Barnett Surname

[toadinakilt]

Not sure if this is the proper forum for this...

As I've mentioned in a few previous threads, my personal heritage is cloudy. Here's what I have to go on.

1) My surname, Barnett. I find conflicting information on the history of this name... EITHER it's an English name with no connection to Scotland, OR it's a Scottish surname that is a derivative of Burnett, which as I understand is either a Lowlands House or a sept of MacAllister.

2) My family history that I have been able to trace thusfar goes back to about 1820 or so. We're all from Central North Carolina that far back. From what I understand, North Carolina, and especially the Charlotte area, was where a lot of Scots settled.

My trouble is that I have no proof of Scottish ancestry, just conjecture, i.e., Barnett's from Charlotte/Central NC during the early 1800's are most likely Scottish.

Any suggestions for further research? Or is "a pretty good bet" the best I'll ever have?

[toadinakilt]

Also, I think I need a new avatar.

[toadinakilt]

Bump.

[HeathBar]

Have you considered DNA testing. There could be a surname group project that you could get in that would help reduce the cost.

[toadinakilt]

heathbar, that is an interesting idea... i have no idea how to go about doing that, though. suggestions?

[HeathBar]

heathbar, that is an interesting idea... i have no idea how to go about doing that, though. suggestions?

http://www.familytreedna.com/group-j...?Group=Barnett

[davidlpope]

I had a similar issue in my family research since my Grandmother is a Hayes- a name associated with the lowland Hay family (which has a very spiffy red and green tartan, BTW). Turns out, though, that after research my Hayes ancestors were all English.

Anyway, if you've gotten back to 1820, good on you! Second, if you're back that far, take heart, you may likely find further records if you keep searching- there weren't that many people in NC at that time. If you really have hit a "concrete wall", despite repeated efforts to do serious genealogical research, here are some things to consider:

1. Are there other definite connections to other a)Highland or b)Scottish (in that order) families in your ancestry that you know of? For example, if your mother was a MacDonald, I'd probably throw in with them. Remember, that what we in the US commonly think of and celebrate as "Scottish" culture is really "Highland" culture. if your ancestors really were Scottish Burnetts, they probably wouldn't have been caught dead in a tartan kilt prior to leaving Scotland in the first place...

2. How important is it to you (in terms of time and money) to find out for sure where your Barnett ancestors originated? Professional genealogists and DNA testing can help to bust through "concrete walls" if you're willing to give up time and money.

3. If you spent ~$600 on a kilt in the Burnett tartan and found out that your Barnett ancestors were actually English, with no connection to the Scottish Burnetts, would you still wear your Burnett kilt, be involved in the Burnett clan association, etc. all in good spirits?

Let's face it, few of us who "celebrate our Scottishness" do so as a result of an unbroken chain of family tradition that links us to 'the old sod". Most of us got interested in "Scottish culture" first and then started consulting "name lists" to see which of our families were "Scottish" (instead of actually having pictures of our G'G'fathers in kilts, like Sandy, Ryan R., Kyle, etc.) My guess is that you're probably the first person in your family to have more than a passing interest in whether you're "Scottish" or not (I am).


All other things being equal, if your surname is accepted by a Scottish family or clan, and you're an enthusiast about "Scottish stuff", then I'd say run with it...

Best of luck.

David

Not sure if this is the proper forum for this...

As I've mentioned in a few previous threads, my personal heritage is cloudy. Here's what I have to go on.

1) My surname, Barnett. I find conflicting information on the history of this name... EITHER it's an English name with no connection to Scotland, OR it's a Scottish surname that is a derivative of Burnett, which as I understand is either a Lowlands House or a sept of MacAllister.

2) My family history that I have been able to trace thusfar goes back to about 1820 or so. We're all from Central North Carolina that far back. From what I understand, North Carolina, and especially the Charlotte area, was where a lot of Scots settled.

My trouble is that I have no proof of Scottish ancestry, just conjecture, i.e., Barnett's from Charlotte/Central NC during the early 1800's are most likely Scottish.

Any suggestions for further research? Or is "a pretty good bet" the best I'll ever have?

[campbell]

Just wear the Burnett tartan or a universal tartan (Black Watch, Royal Stewart, Hunting Stewart, Black Stewart, Pride of Scotland, Scottish National, etc.). If your name is Barnett you are automatically a member of Clan Burnett by surname. Anyone with the same surname of the chief is considered to be a member of the clan, you do not need to prove Scots heritage. There are many Irish peopele who do not Scots heritage or blood who wear a clan tartan on the basis of surname alone. For instance, the Irish Clan Kelly wears the MacDonald tartan.

There are also many African-Americans who wear clan tartans on the basis of surname without any Scots blood. For instance Douglas is a comman Black American surname and they wear the Douglas tartan. No proof of ancestry is needed. Your surname gives you the right and entitlement to wear the Clan Burnett tartan and badge.

Here is more information about your clan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Burnett

Here is a link that defines who is a member of a Clan:

http://www.clanchiefs.org/heraldry/w...ber-of-a-clan/

[toadinakilt]

Cool, thanks.

I did some digging around some of the links provided earlier, and discovered one Thomas Barnett Sr., who died in Cumberland County VA around 1771. That's as far back as the line goes, because there doesn't seem to be any other records aside from his will and a few deeds. Based on what his kids did, though, which was to move en masse to Mecklenburg County, NC, it seems probable that he was an Ulster Scot who immigrated in Virginia some time before his death. (Apparently a lot of VA Ulster Scots moved to Mecklenburg county around that same time... great minds think alike.)

That's as far as I can go right now. I'm pretty happy with that.

[escherblacksmith]

I think the key thing to remember is that the borders were a lot more fluid back then. So you could go to England or back to Scotland or to America or Back to Scotland. Barnett covered a lot of those grounds.

As a for instance, in my case, one chunk of my Barnett heritage is from Ireland, they are tied to Scotland as Barnett and Frayme.

So, until you can make the connections, don't get too hung up on the names.