Clan affiliation question

[macwilkin]

Correct me if I am wrong but Galloway is in the southwest of Scotland, right? The Douglas family were the power base there if memory serves.

As far as geneology goes, we came to the United States many years ago (not exactly sure when). Records were poorly kept if at all.

Our ancestors hen settled in the Ozarks for several generations before my grandfather moved the family to California in the 1940s.

I have also found the name tied to England and Ireland BUT given a lot of the cultural and linguistic characteristics inherent to the hillfolk of the Ozarks and the surrounding areas I would lean toward a Scottish origin.

My other grandfather was, as mentioned before, a Shaw. That is a Highland name with a modest but old clan tradition.

Yes, there is a large amount of Scottish heritage among the earliest American settlement of the Ozarks, but a majority of that would have been Lowland & Ulster-Scottish blood, and very little from the Highlands. The Scots-Irish who settled this region (which by the time they arrived here were heavily mixed via marriage with English, Welsh and German blood as well) would have not identified with Highland culture. The adoption of Highland attire by those of Lowland and Ulster heritage is a relatively recent innovation.

For more information about the Scottish roots of Ozarks culture, I would suggest the writings of noted folklorist Vance Randolph to you, specifically Down in the Holler, which examines the origins of Ozarks speech patterns, words, etc. and Ozarks Magic & Folklore.

T.