15
T
HE
R
OAD TO
C
ULLODEN
The fierce struggle between the Scots and the English
was the backdrop of life in Scotland until 1745. The final
banishment of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the undeniable
defeat of the Scottish rebels in the Battle at Culloden ended
the organized opposition of the Covenanters.
Deeply embroiled in the conflict, what happened to
the Thomsons of Corkerhill? The simple answer is they
survived. The intricately convoluted answer is found in the
political and social organization of the Scottish clans.
A
D
IGRESSION
The etymology of the Thomson surname can be
traced to the 12
th
century, A.D. Giollesbuig O’Duibhne (Colin
MacDuine or Colin Maol Maith—Good Bald Colin) and the
daughter of Sween the Red, Lord and Tesach of Castle Sween
and of Knapdale married and had two sons: Tavis and Ivor.
Tavis became the progenitor of the Clan Tamhais. The clan
charter lands were Dunardarie. With the change from Gaelic
to English in the mid 1600’s, MacTamhais became
(phonetically) MacTavish, then, for some Septs, the Anglo-
Saxon version, Thomson.