Coat of Arms

[Dughlas mor]

boats, if your family name is Thomas, and if you know your ancestors came from Scotland, then you likely belong to Clan MacThomas, a recognized clan with it`s own tartan, etc. If you look at the shop page on the MacThomas society website, you will see a clan crest badge. Seems to be a wildcat holding (throttling?) a snake, with the motto "Deo juvante invidiam superado." (With God`s help I will rise above envy) This is what a clan member would wear as a cap badge. Of course it would look great reproduced any size you like, hanging on your wall. Hope that helps, and if you knew all that already, please excuse me.

[macwilkin]

boats, if your family name is Thomas, and if you know your ancestors came from Scotland, then you likely belong to Clan MacThomas, a recognized clan with it`s own tartan, etc. If you look at the shop page on the MacThomas society website, you will see a clan crest badge. Seems to be a wildcat holding (throttling?) a snake, with the motto "Deo juvante invidiam superado." (With God`s help I will rise above envy) This is what a clan member would wear as a cap badge. Of course it would look great reproduced any size you like, hanging on your wall. Hope that helps, and if you knew all that already, please excuse me.

One more thing to add to this post: don't forget that the best way to identify a possible link to a clan is a geographic location; ancestors who were from the traditional area associated with a particular clan. A Williamson from Fife, for example, would most likely not be a part of Clan Gunn, while a Williamson from Wick or Thurso would most likely have that necessary connection.

T.

[Dughlas mor]

One more thing to add to this post: don't forget that the best way to identify a possible link to a clan is a geographic location; ancestors who were from the traditional area associated with a particular clan. A Williamson from Fife, for example, would most likely not be a part of Clan Gunn, while a Williamson from Wick or Thurso would most likely have that necessary connection.

T.

Um, yes. I just learned that not all those named Thomas belong to MacThomas, so some more research might be needed. "The Scottish Tartans," by Johnston and Bacon, lists Thomas as connected to Campbell or Mackintosh.

[The Wizard of BC]

We see the very common misconception that if you are Scottish then you must be associated with a Clan.

This Is not necessarily true. The Clan system was only in the Highlands or the NorthWest part of the Country.
The vast majority of Scots lived in the Lowlands. That is where most of the cities are.

Those from the Lowlands are 100% Scottish and have a lot to be proud of but may or may not be part of a Highland Clan. There are Scots who carry the name of a Highland Clan but are from the lowlands and have no clan affiliation at all.

The only way to know for sure is to do your genealogy. And I'm not talking about doing a google search. Doing your genealogy is a paper chase. You start with your birth certificate. That will give you the names of your two parents. It may say where they are from. You go to that place and find their marriage license or birth certificates. That leads to the next piece of paper.

If you do not have an unbroken paper trail you do not have a genealogy. Some people spend a lifetime tracing their genealogy. Most can never get beyond just a few generations.

And one more tidbit. Remember that a person's family tree does not start with a single person back in history and grow larger and wider over the years and generations. It is actually the reverse. It starts with you and grows and expands the further back you go. For a hypothetical example - If each of your ancestors had children at age 20 then you have one generation each 20 years. 100 years would be 5 generations. 5 generations back you have 32 grandparents. You trace your lineage through 32 different lines. That's only back to around WWI.

If you can follow your paper trail back to a grandparent who lived up in the area of Glen Shee then you may have a Highland Clan affiliation. If your paper trail leads to somewhere else, you may not.

[Mike_Oettle]

Boats, when you refer to a family crest, I hope you mean that you are creating an image of the crest of the chief of Clan MacThomas, inside a strap and buckle, which is the accepted badge of a clansman.
This is illustrated on the MacThomas website and shows a cat holding a snake (the actual crest) and, on the strap and buckle, the motto Deo juvante invidiam superabo.
Any clansman may display this badge in his home, or wear a metal reproduction of it on his bonnet.

The crest is the part of the heraldic achievement that sits on top of the helmet.
Together with the helmet, mantling (decorative flourishes), shield and motto it forms the full achievement, also called a coat of arms.
You probably saw the picture of the chief’s banner on the website as well. This shows the contents of his shield of arms in the form of a flag, technically called a banner of arms.
You may display an image the chief’s full achievement, or of his banner in your home, provided the display makes it clear that it is not your coat of arms, but that of the chief of your clan.

You have been advised to apply to the Lord Lyon for matriculation of the arms to yourself. This is one possibility, and (provided money is no object) the best possible way of doing it.
You will be granted a shield that shows at least part of the quarterings on the chief’s shield or banner, with suitable differences to indicate that you belong to a branch of the clan.
You might be granted the same crest, but more likely it will be a similar one or, if you so choose, an entirely different one. The motto you use can be one of your own choosing, but traditionally clansmen’s mottoes “respond” to the chief’s motto.
Such a matriculation will be quite pricy (the Lyon Court website will indicate the cost), but it will provide you with a beautifully illustrated painting of the arms, together with calligraphy that explains who you are and why you are being registered with the arms, as well as the blazon, or technical description, of the arms.

If this is beyond your means, you (as a US citizen) are by no means obliged to take the Lyon Court route.
When you have done the appropriate research, you can apply to one of the private registries in the United States. Another possibility is applying to the Bureau of Heraldry in Pretoria.
Neither a private registry nor the Bureau will provide a coat of arms that will necessarily be accepted by the Lord Lyon, but the Bureau will do its best to provide you one that is differenced in accordance with Scottish tradition, using the Stodart system of differencing (widely, but not too strictly, applied by Lyon Court).

My coat of arms is registered in Pretoria. It is an adaptation of a device my family has used for centuries, but in fact belongs to a family from another part of Germany which spells its surname slightly differently.
Now that I have registered my arms, any other member of my family may apply to the Bureau to register a similar device.
This would be an option open to other members of your family too.
Regards,
Mike

[boats]

Um, yes. I just learned that not all those named Thomas belong to MacThomas, so some more research might be needed. "The Scottish Tartans," by Johnston and Bacon, lists Thomas as connected to Campbell or Mackintosh.

If that was the case, would the Thomas family wear either of the clan tartan or would they have their own
tartan to wear. From what my brother told me, that my Thomas line came from Wales and the earliest
he got them in Wales is sometime in the 1700's. None of the Thomas's went to Scotland. He got all
the paper work on that. I looked at House of Names and found Thomas of Wales tartan. It is read
in color. Do you know any clan or association that I can contact and found out? Would it be right for me
to wear that kilt at all? Since I am redheaded, I thought that color kilt will go good with my red hair.

boats

May calm seas and fair winds follow you.

[Dughlas mor]

Boats, you have managed to confuse me. [not a difficult thing to do] If your Thomas blood is Scottish, then you may belong to the MacThomas clan, or you may belong to one of the clans that claim Thomas as a sept, or you may belong to no clan at all. The only way to know is to trace your Thomas ancestors back to where they came from in Scotland. There is no Scottish tartan for Thomas. But now you seem to be saying that your Thomas blood is Welsh. If that is the case, the Thomas of Wales tartan would surely be the one to go with. I just had a look at that tartan and it is a nice one.

[boats]

Boats, you have managed to confuse me. [not a difficult thing to do] If your Thomas blood is Scottish, then you may belong to the MacThomas clan, or you may belong to one of the clans that claim Thomas as a sept, or you may belong to no clan at all. The only way to know is to trace your Thomas ancestors back to where they came from in Scotland. There is no Scottish tartan for Thomas. But now you seem to be saying that your Thomas blood is Welsh. If that is the case, the Thomas of Wales tartan would surely be the one to go with. I just had a look at that tartan and it is a nice one.

?

Yes, the Thomas tartan is a nice one. I found out from my brother that my ancestor came from Llanwenarth, Monmouthshire, Wales. Could that area be where Thomas of Wales or the clan came from?

[Dughlas mor]

I don`t think that there was ever a clan system in Wales comparable to the one in the Scottish Highlands, so there isn`t really a Welsh Thomas "clan." I know that Thomas is a very common surname in Wales. Until fairly recently, there was no such thing as a Welsh tartan, or a welsh kilt. (cilt) The Welsh name tartans were developed, I believe, in the 1970`s, and have slowly gained popularity. The Welsh Thomas tartan would certainly be appropriate for anyone named Thomas who is of Welsh descent.

[Sir Didymous]

One more thing to add to this post: don't forget that the best way to identify a possible link to a clan is a geographic location; ancestors who were from the traditional area associated with a particular clan. A Williamson from Fife, for example, would most likely not be a part of Clan Gunn, while a Williamson from Wick or Thurso would most likely have that necessary connection.

T.

The region thing is indeed a bit confusing to sort out, but worth it in the end. It's why even though I'm of the clan Ferguson, I wear a sprig of pine instead of the little sunflower. According to a few sources, my strain of the clan is from Strachur, and uses pine. Though from what I can tell, this seems to be a little followed custom. Most people (at least in my neck of the woods) are content in the knowledge of having a name that pairs up with a country and just go with that.