How do I find out the clan?

**jbharvey74** · 17th June 12, 08:52 AM

My husband's g.g.g. grandfather was Alexander Keith Harvey and moved to Laurel Va with his wife from Aberdeenshire Scotland in the late 1800's and was buried here in 1930. His son also married another woman from Scotland who had also moved to the US. I have just begun light research on his family and it looks as though his family belongs to the Clan Keith. While looking up tartans for my son who is very interested in his strong Scottish roots, I am finding a Harvey tartan and a Keith tartan. So I'm confused. Which would he wear since the Harvey's were a sept of the Keith's?

**MacSpadger** · 17th June 12, 11:27 AM

I was born and raised in Aberdeenshire, and the name has a long history there, (but with different spellings) as the Burgess of Aberdeen in 1398 was a John Hervy. The name is Norman in origin, but so are a lot of Scottish surnames. The Harvey tartan appears to have been registered in 1985, but if that is your surname then why not go for it? The Harvey name is found in England, Scotland, Ireland and WAles, but you know for sure your line is from Aberdeenshire so there would be strong reason for wearing a Harvey kilt, IMHO.
As for Harvey being a sept of Keith, be wary of this, most "septs" have very little logic or foundation.
This thread will be of particular interest to you.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...n-keith-61120/

**bdkilted** · 17th June 12, 11:44 AM

Thanks to the link to my thread McS. I will add that I have never met a Harvey family that isn't from Aberdeenshire. While it is certainly possible that someone named Harvey is not a Scottish Harvey (same can be said of my sir name, Marshall) the Clan Keith accepts all Harvey/Hervy's as members. JB we would be happy to have you as a member of clan Keith. You can sign up on the clan website www.clankeithusa.org ( I assume you are in the US, let me know if you are somewhere else. I would be interested to see the Harvey tartan you reported. I haven't seen one. I know that several septs of Keith have a tartan with minor difference from the clan tartan. This occurred in the low land Austins and Dicksons. Each used the Keith ancient and added a small contrasting color stripe. Maybe the Harvey is similar. Feel free to contact me if you would like more information.

**jbharvey74** · 18th June 12, 07:39 AM

Thanks for the help BD. In response to your questions, yes we're in Virginia. The Harvey tartan I found was on 2 different web sites. One is on www.tartanregister.gov.uk, but I don't remember where I found the other. They did email me, though, and said that it is no longer woven at any of the main mills and was supposedly registered in 1985. I can still order the fabric, but it is more expensive. I just wanted to get my son a tie made of the correct tartan.

I also wanted to correct myself. It wasn't his g.g.g. grandfather, but his g.g. grandfather. Not really that long ago.

I have another quirky observation...MacSpadger, I see you're from Dunbartonshire. That's neat because here in the area of Laurel where the Harvey's settled, is a main road called Dumbarton. I wonder if that's not a coincidence? When the Harvey's moved here, they owned almost all of the Laurel area. In fact, none of the direct descendants even moved from here. My husband and I still live in the Laurel area on some of Alexander's original land. Maybe they named most of these old roads. I just thought it was interesting.

**MacMillan of Rathdown** · 18th June 12, 12:52 PM

I'd buy the Keith tie. Harvey is a well-respected sept of Keith and has long worn the Keith Tartan. The tartan registered in 1985 may, or may not, have any connection (other than spelling) with your name.

**MacSpadger** · 27th June 12, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by jbharvey74

I have another quirky observation...MacSpadger, I see you're from Dunbartonshire. That's neat because here in the area of Laurel where the Harvey's settled, is a main road called Dumbarton. I wonder if that's not a coincidence? When the Harvey's moved here, they owned almost all of the Laurel area. In fact, none of the direct descendants even moved from here. My husband and I still live in the Laurel area on some of Alexander's original land. Maybe they named most of these old roads. I just thought it was interesting.

I am actually from Aberdeen, but have been around a bit with work, etc, for the last 30 years. I have bought a house in Milngavie and I don't intend to shift from there till it's in wooden box. A 4 minute walk and I'm in the village centre, a 5 minute walk and I'm actually on the West Highland Way. But, at the moment, I'm just getting used to the place.