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Clan Alasdair
Timeline
Compilation/Commentary by
Lynn C. McAlister
Clan Historian, Clan McAlister of America
Member Clan MacAlister Society History Committee
(revised 2012)
Disclaimer
This timeline was originally put together in effort to get a handle on the huge amount of information that I was given when I took over as historian for the Clan McAlister of America in 1997. I have been revising it pretty much continuously since then, as new information and sources come to my attention. It is compiled from a number of sources, some of which are more trustworthy than others. Where I have doubts or questions, I have put comments in the text to that effect. Inevitably, there will be errors. If you spot one, please direct me to a legitimate historical source that supports your argument: I won't change something just because somebody doesn't like it, but I am always open to new information that challenges or refines what I've already got.
Note on spelling of names
Gaelic names have created an astonishing variety of anglicized spellings, and the spelling of surnames did not become formalized until quite recently. Unless one modern spelling is so predominant as to preclude general recognition in any other form (as is the case, for example, with Campbell), and where an individual's or family's preference is unknown, I have used the original Gaelic forms of the various surnames in this timeline. Direct quotes from my sources, however, retain the spell- ings found in the original text.