A Friend of the Family and her Tartan

[Hawk]

My apologies, first of all, if this is in the wrong Forum. If it needs moved, moderators please do so.....

A friend of the family (my wife's) is having a bit of a time making certain headway concerning her name and background and associated tartan.

I am tossing this into our arena here at XMTS in hopes to have some additional info available for her to assist her on her background journey.

So, here is the info and I'm sure questions and answers will spring forth from our members here at XMTS. She has family connections back through the MacPikes of the Highlands, and possibly the MacDonalds. I did explain to her, that with limited knowledge, I recall that there are a few different MacDonalds. Also, the name of MacPherson (sp?) has come up. What questions are raised here and what info can be had, to narrow her search, ultimately leading to a tartan, clan etc....

Thank you members for your assistance in advance.....

Hawk

[ctbuchanan]

Well Hawk you leave so many questions to be asked. Which lines go through her paternal side and which through the maternal side? How recent are any of these names? Is one of the names her surname or that of her father or mother? If not does she have a closer affinity to one name over the other? Really the task of narrowing her search is: which name is closest generationally to her on her paternal side and is their one closer on the maternal side? If you start getting much farther back then the question to me would be which has the stronger ties to her. And finally, of course, if she lives in the States and you are going back several generations there really are no rules and she is pretty much free to do as she pleases.

[Hawk]

...... And finally, of course, if she lives in the States and you are going back several generations there really are no rules and she is pretty much free to do as she pleases.

This woman is very respectful and would like to know more about the MacPikes, if they're a sept of the MacDonalds, if any of these are directly related to the MacPhersons.....and she wants to be as educated as she can before continuing with this journey ( including a tartan etc....). All info is appreciated to help her narrow her search and expand her knowledge.....

Hawk

[ctbuchanan]

I am clearly no expert on the Clan MacDonald. But I pulled this about the name Macpike from the Surname Database:
This very rare and interesting surname is of Irish origin, and is an Anglicization of the Gaelic "MacPeice", meaning "son of Peic", a personal name of uncertain etymology, but thought to be originally derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "peac", meaning a thickset man. Traditionally, Irish family names are taken from the heads of tribes, or from some illustrious warrior, and are usually prefixed by "O", meaning "descendant of", or "Mac", denoting "son of". The surname is also found recorded in Scotland, and the variants include McPaik, McPeake, McPaike and McPike. The surname is usually found recorded in the Northern counties of Ireland; Fermanagh, Antrim and Tyrone. One James M'Pike, believed to have been born in Edinburgh, Scotland, circa 1750, emigrated to Baltimore in America around the year 1772. Recordings from Church Registers include the marriage of Charles McPake and Ann Brannan on November 14th 1852 at Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and the birth of Thomas McPake on November 3rd 1865 at Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, Ireland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of James McPeake, which was dated April 29th 1719, marriage to Catharine Logan, in County Antrim, Ireland, during the reign of King George 1 of England, known as "The First Hanoverian", 1714 - 1727.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/macpike#ixzz2bDC8ZHdY

[ctbuchanan]

Just a quick walkabout the internet. The Tartan Registry shows no clan or tartan for Macpike. The Scottish Tartans Authority links it to the Galloway District Tartan - that's the extreme southwest corner of Scotland right across the sea from Ireland.

If I come up with any other thoughts I will be happy to post them. Good luck to her in her search.

[Hawk]

In addition to the above information, this lady has given further names and one in particular I recognize from my limited research for her. It appears, she is related to the King Malcome (the Dangerous) of Scotland line, and through this line quite possibly Clan Donnachaidh, sometimes known as Clan Robertson. But this is by my most basic attempts at coming to the beginning of the few Clans she has names included in her background. The search continues and assistance is always welcome.

Hawk