Why Might A Clan NOT Have A Tartan?

[PiperChick]

A historical question: What reasons might there be for a clan NOT having their own tartan? They annoyed the tartan-maker? Didn't get the memo? They decided it was just a fad?

By marriage, I'm a Douglas, but by birth, I'm a Creighton/ Crichton (the line that transplanted to Pennsylvania, though I grew up in the town where the Illinois line transplanted to). As far as I can tell, Crichton has a clan crest, but no tartan to call its own. They wear the Edinburgh. I'm curious to know why this might be. Any thoughts?

[McElmurry]

Here is the Crichton tartan.






http://clancrichton.org/tartan

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tart.../crichton-clan

[unixken]

Although I am of the Buchanan Clan, I also have a Sangster line in me, that does not have a tartan of it's own, nor is it part of any clan, that I can find. However, the Sangsters (those in my line, anyway), hailed from the parishes in and around Aberdeen, Scotland. Thus, in addition to all my kilts in Buchanan variants, I also have in my collection a kilt in the Aberdeen District tartan.

If you know from what area of Scotland your line comes from, perhaps there is a regional/district tartan that might also be to your liking, appropriate to your Creighton/Crichton line?

[Chas]

I could be wrong, but isn't Sangster a Norman French name?

[unixken]

I could be wrong, but isn't Sangster a Norman French name?

It may be, but I can't say for sure. I'm an Ancestry.com user, and have been able to follow that line back only to my 3G-grandfather (b: 1817). Until I can find additional records to take that line further back, I can't be sure where it may originate from.

[ctbuchanan]

There are many names in the Register that are linked to a District Tartans and not a Clan Tartan. Not all Scots were affiliated with a clan historically. I suppose that it is even possible that most were not. There also appear to be many families that have registered tartans for their name that are (or were) already linked to a Clan. But the whole linking of names to one (or in many case more than one) clan seems to be viewed by many with a healthy dose of historical skepticism anyway. As many with more knowledge that I have noted many times, the whole idea of a tartan for a clan is a relatively "modern" notion and one based more on fashion than historical fact.

[TheOfficialBren]

There are many names in the Register that are linked to a District Tartans and not a Clan Tartan. Not all Scots were affiliated with a clan historically. I suppose that it is even possible that most were not. There also appear to be many families that have registered tartans for their name that are (or were) already linked to a Clan. But the whole linking of names to one (or in many case more than one) clan seems to be viewed by many with a healthy dose of historical skepticism anyway. As many with more knowledge that I have noted many times, the whole idea of a tartan for a clan is a relatively "modern" notion and one based more on fashion than historical fact.

Plus one. I bear my father's surname. His family hailed from the Borders (Kircudbrightshire in Galloway). His father's family had no clan affiliation. Dad's mother was a Shaw (there is a Highland clan bearing that name, to which we are connected).

My mum's descended from the Robertsons (Clan Robertson).

To respond further, yes, many Scots today bear surnames with no clan affiliation. They fall into the same category that I do in some cases.

Strict Old Guard tradition? Well, no. Reasonably flexible to accommodate a legitimate interest in a legitimate ancestral/geneological area of ones background? Yes.

Feel free to correct any misunderstanding on my part.

[fluter]

I could be wrong, but isn't Sangster a Norman French name?

As is Bruce, right? My mum was a Wallace, which means "Welshman" if i mistake not.

[ctbuchanan]

@piperchick - I pulled this from the Surname Database which is maintained by name origin researchers based in Ireland I believe. This may explain why your Scottish name Crichton is affiliated with the Edinburgh District Tartan:

This is an interesting name of Scottish and English origin and is locational from a place so called near Utloxeter in Staffordshire and Crichton near Edinburgh in Scotland. The derivation of Creighton (in Staffordshire) is from the Olde Welsh pre 7th Century "creic", a rock, and "tun", a farm or settlement, thus a place built on a ridge, and it was first recorded in the Red Book of the Exchequor of 1166 as "Crectone", and in the Assize Rolls of 1222 it appears as "Creiton". However the place name in Scotland is derived from the Gaelic "crioch", a border or boundary and the Olde English pre 7th Century "tun", thus a farm on a boundary. The earliest recorded spelling is "Crechtune" circa 1145 and "Creigchton" in 1367. One Richard Creighton married Margaret Bridd on 26th June 1568 at Trentham Staffordshire, and records in the same county show the christening of one Hannah Creighton daughter of James and Emma Creighton on 2nd March 1755 at Newchapel. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Turstan de Crectune, witness of King David's Charter. which was dated circa 1128, Edinburgh, Scotland, during the reign of King David 1, of Scotland, 1124 - 1153.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/crichton#ixzz2bCtvgt5T

[Hopper250]

There is also the possibility of not having a Chief. The MacQueens don't have their own chief and use a tartan from the Vestiarium Scoticum as they have no other clan tartan option. A chief would have been able to declare an official tartan but one has been lacking since the 1700s