Anderson Blood

[Riverkilt]

So my little sister sent me some information she'd dug up with her genealogy research on a branch of our maternal line. I confess to hooking her on the genealogy addiction a few years ago. She's a college professor by trade and a much better researcher than I.

Anyhow, her info confirmed a suspicion I'd had for some time and validated that branch: adding ten people to the family tree.

Turns out I have a five great grandfather named Charles Copeland that was born somewhere in Scotland about 1736...guessing from the names search thingie he was a lowlander. He came over to Nova Scotia around 1750. But we're a tad shy of Copeland tartans.

But Charles had a son, Charles Copeland Jr., who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1757. He married a lady who's great grandmother was an Anderson. So, I have a six great grandmother of the Anderson clan.

Another tartan to put on the kilt list...but boy, are there ever a LOT of variations of the Anderson tartan.

So, I know there be other Andersons out there...you can now count me as a very distant cousin. Or, maybe I'm my own cousin yet again. Didn't the Andersons run with the Macdonalds?

Ron

[keepoffgrass]

My great grandfather on my moms side was an Anderson. My mom has been bugging me to dig up some ancestry on her side of the family. As of yet I haven't had the chance to dig up the goods on that side of my family yet, It took me so long to get threw the falsities and garbage that got handed down on my dads side I haven't been motivated enough to start on my moms lol It was nice to find that my roots are predominately Scottish on both sides, I suspected it all along. I have added Anderson to my must have list, to honor my moms side of the family. It will most likely be my next kilt purchase. Anyays, Its an honor to have you as a cousin Ron! Cheers! int:
I figure most of us must have some distant cousins lurking in here we dont yet know about.

[cessna152towser]

Excellent news, Ron. Yes there are surprises to be found when we start researching our ancestry. My wife's maiden name is McConnell and I believe they once ran with the MacDonalds. Earliest confirmed direct ancestor is her four great grandfather Quintin McConnel who was a weaver in Dailly, Ayrshire in 1751. There was a Quintin McConnel baptised in Dailly in 1721 but I haven't yet been able to confirm it was the same one so haven't been able to go back further. The spelling changed from McConnel to McConnell during the 1850's. Curiously another of her lines is McIlmorrow who for some reason changed their name to McMurray in the late 1700's.
The only Anderson family in our tree so far is a rather tenuous link. Ann's granny Hay had a cousin James Hay who was employed in the building of the Forth Rail Bridge. During this time he lived in lodgings in Dunfermline, where he met and married a Jane Anderson, daughter of Charles Anderson a tailor. Amazingly the Anderson family lived just a few doors away along the same street in Dunfermline where my great-grandmother Maggie McLeod was born and brought up.

[macwilkin]

Ron -- don't forget the Nova Scotia tartan, the oldest district tartan in North America.

Cheers,

Todd

[GunnHighlander]

Anderson is also a sept of the Clan Gunn.....F.Y.I.

I've been researching my ancestry for years, and "little surprises" keep coming up all the time. It's like opening a new present at Christmas. I've just found Macintosh, Macintyre, and Burns, on my mothers side! Ugh!....So many tartans, so little money :-)

Enjoy your search!

[Riverkilt]

Yikes GunnHiglander,

I'm my own cousin yet again! I'm Gunne too.

And Aye, Todd...been looking at the Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island tartans too...

Been poking around at my genealogy since 1970...always a trip to make another confirmed breakthrough...especially when its Scottish.

Ron

[gilmore]

Anderson is also a sept of the Clan Gunn.....F.Y.I.
...

Is there a Scots name anywhere that hasn't been claimed at some time as an alleged "sept" of Clan Gunn?

[GunnHighlander]

Is there a Scots name anywhere that hasn't been claimed at some time as an alleged "sept" of Clan Gunn?

Don't know about that one, just went by our society's page of septs. I recognized Anderson. Many Scottish names came from viking decent and probably migrated down through the Mackay, Gunn, Keith, area of Northern Scotland, even northern Ireland. You know how vikings are! Ruled the world they did! Any how, Your guess is as good as mine:-)

[gilmore]

Out of curiousity and too much time on my hands, I went to a clan Gunn site http://www.gunnclan.net/septs.htm and took a look at the 78 or so septs they claim there:

Allisterson Anderson Croner Crownar Crowner Cruiner Cruner Eanrig Enrick
Gailey Galdie Gallie Ganson Gauldie Gaunson George Georgeson
Henderson Inrig Jameson Jamieson Jamison Johnson Kean Keene MacAllister
MacChruner MacComas MacCorkill MacCorkle MacCullie MacDade MacDhaidh
MacEnrick MacGeorge MacHamish MacIan Mackames Mackeamis Mackeamish
Mackean Mackendrick MacMains MacManus MacNeil MacOmish MacRob
MacRory MacSheoras MacWilliam Magnus Magnusson Main(s) Maness
Mann Manson Manus More Neilson Nelson Robeson Robinson Robison Robson Rorieson Sandison Swan Swann Swanney Swanson Thomson Tomson Wiley
Will Williamson Wills Wilson Wylie Wyllie

Some of these are extremely common names, and so are obviously suspect as being exclusively those of Gunn clan septs, such as Anderson, George, Henderson, Johnson, Nelson, Robinson and Wilson.

I then compared them to the surname profile at the National Trust's site: http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/default.aspx
This is a database containing the geographical distribution of surnames in Scotland, England and Wales in 1881 and 1998. I searched each of the above alleged sept surnames in the 1881 census to see if and how much they were located in Caithness, the Gunn's ancestral homeland. To check its reliability against the clan lore, I searched "Gunn" and found most located in Caithness, with a middling amount in Sutherland, immediately to the west.

The surname profiler does not contain surnames that were fewer in number than 100 in 1998. Thirty-two of the alleged septs fell into this category. Of the remaining 46 or so names, 26 were not at all near Caithness and showed no presence there. These included names found predominately in Wales, such as Gailley and George, and names in England such as Keene, Magnus, and Robinson, and Wills which was almost exclusively in Cornwall and Devon in the extreme southwest.

Eleven or so names were found to some degree in Caithness, Sutherland or in other close locales and could have a possible geographical link to the Gunn clan demonstrated. These are Anderson, Gaillie, MacAllister, MacNeill, MacWilliams, Main, Mann, Robson, Thomson, Will and Wilson. However, some of these, such as Anderson and Wilson, were widespread.

Only eight ---other than Gunn itself---were found to be concentrated in Caithness more than elsewhere: Henderson, Iurig, Manson, More, Swanney, Swanson, Williamson, Wylie, and possibly Sanderson.


My conclusion is that claims that rather common surnames, such as Anderson, Johnson, George, Nelson or Robinson are septs of clan Gunn are not supported by demographic evidence, and it is more likely than not that the ancestors of those now bearing those names were not affiliated with the Gunn clan, without other evidence to support those claims.

[GunnHighlander]

So you saying that based on the national trust site, which only goes back to 1881, that the majority of those "common names" associated with clan gunn are in fact not? How can one tell based on information that only goes back to 1881. Clan Gunn is one of the oldest clans in scotland and by the definition of the word "sept" the names you state are "associated" with the Gunn Clan. I believe that those names you refer to are ancestors of a lineage of scandinavian (Viking) decent, regardless of geographic distribution in 1881 (well after Great Britain was in existence). Nelson, Wilson, Johnson, etc. may be common "English" or "Anglo" versions of the original name, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are not in fact of Clan Gunn, Clan Mackay (Gunn Neighbors) or any other northern highland clan. The Sept list gives us variations of names associated with the clan, not necessarily "exclusivity" to that clan. (which is not what I was saying in my original post)
I for one know that my family, which was originally Neilson, emmigrated to the new world around 1740 from Scotland due to english persicution and political strife (most likely the clearances). So any geographic "proof" in 1881 would not apply to my family, or many others either who were geographically distributed long before any "cataloging" of names was in existance. "Lore" as you stated is usually based on some kind of fact and The names Neil, Nell, Nail, Nel, and Nael are common scandinavian names. So whether it be MacNeil, MacKay, Gunn, Neilson, or Nelson, or any others you state, my bet is scandinavian decent. SO you are correct in that unless one can trace their ancestry back 500 years to the exact place and group of people, one really doesn't know, however geographic location in 1881 and 1991 doesn't prove or disprove anything.