Clan Macfie are proud to make available an online electronic edition of the definitive work on Macfie origins and history by Dr Earle Douglas MacPhee, founding father and first Commander of the modern era of clan Macfie.

THE
MYTHOLOGY, TRADITIONS and HISTORY
OF
MacDHUBHSITH , MacDUFFIE CLAN
(McAfie, McDuffie, MacFie, MacPhee, Duffy, etc.)

By

Earle Douglas MacPhee
(1894 - 1982)
M.M., M.A., M.Educ., LL.D., D.U.C., D.C.L.
Emeritus Dean
University of British Columbia

The late Dr. Earle Douglas MacPhee
First Commander of Clan Macfie

In 1968 Dr. Earle Douglas MacPhee of Vancouver, BC, Canada, initiated a worldwide movement to have Clan Macfie recognised once again as an active clan and to have a new Chief appointed. Dr. MacPhee at that time was engaged in writing a definitive history of the Clan and encouraging the formation of Clan Macfie Societies in all centres of major Clan population around the world.

The seed was planted in his mind when he was invited to spend some weeks at a friends' country house at Lochaline, Morvern, in autumn 1943, having just resigned as deputy chairman of Short Brothers when the company was nationalised by the wartime government. He had been responsible for overseeing wartime production of bombers and flying boats.

His friend had an extensive antiquarian's library in his country house, and Dr Earle availed himself of the opportunity to pore over the works of Skene, Grieve, Loder, Grant and many other sources of ancient clans' histories, while his wife Jean who had accompanied him, collected stories about the adjacent castle of Ardtornish where chiefs of Clan Macfie had been hereditary Keepers of the Records for the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. Being a highly disciplined and tenacious academic, he committed himself in principle to compiling a definitive history of our clan, and the first edition was eventually published between 1972 and 1974. *

His efforts were highly successful with Clan Macfie being formally recognised by the Lord Lyon as an active clan on 27th May 1981. Dr. MacPhee was appointed the Clan’s first Ceann-Cath, or Clan Commander, on 6th November 1981, but sadly he died on 25th September the following year. Every year the 27th May is celebrated by Clan members worldwide as CLAN MACFIE DAY. With the permission and encouragement of Dr Earle's niece Barbara, his monumental work, originally made available in 3 volumes and subsequently republished including extra information, has been scanned and proofed by Robin McPhee of New Zealand as a set of pdf documents for download by anyone interested. To make the information easier to access Robin has updated the original volume numbering scheme and produced 5 online volumes.

Robin & Louise McPhee

The volumes and a guide to the contents of each are available here:

Volume contents summary and downloads

*Source: "Footsteps" an autobiography by Earle Douglas MacPhee, Published by Versatile Publishing Co. Ltd Vancouver July 1978

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