Quote Originally Posted by davidlpope View Post
My best advice is to trace your ancestry back until you come to the nearest Scottish surname that has a readily available tartan and an active clan association.

There's not much distinction made here in the US over Highland vs. Lowland vs. Borders families.

It's always a bonus if your selected "clan" has an active chief who serves as a rallying point for the family's heritage and history.

What are the surnames of your four grandparents?
Your great-grandparents?
@davidlpope - thanks for the advice! Coincidentally for you and I, my grandmother's maiden name is Pope (her grandfather was Poparachney in the Ukraine) It is in her line that the McCollough name appears and I believe this is the earliest potential connection on my tree. Edwin C. McCollough is my 3rd great grandfather. It seems distant but it is interesting that my great grandmother knew him and I knew my great grandmother!

The McNeir connection comes via Edwin McCollough's wife. Her mother was Charlotte McNeir. Of course both of these names end up being married out by the time I come around, but as I'm looking at it, I have McCollough and McNeir heritage funneling down through my 3rd great grandmother who was daughter of one and married to the other.

I don't know if that helps clarify much but at the time it is all the detail I have. And maybe it's a stretch but it seemed worth investigating!