Which Clan?

[massmanute]

I have not read all the posts in this thread, only a bit more than half so far, but I wonder if the following question has been addressed: Is being a member of a clan the same thing as being a member of a clan society?

I suspect the answer is that clan membership is not quite the same as clan society membership, or perhaps clan association my not be based so strictly on genealogical relationships as one might suppose, or perhaps it may vary from one clan to another, or maybe there is some other nuance.

As food for thought, let me quote a couple of statements from the membership web page (http://www.ccsna.org/membership/) of the the Clan Campbell Society (North America):

"Membership is open to all who are Campbells, Campbell Septs, married to a Campbell or Campbell Sept, and, in keeping with Scottish traditions, those who want to be associated with the Clan Campbell...."

and a few more quotes from the page:

"The Clan and the Clan Society are not one and the same; the Society is part of the Clan and cannot presume to be the Clan itself. "

"Membership in the Clan Campbell Society (North America) is open to all, regardless of race, nationality, or religion."

From this I presume that, at least as far as the Clan Campbell Society (North America) is concerned, there is quite a bit of leeway regarding one's association with the Clan Campbell, or at least with the Clan Campbell Society, and it is not limited to paternal lineage, or (strictly speaking) even any aspect of lineage, so long as one identifies one's self with the Clan Campbell.

In my case, my closest relative who was born in Scotland was a great great grandfather on my mother's side who was named Alexander Campbell. My mother always told us we are Campbells, though actually neither of her parents had the Campbell surname. Based on my mother's self-identification with her Campbell ancestors I have always thought of myself as a Campbell, at least as my Scottishness is concerned. However, I could probably have just as easily self-identified as a Steele, because Alexander's wife, who was a Steele, was also born in Scotland.

Perhaps other clans may have a different point of view, or perhaps viewpoints may vary depending on whether one is actually Scottish born or simply has some Scottish ancestry somewhere in their line.

Another comment added during editing:

My Scottish ancestors were from Clackmannanshire and Ayrshire as far back as can be determined, which I think are not even in the Highlands of Scotland. (Correct me if i am wrong.) So this could bring up the question of whether my Scottish ancestors are even Highlanders at all... which brings up the further question of whether it even matters.