Who am I?

[GaRebel211]

Burly, I've had a good bit of success lately with rootsweb. http://www.rootsweb.com
Its a free community, off-shoot of ancestry.com. As long as you can get back a generation or two go to the family tree tab, and begin searching.
Best of luck, let me know if I can be of assistance.

[Burly Brute]

Well Burly Brute, if you are biologically a Brown then you would have at least a connection to Clan MacMillan, as Brown is a sept of MacMillan.

You can find out more about Clan MacMillan and it's related septs here:

http://www.clanmacmillan.org/

Welcome aboard!!

In all my searching I had not come across this. Brown being so common, does the surname only originate to that clan? My assumed biological father was a Brown, but that is all I really know of him.

[Burly Brute]

There is a very good chance that your local library has a subscription to Ancestry.com (or a similar site) for all of its patrons.

If you have a library card, you're good to go.

And good luck!

Being only 23 and so use to computers I didnt realize this about the library, thanks so much!

[Burly Brute]

Thanks so much to you all for such great input, a lot of this stuff is fresh in my mind and will certainly help!

[Chas]

You are 23. You are an adult. You are your own man.

Track down your father, he lives in the same State. He has most of the answers that you want.

It might be painful, but it will be worth it. Next year could be too late.

I know of what I speak.

Regards

Chas

[davidlpope]

In all my searching I had not come across this. Brown being so common, does the surname only originate to that clan?

No. Brown can originally be English, Irish, Scottish, German, Swiss, etc. in origin. The only way to know for sure where your Brown ancestors came from is to do the genealogical research. Those Browns whose ancestors hailed from Kintyre in Scotland are most likely to be MacMillans. See this link for more info: http://www.clanmacmillan.org/Septs.htm

All that being said, anyone bearing the surname Brown or descended from someone with the surname Brown are welcomed as MacMillans by our chief, George MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap. We're a friendly bunch and would love to welcome you into the clan. I'm one of the Vice Presidents for the Appalachian Branch of Clan MacMillan. If you're interested in more info, please PM me.

Best of luck in your search!

David

[MacMillans son]

In all my searching I had not come across this. Brown being so common, does the surname only originate to that clan? My assumed biological father was a Brown, but that is all I really know of him.

I am not as knowledgeable in clan matters as I would like to be, but as far as I know there are no other recognized clans that Brown is a sept of. However, I have heard of some families being claimed as members of more than one clan in the past. I believe that historically clan affiliation was a rather fluid thing vs. being born a member of clan X and there you stay until your dying day. I think that it makes perfect sense, for instance, that if a Brown family moved into MacDonald country, for an extended period of time, that they would need to align with that clan or else...?

There are many more on this site who are much more knowledgeable on this topic than I, so feel free to ask questions, use the PM feature for direct inquiries to those folks, and have fun in your quest!

Regards,
Brooke

[MacMillans son]

David beat me to the post and is one of those knowledgeable folks I was speaking of!! He'll steer you in the right direction!!

[Luckey]

You might want to check into the Lamont clan. Brown is listed as a sept there also.

[davidlpope]

...as far as I know there are no other recognized clans that Brown is a sept of.

Clan Lamont also recognizes Brown as an associated surname. There is also a Lowland family, Broun/Brown, whose chief was recently confirmed by the Lord Lyon, if I remember correctly.

However, I have heard of some families being claimed as members of more than one clan in the past. I believe that historically clan affiliation was a rather fluid thing vs. being born a member of clan X and there you stay until your dying day. I think that it makes perfect sense, for instance, that if a Brown family moved into MacDonald country, for an extended period of time, that they would need to align with that clan or else...?