John Mackay, 11th of Strathnaver
John Mackay, 11th of Strathnaver (died 1529), was the eleventh chief of the ancient Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. Early life John Mackay, 11th of Strathnaver, was the eldest son of Iye Roy Mackay, 10th of Strathnaver, and his wife who was the daughter of Norman, son of Patrick O’Beolan of Carloway, Lewis. His parents' marriage did not conform with canon law, but his father, Iye Roy Mackay, managed to secure a precept of legitimation from James IV of Scotland for his two sons, John and Donald Mackay. The Earldom of Sutherland On 3 October 1514 at Inverness, Elizabeth Sutherland, 10th Countess of Sutherland, spouse of Adam Gordon who was in turn the brother of the Gordon Earl of Huntly, was served heir to her brother, John Sutherland, 9th Earl of Sutherland. Historian Angus Mackay states that the rightful heir was in fact Elizabeth's half-brother, Alexander Sutherland. Alexander Sutherland claimed the Earldom of Sutherland for himself, but was ”assassinated” by Gordon emissaries in 1519 and this is how the earldom of Sutherland passed from the line of Sutherland to that of the Gordons. One of John Mackay, 11th of Strathnaver's sisters was married to Alexander Sutherland.