THE SHORT HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN BRANCH

The Canadian Branch history outlined below has been researched from various sources including Creag Dhubh, Minutes of Branch Annual General Meetings, the Bratach Uaine, the Green Banner, and other Canadian Branch newsletters from the past. It is hoped that the contents of this tab can be a source for those interested in Branch history. Suggestions for additional useful content are welcome.

In 1947, the late Col E.R. Rivers-Macpherson OBE, a retired British Military Officer, laid the groundwork for the Canadian Branch of the Clan Macpherson Association. The Association had been recently formed in Scotland with the mission to support the Clan Museum in Newtonmore.

In March 1948, with the Hon. Ewan Alexander Macpherson, the Chief Justice of Manitoba as Chairman, the first Branch Annual Meeting was held at the home of Col Rivers-Macpherson, who was elected the new Hon. Secretary.

For more information on the formative days of the Branch see the article "The Early Days" by Gordon Macpherson in the September 2011 issue of the Green Banner.

Since the establishment of the Canadian Branch, Annual Gatherings which include the Branch Annual General Meetings as part of the program, have been held at various locations including successful joint Gatherings with the US Branch every five years starting in 1980. The format of Canadian Gatherings has evolved over the years arriving at one similar to the Annual Gathering held in Badenoch. Please see the list of Gatherings since inception below.

Contributions and Achievements of the Branch over the Years:

• In 1966, the first edition of The Posterity of the Three Brethren was written by Prof. Alan Macpherson of St John's NF. This interesting historical account of the Clan is presently in its fifth edition, published in 2004.
• The Branch presented our chief, then Alan Macpherson of Cluny, with his bonnet badge in sterling silver in 1967.His son the current chief, Sir William Macpherson, inherited this badge on the passing of his father. The badge incorporates the crest from the Chief's Coat of arms - a Scottish wildcat, and includes three eagle feathers in silver denoting the position of Chief of the Clan. The badge is, proudly worn by Cluny at Clan events he attends, and in a photo on the cover of many editions of our Clan annual "Creag Dhubh”.
• • In 1967 Gordon Macpherson, the Niagara Herald Extraordinary, and former Chairman of the Branch, started presenting shields of Clansmen, who had achieved a Grant of arms, to the Clan Museum in Newtonmore. This display on the Heraldry Wall has grown from the original 6 to over 75 today. Gordon paints each shield as a new Grant of Arms is matriculated. In 2016 the room in the museum containing the Heraldry Wall was renamed the Gordon Macpherson Niagara Herald Extraordinary Room recognizing his contributions.
• The Branch was designated the North American Branch in 1968 with a small membership south of the border. The original US Hon. Secretary, Mrs. Alberta Costello (Macpherson) of New York, reported on the activities in the US each year from 1954 until 1961 at which time the Canadian Branch reported on US activities. By 1974, membership in the USA had increased significantly and the US Branch was re-established as a separate entity. The Canadian Branch is proud to have aided and fostered the now very active US Branch from its early beginnings
• On the occasion of his visit in 1972 to the Scottish World Festival at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, the Branch presented our Chief, Sir William Macpherson of Cluny with his banner based on his personal achievements of arms
• In 1991 The Canadian Branch contributed funds to the Highland Wild life Park in Scotland to support the preservation of the Highland Wildcat by sponsoring a wildcat at the Park. A second wild cat was sponsored in 2014
• In 1995 the Branch presented the Association with its coat of arms designed by, Gordon Macpherson. These arms were matriculated in Scotland. The banner, also presented by the Canadian Branch, is carried at every Clan Macpherson Gathering in Badenoch.
• In 2010 Robert J Archibald, former Chair of the Branch presented a gavel and storage case to the CMA Chairman This gavel is now used at meetings in Scotland. He designed and prepared the gavel and its storage box on behalf of the Branch.
• In 2014 the Branch sponsored our Chairman, William Macpherson and our Vice Chair Jacqueline Murdoch, to run the challenging Creag Dhubh hill race at the Newtonmore Games, resulting in a substantial donation to the Museum.

BRANCH CHAIRMEN SINCE FOUNDING OF THE BRANCH:

Hon. Justice Ewan Alexander Macpherson QC	Winnipeg MB	1949	1952
Dr. Cluny Macpherson CMG	St John's NF	1953	1956
Col. E. R. Rivers-Macpherson OBE	Ottawa ON	1957	1958
Lloyd C MacPherson CD	Aurora ON	1959	1965
Hume Macpherson	Stouffville ON	1966	1967
Hon, Justice A. Alex Cattanach	Ottawa ON	1968	1970
J. Donald MacPherson	Oakville ON	1971	1978
R Gordon M. Macpherson CM, KStJ	Burlington ON	1979	1983
Wallace C. MacPherson	Halifax NB	1983	1987
Neil F. McPherson	Oakville ON	1987	1991
Stuart G. McPherson	Beamsville ON	1991	1994
J. Oliver McPherson	Milton ON	1994	1994
W. Ian McPherson	Etobicoke ON	1994	1997
Andrew K. P. MacPherson	Grimsby ON	1997	2000
Douglas MacPherson	Oakville ON	2000	2004
Robert Archibald	Port Hope ON	2004	2007
LCol. Mark F Macpherson CD, FSA Scot.	Hemmingford QC	2007	2010
John C Gillies	Collingwood ON	2010	2013
William Macpherson P.Eng.	Mississauga ON	2013	2016
Edward Smith CD	Brantford ON	2016	2020
Denise Lagundzin FSAScot	Walkerton ON	2020

PAST HONORARY CHAIRMEN OF THE CANADIAN BRANCH:

Lloyd C Macpherson	Aurora ON		-1988
J Donald Macpherson
R Gordon M Macpherson CM, KStJ, FRHSC, FRSA, FSAScot	Burlington ON		2010-2023

BRANCH GATHERINGS THROUGH THE YEARS

The following table lists all of the Canadian Branch Gatherings including Joint Gatherings with the US Branch which alternate between Canadian and US locations. In the early days the format was simply an Annual General Meeting with a social. Then a church service on Sunday was added. The Gatherings in Stouffville hosted by Hume Macpherson included some highland games and pipers. Then a ceilidh became “de rigeur”, with the Gathering format we enjoy today developing from these beginnings.

Gathering	Year	Location	Convener	Facility Used
0	1948	Ottawa ON	Col. Rivers-Macpherson	Residence
1	1949	Ottawa ON	Col. Rivers-Macpherson	Residence
2	1950	Ottawa ON	Col. Rivers-Macpherson	Residence
	1951	NO GATHERING
3	1952	Ottawa ON	Col. Rivers-Macpherson	Residence
4	1953	Montreal QC	Douglas G Macpherson	United Services Club
5	1954	Montreal QC	Douglas G Macpherson	United Services Club
6	1955	Montreal QC	Douglas G Macpherson	United Services Club
7	1956	Toronto ON	Rev Dr A Macpherson	Riverdale Presbyterian Church
8	1957	Toronto ON	Rev Dr A Macpherson	Riverdale Presbyterian Church
9	1958	Toronto ON	Rev Dr A Macpherson	Riverdale Presbyterian Church
10	1959	Toronto ON	Rev Dr A Macpherson	Riverdale Presbyterian Church
11	1960	Stouffville ON	Hume Macpherson	Creag Dhu Farm
12	1961	Baddeck NS	Lloyd C MacPherson	Baddeck High School
13	1962	Stouffville ON	Hume Macpherson	Creag Dhu Farm
14	1963	Stouffville ON	Hume Macpherson	Creag Dhu Farm
15	1964	Toronto ON	Lloyd C MacPherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
16	1965	Toronto ON	Lloyd C MacPherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
17	1966	Niagara Falls ON	Hume Macpherson	Niagara Falls Club
18	1967	Toronto ON	Hume Macpherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
19	1968	Toronto ON	Justice Alex Cattanach	Lord Simcoe Hotel
20	1969	Hamilton ON	Justice Alex Cattanach	Dundurn Castle
21	1970	Kettleby ON	Justice Alex Cattanach	York Pine United Church
22	1971	Toronto ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
23	1972	Toronto ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
24	1973	Toronto ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Lord Simcoe Hotel
25	1974	Hamilton ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Hamilton Club
26	1975	Toronto ON	J. Donald MacPherson	King Edward Hotel
27	1976	Hamilton ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Hamilton Club
28	1977	Toronto ON	J. Donald MacPherson	Chelsea Inn
29	1978	Antigonish NS	J. Donald MacPherson	St Francis Xavier University
30	1979	Hamilton ON	R Gordon Macpherson	Hamilton Club
31	1980	Niagara-on-the-Lake ON (Joint)	R Gordon Macpherson	Pillar and Post Inn
32	1981	Toronto ON	R Gordon Macpherson	Croft Scottish Restaurant
33	1982	Hamilton ON	R Gordon Macpherson	Hamilton Club
34	1983	Halifax NS	Wallace C. MacPherson	Citadel Inn
35	1984	Hamilton ON	R Gordon Macpherson	Hamilton Club
36	1985	Dearborn MI (Joint)	Wallace C. MacPherson	Dearborn Inn
37	1986	Toronto ON	Neil McPherson	Chelsea Inn
38	1987	Halifax NS	Neil McPherson	Citadel Hotel
39	1988	Toronto ON	Neil McPherson	Granite Club
40	1989	Hamilton ON	Neil McPherson	Hamilton Club
41	1990	Niagara-on-the-Lake ON (Joint)	Neil McPherson	Pillar and Post Inn
42	1991	Halifax NS	Stuart G. MacPherson	Prince George Hotel
43	1992	Georgetown ON	Stuart G. MacPherson	Georgetown Golf and Country
44	1993	Hamilton ON	Stuart G. MacPherson	Hamilton Club
45	1994	Kingston ON	J. Oliver McPherson	Confederation Place Hotel
46	1995	Plymouth MA (Joint)	W. Ian McPherson	Sheraton
47	1996	Hamilton ON	W. Ian McPherson	Hamilton Club
48	1997	Toronto ON	W. Ian McPherson	Boulevard Club
49	1998	Oakville ON	Andrew MacPherson	Holiday Inn
50	1999	Kitchener ON	Andrew MacPherson	Sheraton Hotel
51	2000	Ottawa ON (Joint)	Douglas MacPherson	Delta Hotel
52	2001	Trenton ON	Douglas MacPherson	Holiday Inn
53	2002	London ON	Douglas MacPherson	London Hilton Hotel
54	2003	London ON	Douglas MacPherson	London Hilton Hotel
55	2004	Toronto ON	Douglas MacPherson	Courtyard Marriott Hotel
56	2005	Albany NY (Joint)	June Macpherson	Crowne Plaza
57	2006	Toronto ON	Bob Archibald	Courtyard Marriott Hotel
58	2007	Collingwood ON	John Gillies	Blue Mountain Resort
59	2008	Collingwood ON	John Gillies	Blue Mountain Resort
60	2009	Quebec City QC	June Macpherson	Palace Royal Hotel
61	2010	Baddeck NS (Joint)	John Gillies	Inverary Resort
62	2011	Toronto ON	Jacqueline Murdoch	King Edward Hotel
63	2012	Kingston ON	Bill Macpherson	Radisson Hotel
64	2013	Waterloo ON	Bill Macpherson	Waterloo Inn
65	2014	Ottawa ON	Jacqueline Murdoch	Westin Hotel
66	2015	Itasca IL (Joint)	Jacqueline Murdoch CDA Donna Rucks USA	Eaglewood Resort
67	2016	Toronto ON	Jacqueline Murdoch	Delta Toronto East
68	2017	Brantford ON	Ed Smith	Best Western Hotel
69	2018	London ON	Jan McCredie and Ewan Macpherson	Best Western Lamplighter Hotel
70	2019	Guelph and Fergus ON	Jan McCredie	Hampton Inn (Guelph)
	2020	NO GATHERING - due to COVID-19 pandemic
	2021	NO GATHERING - due to COVID-19 pandemic
73	2022	Puslinch, ON	Denise Lagundzin, Beverly MacPherson-Letford, Jan McCreadie	Crieff Hills Retreat
74	2023	Cobourg, ON	Janet McCredie, Beverly Letford McPherson, Ella Gillis, Ewan Macpherson, Denise Lagundzin	Cobourg Highland Games
75	2024	Puslinch, ON	Janet McCredie, Beverly Letford McPherson, Ella Gillis, Ewan Macpherson, Denise Lagundzin	Crieff Hills Retreat - Burns Dinner

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