Me...

[David Dalglish]

You look great in your kilt.

[TimC]

Look good in a kilt.

-Tim

[Jimmy the Celt]

Sharp! If I may ask, what is the source of the sporran? I can't see it all that well, but it looks cool.

[kiltedcossack]

The Sporran is my own construction, actually, I'll try to get a better photo of it and post it here.

[turpin]

There is a Jewish tartan. I can't think of what the actual name is. Cajunscot could probably tell us, or one of the resident history buffs. 0

I remember seeing it, but don't remember what it is called. It has the blue and white from the Israeli flag.

I believe it's the Ferguson Tartan. A Jewish friend told me about the Jewish branch of Clan Ferguson in America. It seems that when the large migration of east European Jews took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the who didn't speak any English were coached by those who did on how to pronounce their names so the immigration officials could understand and properly record them. Any number of the immigrants would approach the impatient officials nervously, and when asked for their names several times, they'd say over and over (excuse the phonetic spelling) "shoin vergessen" which, translated from Yiddish, means something like "I forget".

Well, the official didn't have time to mess around, so forever after these folks were named Sean Ferguson. (Funny, you don't look Scottish)

[McMurdo]

No, seriously, this is the way I dress most of the time... ;)

Thats what I like a guy who dresses like that most of the time, keep it up and I eagerly await the updated sporran pictures.

[gilmore]

I believe it's the Ferguson Tartan. A Jewish friend told me about the Jewish branch of Clan Ferguson in America. It seems that when the large migration of east European Jews took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the who didn't speak any English were coached by those who did on how to pronounce their names so the immigration officials could understand and properly record them. Any number of the immigrants would approach the impatient officials nervously, and when asked for their names several times, they'd say over and over (excuse the phonetic spelling) "shoin vergessen" which, translated from Yiddish, means something like "I forget".

Well, the official didn't have time to mess around, so forever after these folks were named Sean Ferguson. (Funny, you don't look Scottish)

That's a cute story. I wonder if it has, as Mark Twain said of one of his tales, the added advantage of being true.

[gilmore]

I found another version of the story here: http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=8761


One Berel Bienstock, a leading European Yiddish stage actor, had rather limited spoken English abilities. As long as his lip movements approximated the printed dialogue on the screen, Bienstock was not too concerned with diction, and so he was confident he’d soon land a job in the "flickers."

Sure enough, his famous name preceded him and when he arrived at Ellis Island, he was met by his new agent, who, before putting Bienstock on a train to Los Angeles, urged him to Americanize his name.

The suggestion made sense to Bienstock, and all the way across the country — for six days — he kept selecting likely names and discarding them, until he finally picked one.

After checking into a hotel, he immediately went to see a movie producer, armed with a scrapbook loaded with newspaper articles and favorable reviews from Europe. A secretary ushered him in to the producer, who abruptly asked, "What’s your name?"

Bienstock’s mind went blank.— to save his life he couldn’t remember the American name he’d chosen. There remained only one thing — to make an honest confession.

"Schoen fergessen," ("I’ve forgotten") he said.

And a new star was born when the mogul wrote down the actor’s name: Sean Ferguson.

[gilmore]

this one from here: http://www.jewishgen.org/JCR-UK/Comm...reenockart.htm

<<<"Harvey also sent me a copy of an article in the local Glasgow Jewish paper, The Jewish Telegraph, about the Greenock community. It was accompanied by a letter in that paper, from a former Greenock resident, born there in 1921, correcting the errors in the article. This letter was clearly based on personal knowledge and experience, even if of many years before. In it he mentioned the holding of religious services, but it was not in Cathcart Street. I am still wondering if there was a synagogue in Greenock or whether people just used private houses for services.

The writer of the article in the Jewish Chronicle was a Smith; the letter in the Jewish Telegraph was by a Brown (his forebear was also a shoemaker). When I saw 'Ferguson' on the headstone I thought that, at last, I had alighted on the apocryphal East European Jewish immigrant who, on arrival in Britain, had said in Yiddish "Schain Ferguson" ("I've forgotten") to a port officer. Thus he had become Sean Ferguson. Alas, it wasn't the case. Harvey Kaplan had come across the name, in the naturalisation archives, of the Russian-born Reuben Fagerson. Obviously only a tiny change was needed to make it Ferguson. Another myth had gone the way of so many.>>>

There is also an Argentine version of the story:

<<<Argentinean Equivalent of the "Sean Ferguson" Legend

There is a legend that a Jewish immigrant coming to the United States was encouraged to change his name to a more American name. When he arrived in the U.S., he was so flustered that when the Ellis Island official asked for his name, he blurted out "sheyn fergessen" (I already forgot), and the official dutifully wrote down the name of the immigrant as Sean Ferguson. The origin of this legend is known, and it appeared in the Winter 1989 issue of Avotaynu. Owners of AVOTAYNU on CD-ROM can search for "Sean Ferguson".


"In the Summer issue of AVOTAYNU, which is now being edited and formatted, Paul Armony, president of the Argentinean Jewish genealogical society has written an excellent article about the use of Jewish surnames in Argentina. It is worth reading even if you do not have family in that country. Armony includes a story to support his claim that some of these names were accidentally created.

He writes:

"The following example is a true story. Jacob gave 10 pesos to his employee to go to the city and register his newborn son. Jacob said that his son's name must be Isaac Reuben Trumper. The employer arrived early in the city, went first to a bar and drank most of the money. Only later did he remember that he must go to the civil registration office. When the employee was asked the last name of the parents, he replied, 'Jacob and Sara Trumper.' The clerk wrote that and then asked the name of the baby. The drunken man replied, "Jesus, me olvide!" (Jesus, I forgot!) The clerk dutifully registered the baby's given name as "Jesus Noteolvide."

You can subscribe to AVOTAYNU at http://www.avotaynu.com/journal.htm
>>>

from http://www.avotaynu.com/nu/V07N10.htm

[gilmore]

<<<What American Jewish genealogist has not heard the story of the poor-soul Jewish immigrant who wanted to change his name at Ellis Island and became so flustered when the immigrant officer asked his name, he blurted out in Yiddish "Shayn fergessen" (I already forgot). The immigrant officer dutifully recorded for eternity his new name, Sean Ferguson. Is the story true, or is it the creation of some Borsht Belt comedian?

The answer is, there really was a Sean Ferguson...almost. The story is true...almost. AVOTAYNU, the journal of Jewish genealogy, tracked down what appears to be the origin of the famous story to a Syracuse, New York, attorney name Tracy Ferguson, the grandson of the "real" Sean Ferguson, Samuel Forgotston.

According to Tracy, his grandfather, Samuel Forgotston, immigrated to the United States in the 1860s. He settled in upper New York State and either he, or one of his brothers, Americanized his name to Ferguson for some reason that has been lost in the history of the family.

In the mid-1930s, shortly after Tracy graduated from Harvard Law School, he became active in raising funds for a major Jewish social help organization by going around the country making speeches to various groups. His associates pointed out that his peculiarly non-Jewish name, Ferguson, might be a detriment to his fund raising ability. So Tracy turned disadvantage to advantage by inventing a story.

He told his audience that his unusual name was derived in an unusual way. His grandfather, Samuel Forgotston, when he arrive at Ellis Island, in a moment of panic, blurted out to the immigration officer, "Shayn fergessen" to the questions, "What is your name?" The story brought gales of laughter from the audience, so Tracy continued to use it as a warmup introduction to his appeal for funds.

Tracy surmises that the story so caught the fancy of the public that it was passed from person to person until it became part of Jewish-American folklore.
According to The New York Times of December 22, 1997:

Tracy H. Ferguson, a Syracuse lawyer who specialized in labor law, died on Dec. 3, [1997] at the age of 87.>>>

from http://ajhistory.blogspot.com/2006/0...-ferguson.html