Clan Douglas

[Mathew MacKillop]

I am hoping that someone has an answer to this one!

My Scot connections are (on my mother's side) Douglas, and (from my father) MacKillop. I know that many (though certainly not all) members here would tell me to wear whatever tartan I please. I would greatly prefer, though, to wear the ones that I would normally wear had I been born in Scotland and raised in a traditional fashion, or at least those that I can confidently say are a part of my history. This would limit me to my own very rare (and so extremely costly) family tartan, as pictured as my avatar. I rather like it, but cost is a major factor and it will be quite a few years before I can invest in a custom-made kilt in that tartan. There are various MacDonald/MacDonnell tartans that may be acceptable, but I remain uncertain as to which ones.
Though again some here may disagree, I would not have any problems with wearing the Douglas tartan to honour my grandmother. To do so, though, I would want to formally make the request from someone who can officially grant such permissions, but there is no Chief of Clan Douglas, so am at a loss of who I should be contacting.
If there is anyone here who can enlighten me, I would be very grateful. Also, if there are any here who can clear up matters regarding which MacDonald tartans are plausible choices, I'd love to hear from you regarding that as well.
As a side note, cost is not the only factor that would make me hesitate to go with the MacKillop tartan any time soon...I look absolutely terrible in red!

[tky58]

form the www.clandouglassociety.org/septs/ website:

Who decides whether a surname belongs to Clan X?

Determining which surnames are septs or allied families of a clan is one of the prerogatives of the clan chief. Clan Douglas, while an armerigious (arms-bearing) family recognized as a clan by the Lord Lyon of Scotland, currently has no standing chief.

Without a standing chief, CDSNA has selected certain guidelines in determining the surnames it accepts as Septs and/or Allied Families of our Clan Douglas organization. The criteria used for determining what surnames are (or can be) Septs or Allied Families of Clan Douglas (as published in the August 2005 Dubh Ghlase) are as follows:

[A] Those of the surname of Douglas, in all of its many and varied forms, are not Septs: they are FAMILY and are to be treated as such.

[B] Those families whose surname was originally Douglas but have suffered a change of name due to the conditions prevailing at some point in history; i.e. Drysdale.

[C] Those families who were known to be followers of the Douglas family in the past.

[D] Those families who are known to have served the Douglas family in times past as either estate managers, farm workers, men-at-arms, scribes, chancellors; i.e. Bell, Symington, Young, etc.

[E] Those descendants of a female line of the Douglas family who are able to prove their descent and do not owe allegiance to any other family or clan.

[F] Those descendants whose families originated within the known Douglas territories but were too small to have a family status and have no allegiance to any other family or clan.

[G] Those descendants of families who are known to have broken away from their accepted group and are also known to have re-settled within the Douglas territories.

The criteria presented here for Sept and Allied Families names are not listed in the CDSNA Bylaws. At this time, no “official” criteria exist but this list provides a reasonable basis for surname inclusions. It should also be noted that IF the day comes when Clan Douglas does have a standing chief, the Chief of Douglas will have the sole right to create a list of Septs and Allied Families of Clan Douglas and such list may or may not include many names CDSNA and other Douglas associations have accepted as septs and allied families.


I looks to me that you, like my wife's family, would fall under category 'E'.

Hope this helps,
Steve Wilson

[Mathew MacKillop]

"[E] Those descendants of a female line of the Douglas family who are able to prove their descent and do not owe allegiance to any other family or clan."

"I looks to me that you, like my wife's family, would fall under category 'E'."

Thank you for the information, it is more than I was able to find on my own. I do, however, wonder if this is really true for me: I am not sure about the not "owing allegiance to another family or clan". I do have a paternal line that, in theory at least, trumps my maternal line. I am not an official "member" of any other clan, and choosing Douglas at the expense of not being able to choose MacKillop in the future seems a little extreme to me.

Thank you!

Mathew

[Dughlas mor]

Mathew, I`m pretty sure that you became member of clan Mackillop the hour you were born, and will be one til the hour that you pass on. You will always have the right to wear that tartan, regardless of anything.

[Stokegers]

The clan Douglas tartan is freely available to rent from Greenwoods in the UK. The clan Douglas tartan was the regimental tartan of my Grandad's regiment The Cameronians -The Scottish Rifles.

[Taskr]

I wear my mother's family tartan. My father is Irish/Acadian origin. If my mother' mother's tartan is woven in a colour palette I like it will go on the kilt wish list. I understand the desire to be 'correctly' wearing a tartan, but there is also the practicality of self style that can be equally valid. I've read on threads often, paraphrased; Be confident in your choice for your reasons, then wear it confidently.