Lord And Lady Of The Manor

[DyerStraits]

Happy Easter To All My Kilted Brethren!

I wanted to share some photos of my Della (Bichon Frise) and myself in our matching Highland finery taken prior to an Easter afternoon promenade. I recently purchased the Royal Stewart kilted outfit for her from an eBay seller in Michigan which happens to be a charitable not-for-profit rescue organization for West Yorkshire Terriers. The one-piece outfits come in various sizes, are imported from England, and are exceptionally well-made of very good quality 100% wool. They are also available on ebay.uk in a Black Watch tartan. Apparently, the only thing the ladies love more than a Man In A Kilt is.... A Man And His Adorable Dog In Matching Kilts.

I also recently discovered--courtesy of Ancestry.com--a bit more information about my matrilineal lineage. My great-grandfather Alford (or Aford) Dyer was apparently at various times a county sheriff, county clerk and schoolmaster in southwest Kentucky in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It will take more time--and money, most likely--to determine where my Dyers landed in the US (Virginia is most likely) and from exactly where in the UK, which is what I really want to know, and which of course cannot be assumed, since the surname Dyer can of course be Scots-Irish (Dyer/Dwyer) or English. As fond as I am of the English Dyer motto--"I wish not to intimidate, and know not how to fear"--I am of course hoping for a Celtic Connection. To be continued......

[gordontaos]

You both look simply mahvelous!

[TheOfficialBren]

Lol. Cool doggy kilt and very cool hose, mate.

[DyerStraits]

Many thanks for the compliments.

Alas, I got the centuries wrong regarding great-great-grandaddy Alford Dyer--it was the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I first learned of him via a US Census record from the Reconstruction period. Still trying to find birth and parentage records for him, assuming he didn't simply spring from the earth fully grown like a character from Greek Mythology....

[Phil]

Alford is a small village in Aberdeenshire which may give you somewhere to search. Unfortunately it is also a village in Lincolnshire so you may find he did not have Scottish roots if he came from there.

[DyerStraits]

The Two Alfords, then....yet another ambiguous twist in the plot, which doesn't help. As proud as I am to know I definitely do have some type of British provenance, it is agonising not being able to readily determine exactly which--might as well be researching my exact African lineage (no mean feat of course for African-Americans). My affinity for all things Highland being what is, I suppose I must for the moment be content to consider myself a Gael In Spirit, if nothing else......

[gordontaos]

Figuring out where the family landed can be less than easy. Some of my NY Johnston family landed in Rhode Island in the early 20th century. My Ohio Spence family landed in Canada a few years later!

Good Luck