Bloodline question.

[Hexdef101]

Good job, That said Watch out for the pitfalls. Never take anything on the Internet with 100% Certainty, That said Don't ignore something just because the internet says something slightly different. Use best Judgement To decide which things are true.


As to your actual question... Claiming a specific Clans bloodline isn't like claiming benefits like say Native American Ancestry. I would say If you are, you are. Though I suggest you do like many and simply claim blood ties to all of the clans you are related to not a specific one alone.

[Downunder Kilt]

In Scottish custom your clan comes through your paternal line. If you find one in that line,stick with it.You may have maternal lines also, but you can only swear allegiance to one chief, in all honesty. It is not a matterof collecting all the clans you can and he who has the most clans wins. Cheers

[Hexdef101]

Sorry Downunder kilt, I didn't mean to imply that you could . All I really meant was to claim "Kinship" with those closest to you. Though If you are kin to the Donald/MacDonald clan your probably already kin to all the clans.

[freep]

I was adopted also. Found my father's line some years ago through DNA, found my father this last year as well as my mother. Tracing things back I've a lot of Scots, some 30 or so clan affiliations at various distances. For my purposes I decided to concentrate on two clans, one distaff and one paternal. Needing a rubric to choose, I decided the closest to me for each side which left me Gunn via my ggGrandmother paternally and Cunningham via my grandmother maternally. For the purposes of gatherings and such I'm going to just stick with the Gunns, but visit other clans with whom I've some relation. Contrary to what some friends have suggested this is through honest curiosity and not an effort on my part to get as many free drams as I can. ;)

[jebrooks76]

Thanks for all the help. I have decided to just bite the bullet, or swab actually, and ordered the 67YDNA marker test. This should help along the lines anyway. 6-8 weeks to get it back once I get it. Can't wait.

[GrainReaper]

All this talk of bloodlines....

Strictly from a genetic level I'm Scottish, Irish, Germanic, Russian, Eastern European, Italian-Greek, French, British, Scandinavian.....

I'm a mix of all of Europe it would seem! Does my pie-slice of Scot make me ineligible to feel connected to the kilt than others?

The important thing for me is family, upbringing, and a love of the kilt, as opposed to composition, I'm reminded of recent story of the island of proud Scottish people who discovered that they aren't scots at all but of Viking heritage.

Besides... some of the best turned out gents in kilts I know aren't even Scottish, but rather honor the kilt by their pride in wearing it.

[Mike S]

We are no longer bound to swear allegiance to a chief and feudal clan system, and haven't for many centuries. Those of us with Scottish blood now honor our history and heritage only. Therefore one doesn't have to neglect all of the clans that may exist in your family tree save for just one.

Regarding the implication that only paternal heritage counts, my reply to such silliness is always the same: If the present titles Lord of the Isles and Duke of Edinburgh can be bestowed upon a Royal family of primarily German/Danish ancestry, with the only Scottish heritage existing on the maternal side (and most of that lowland), then the rest of us can damned well count ours as fully acceptable and legitimate thank you very much. Not to mention a few Scottish Earls/Countesses and Clan Chiefs currently in place, and also pending, who inherited such honors through their maternal side, or that of their maternal ancestor.

[freep]

Thanks for all the help. I have decided to just bite the bullet, or swab actually, and ordered the 67YDNA marker test. This should help along the lines anyway. 6-8 weeks to get it back once I get it. Can't wait.

Bear in mind, DNA is only half of the equation. Once you have that, you'll know for a fact who your father is but beyond that you'll have a fair bit of genealogy ahead of you. I used Ancestry.com but would caution that a grain of salt must be taken with what you find.

Slainte

[jebrooks76]

Bear in mind, DNA is only half of the equation. Once you have that, you'll know for a fact who your father is but beyond that you'll have a fair bit of genealogy ahead of you. I used Ancestry.com but would caution that a grain of salt must be taken with what you find.

Slainte

Yes Sir. I have been working on that for about a week. Have managed to make it to Kilmarnock. Just going through and trying to find any and all actual documents.