Sorley MacLean
Sorley MacLean was born at Òsgaig on the island of Raasay on 26 October 1911; Scottish Gaelic was his first language. Before he went to school at the age of six, he spoke very little English. He was the second of five sons born to Malcolm (1880–1951) and Christina MacLean (1886–1974). The family owend a small croft and ran a tailoring business, but they later gave up the croft to move to a better house, which proved detrimental to their finances when the Great Depression took a high toll on the tailoring business. His brothers were John Maclean (1910–1970), a schoolteacher and later rector of Oban High School, who was also a piper; Calum Maclean (1915–1960), a noted folklorist and ethnographer; and Alasdair (1918–1999) and Norman (c.1917–c.1980), who became general practitioners. Sorley's two younger sisters, Isobel and Mary, were also schoolteachers. His patronymic was Somhairle mac Chaluim 'ic Chaluim 'ic Iain 'ic Tharmaid 'ic Iain 'ic Tharmaid; he could not trace his genealogy with certainty to the eighth generation.
Ewen Maclean
He was born on 15 October 1865 the second son of John Maclean of Kilmoluag on the Isle of Tiree, one of the most westerly of the Scottish islands. His father was a "master cordwainer" (shoemaker). His mother was Agnes Macmillan. The family were Gaelic speakers. His older brother was the politician, Donald Maclean.
Around 1870 the family moved to Haverfordwest in Wales, where Ewen was educated, before attending Carmarthen Grammar School. He then studied Medicine at Edinburgh University graduating MB CM with honours in 1889. In 1891, he received with honours the Edinburgh MD.