When the 5th Earl of Seafield assumed the name of Ogilvie in addition to
his paternal name of Grant in 1811, the family name then reflected a connection
with two areas of Scotland, the area around Cullen on the Moray Firth and Strathspey
with its clan background.The Ogilvies in Banffshire
Banffshire has been the home of the Ogilvies since 1440 when they moved from the parish of Glamis in Angus. Until about 1511, when the family moved to The Castle of Cullen House, Findlater Castle had been the family residence, and the ruins can be seen on the rugged coast between Cullen and Sandend.
| The Castle of Cullen House is reputed to have been built on the site of an old monastery, and dates from before the 13th Century AD. |  |
Cullen House is a fine example of many Scottish castles in which the influence of French architecture is evident. After the Reformation, landowners became more conscious of their surroundings and in 1820 the 5th Earl of Findlater demolished the old town of Cullen which was built around Cullen House and the Old Church and planned the beautiful policies. The townspeople were moved to a newly designed and built town in a location nearer the coast and it is evident today that Cullen is a planned town. The Seafield family had previously been responsible for founding New Keith in 1751 as the first Georgian planned settlement in the North of Scotland bringing a key advance in the economy.
A few hundred metres from Cullen House on the site of the old village stands Old Cullen a Dower House, Georgian in design. Formerly the Factor's house, it is now the residence of the Earl and Countess of Seafield. Having moved to this comfortable home, the Earl secured the future of Cullen House by selling it for conversion to a number of prestige tower houses and flats.
The Grants of Strathspey
The first Grant to establish himself in Strathspey was John le Grant, who acquired Inverallan in 1316. Strathspey is the middle third of the valley. It extends from southwest of Aviemore some 25 miles down the valley to Advie - above it is Badenoch and below is the area known as Speyside.
| Castle Grant has probably always belonged to the Grants and was originally built in the early 16th century. Formerly known as Freuchie, Ballachastell or Balloch Castle, it was given the name of Castle Grant in a Crown Charter in 1694 and subsequent alterations added to the north front. |  |
Grantown was founded in 1765 by James - known as 'the good Sir James' (from 1773, Sir James Grant of Grant) the village being marked out in lots on a barren moor. He was affectionately known as 'the good Sir James' after he responded to a severe crop failure and famine in the late 1700's by selling his fine Edinburgh townhouse to buy and distribute grain among the starving of Strathspey. More than any other person, he brought Strathspey into the modern world during the half century or so in which he administered and guided it from Castle Grant, 1763 - 1811. He promoted the greatest improvement in living conditions there has ever been in that part of the Highlands. At that time, much of the old natural Scots Pine forests, which had covered Strathspey from time immemorial, had disappeared. Sir James cleared, drained, and planted much of the derelict land adjacent to the town and it is recorded that the plants used in these early plantations were raised from seed gathered in the natural Scots Pine forests of Abernethy, and are therefore lineal descendants of the old Strathspey strain. The family today, over 230 years later, continues to be a large woodland owner.
Notable family members
With such a long history and so many influential family members, it is difficult to single out those who should be mentioned specifically. For the most part, the proprietors have devoted themselves quietly to running their estates for the good of the locals and employees, very conscious that they were the largest employers in the area. Some have however had a high profile in the public eye by reason of legend or historical event.
The Good Sir James, referred to above, was the epitome of a Highland Chief, who vastly improved his clanspeople's lives, fed them in time of famine, and provided employment to enable them to avoid the waves of emigration which so hurt the Highlands from time to time.
The 1st Earl of Seafield was Chancellor of Scotland at the time of the Union of the Parliaments in 1707. His signature is on the Act of Union in Westminster. He had a spectacular political career beginning as Commissioner for the Royal Burgh of Cullen in 1689. In 1693 he became Sheriff Principal of Banffshire and Solicitor General, and in 1700 he was made Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly, becoming Lord High Chancellor of Scotland in 1702.
James, 6th Earl of Findlater and 3rd Earl of Seafield is noted for his hugely important improving career as Lord Deskford and was the most influential Improver of his Age in the North-East. He very sadly committed suicide in 1770 and there is no evidence to support the legend that he murdered his Factor.
The family influence extends beyond the shores of Britain to the United States of America where a family descendent, General Ulysses Simpson Grant, became the 18th President. Earlier, General James Grant, a grandson of the "Highland King" (Ludovick Grant, last of Freuchie and first of Grant, c. 1650 - 1716), was the first royal governor of British colonial Florida (1763-73). He is reputed to have practically created the colony once it was secured from Spain at the end of the Seven Years' War.