in 1570, was Murdoch Buidhe, considered the progenitor of the Matheson Clan. Some scholars contend that McEachans descended from Eachuinn Bhuidhe. Neill Buie McNeill, originally of Colonsay, settled in Antrim in the late 1700's, but none of his children used the name Buie.
In Ireland, the name in Irish Gaelic was MacFhiodhbhuidhe which anglicized McEvoy. The family of this name originated in West Meath and later became lords in the parish of Mountrath in Leix County, where the surname McEvoy is common today. In the counties of Donegal and Derry, there were several families named Mac a'bhuidhe which was shortened to McElwee or McGilloway. One member of this group was Corm Mac Giolla Bhuidhe, the Abbot of Mungret in 1100.
There was one locale on the mainland of Scotland where the name was perpetuated. In 1200 the cathedral at Stirling was erected, and one chapel in the edifice was named for a prominent family of the area and called "Bowyes iyle" or aisle. The parish register at Stifling mentions a John Bowye in 1553 and soon after a James Bowie and William Buie are recorded. Many of the Stirlingshire residents
immigrated to the American Colonies especially Maryland beginning in 1705, and the Bowies became one of the most respected families of that area. One of the most famous Americans who wore the name was James Bowie who died at the Alamo in 1836 in the War for Texas Independence.
The name "Bowie" most commonly appeared in the parish records of Lowland Scotland near the English border and thus in the southern counties of Stirling, Renfrew, Lanark, Ayr, and Midlothian, and represented an attempt to phonetically spell in English the original Gaelic "Buidhe". Conversely, although occasionally found in the Lowlands, the surname "Buie" was almost exclusively encountered in the Highlands and, in particular, Argyll. "Buie" was more closely related to the pure Gaelic language. In many instances, however, "Bowie" and "Buie were used interchangeably along with various other spellings.
In the Fifteenth Century much of the Scottish western islands called the Inner Hebrides were controlled by the Clan Donald. The supreme ruler was the Lord of the Isles. So powerful was the clan that the King of Scotland could not exercise authority in their lands. Among the Lord's subjects were the Gaelic-Nordic people living on the rugged island of Jura.
