My Grandmother's Family Tartan - Chisholm, imporoper to wear?

[elperrogrande]

Most of the so-called regimental tartans are in point of fact derived from clan tartans, such as Gordon, MacKenzie, Leslie, Cameron of Erracht etc. Even Black Watch is worn by Clans Sutherland, Campbell and a few others as a clan tartan.

interesting i was looking for a afordable clan sutherland tartan with no luck. black watch might be a option

[Jock Scot]

As you have asked Colin, most traditional kilt wearing Scots wear one family/Clan tartan and usually the tartan of their father.

To wear more than one Clan tartan would almost instantly raise the thought of “ more money than sense” in most of their minds and the second thought would be “ how brash/vulgar”. Showing off ones wealth(that is how it’s percieved) is not regarded as a merit here. The minority with wealth in the Highlands are very well aware of this and do make efforts “not to rub people’s nose in it”.

Well, you did ask.

[figheadair]

The best piece of advice I have ever heard about Tartans is to remember - That while Tartans do have names - (We have to call them something) - The name is far less important than - Where do your people come from.

Let's take the name Chisolm as an example.

The Scottish Register Of Tartans lists 9 Tartans under that one name.

The Chisolm Tartan, no. 638 was designd by the brothers Sobieski/Stuart and published in their Vestiarium Scoticum in 1842. It is generally recognized that they made many of these up in the fevor of the time to name Tartan designs and assign them to Highland Clans, Septs and families.

The Scottish Tartans Authority has some very good articles on the Vestiarium Scoticum and the brothers Sobieski -

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tart...rium-scoticum/

There is also Chisolm #2 - no. 639. The Register has this to say -

"Although the Vestiarium has been discredited as an authentic source, many of the tartans appear to be based on genuine older setts. In this case the 'Black Watch'. There is a specimen of both Chisholm and Chisholm Hunting in the collection of the Highland Society of London, sealed and marked "Presented by Lt. Col. Chisholm Batten, 1907"

Then there is Chisolm Colonial - no. 5756

This design is dated 2009 and designed by Kat Morre of Kansas who is a twelfth generation Chisholm of her American-Scots line. "Approved(September 2008) by Chief Hamish Chisholm of Chishom. Woven by D C Dalgliesh, and organised through Duncan Chisholm & Sons Ltd, of Inverness."

Then Chisolm - no. 740 with an unknown date -

"Possibly the true source of the Vestiarium Scoticum 1829-1842 sett with crimson changed to red. Highland Society of London collection is found in the National Museum, Edinburgh."

And Chisolm Hunting #2 - no. 641 dated 1906.

"This is an example of the process that began during the late Victorian period when the new analine dyes of the 1860s were considered to be too bright. Subtler forms of the tartan were produced, often replacing the red ground with green or brown.' Sample in Scottish Tartans Authority's Scarlett Collections."

The rest of the Tartans which have been given the name Chisolm have dates which vary from 1800 to 1995.

The design named simply "The Chisolm" has this note - "This is without doubt the oldest of the Chisholm tartans, dating from around 1800 and which appears in a portrait of the clan heroine 'Mary Chisholm' of about that date. She was famous for having sided with the clansmen during the clearances. D.C Stewart says it is a variation of one of the MacIntosh setts, said to have been found in a cave at Achnacarry in 1746."

My word, what a lot of dross. The slavish copying and mis-copying of records without any attempt to verify, update or correct the source information. A good example of just how inaccurate the Register can be and a reflection of the fact that the staff have no in-depth knowledge of tartans, nor the time to check.

[LKM]

As Jock as mentioned, in Scotland it is most common for someone to have only one tartan that they wear. This is one of the differences between what is common in Scotland and the US. Many people in the US wear several tartans, though normally not at the same time. You can wear your grandmothers family tartan, although there may be a few people who ask questions.

As to the dates of the tartans, as noted by a few others, the earliest known list of tartans with clan names comes from after you family was in the Americas. As far as I can tell (hopefully a tartan historian can verify this) tartans were more fashion before the 19th century and the colors were based on what was available and affordable in the different regions of Scotland.

[Father Bill]

In Canada most wear one tartan except where influenced by the U.S.

[figheadair]

As to the dates of the tartans, as noted by a few others, the earliest known list of tartans with clan names comes from after you family was in the Americas. As far as I can tell (hopefully a tartan historian can verify this) tartans were more fashion before the 19th century and the colors were based on what was available and affordable in the different regions of Scotland.

If by fashion you mean that people wore what the liked, could afford or was available then yes, the civilian use of tartan was essentially a fshion choice in the 18th century. That shold not be confused with the modern 'fashion tartans' by which we generally mean mass produced fancy patterns, often coloured to reflect particular trends such as the current fad for purple and blue tartans of the Pride of and Spirit of range of tartans.

Local dyes and thus regional variation might have had some effect on what poor people wore but the better off tended to opt for cloth using impoerted dyes such as cochineal and indigo.

[Jock Scot]

-----------And wives these days, wear their husbands tartan to the exclusion of all others with the possible exception of the occasional fashion tartan in the form of a scarf, for example.

WGN_1530.jpg

[CollinMacD]

Again all of you come through with providing me an education once again, but most of all (Jock), you keep me on the straight and narrow, and bring me back to my Highland Ancestral Roots.

All of you have managed to lift the fog and make the answer clearly obvious. I will stick with my father's family (ancestors) and wear the MacDonald Clanranald with all the pride it deserves. However, I will take another suggestion, and just might put in my sporran a small piece of the Chisholm tartan to honor my Grandmother's side.

Thank all of you, I by no means am a rich guy, so projecting this is not very hard, I do work for US Federal Government, and by far, the type of job I have, I work long, dangerous, and hard. So I earn every cent (pence), and certainly when I save my money to make a large purchase; I want to make the purchase is correct, and most of all accurate, but done correctly. So thank all of you for your advice, facts, and suggestions. Greatly appreciated.

[LKM]

If by fashion you mean that people wore what the liked, could afford or was available then yes, the civilian use of tartan was essentially a fshion choice in the 18th century. That shold not be confused with the modern 'fashion tartans' by which we generally mean mass produced fancy patterns, often coloured to reflect particular trends such as the current fad for purple and blue tartans of the Pride of and Spirit of range of tartans.

Local dyes and thus regional variation might have had some effect on what poor people wore but the better off tended to opt for cloth using impoerted dyes such as cochineal and indigo.

Thank you for the quick reply, that is what I was talking about as far as fashion. What you say about the dyes makes perfect sense, I remember reading about how purple was made before the 1850s and it was shipped all over the globe to any who could afford it.

[RodF]

Again all of you come through with providing me an education once again, but most of all (Jock), you keep me on the straight and narrow, and bring me back to my Highland Ancestral Roots.

All of you have managed to lift the fog and make the answer clearly obvious. I will stick with my father's family (ancestors) and wear the MacDonald Clanranald with all the pride it deserves. However, I will take another suggestion, and just might put in my sporran a small piece of the Chisholm tartan to honor my Grandmother's side.

Thank all of you, I by no means am a rich guy, so projecting this is not very hard, I do work for US Federal Government, and by far, the type of job I have, I work long, dangerous, and hard. So I earn every cent (pence), and certainly when I save my money to make a large purchase; I want to make the purchase is correct, and most of all accurate, but done correctly. So thank all of you for your advice, facts, and suggestions. Greatly appreciated.

Collin, the idea of a cockade is also a viable option. If you purchase that bit for the sporran, let me know as I have made many ribbon cockades and would be willing to give it a shot with a piece of tartan - may try it with a piece I believe I ahve here now that I think about it.

With a 1790 ancestor to Nova Scotia, I just gotta ask - where they relocated Loyalists from the colonies? My kids maternal lines includes both DAR and UEL ancestors and so I am a bit familiar with that time period. If that happened to be the case, there could be a great center piece to emphasize with a UEL button or such. When I made these, I did a ribbon cockade and the used an replica AmRevWar pewter button for the center. Will find one and post a pic if interested.