Krueger Scottish?

[gilmore]

Well, yes my surname is, infact German. EIther Kru (withthe umlaute ..) or Krueger, Krieger, Kreuger, etc. Actually, the name means table waiter or inn keeper. a Krug is a pottery vesell that often held wine. Thus, a Kruger was someone who served wine, or had wine to serve. At least that's what a search of the heraldry records seem to indicate. My family was Prussian in origin. I just wanted to see to what Clan I could attach the Krueger name, thus "Farquharson."

There really is no substitute for the time consuming work of following the paper trails our ancestors left, wherever they go, NOT where we would prefer them to go at the moment. (Well, there may be one substitute, in recent years, and that is Y-chromosome DNA testing for patrilineal lines of descent, but that seems to be better used as a supplement, rather than a substitute, and works with more certainty to exclude some lines rather than proving others.)

In doing genealogical work there is no greater sin than passing on false information. It is much worse than simply being content with being ignorant of one's forebears.

I will give you an example of why what you propose is not a good idea. Quite a few years ago my father happened across a list of clans and found our surname listed as a sept of the Gunn clan. Our paper trail going backward had hit a brick wall in America at the time. So we accepted what my father assumed. One of my nephews got a rather expensive kilt made up in the Gunn tartan, and another had a large Gunn clan crest tattooed across his back.

Meanwhile, more research was done in the US, as well as taking a look at where our surname was found in Scotland, and delving into the occurrence of our surname within the Gunn clan, which turned out to be quite rare. The vast majority of people with our surname lived on the other side of Scotland from the Gunns. And they came to America at a place here and time that also makes a Gunn connection highly unlikely. In fact, there is a possibility that our patrilineal ancestors may not have come from Scotland at all.

So, here we are with a large tattoo with no relevance to our family history and a kilt not appropriate for the purpose for which it was intended, as well as a quite a few years of research in looking for a connection that just is not at all likely to be there.

The problem stems of course from the initial unrealiable information by father came across. It seems that the Gunn clan often lists every possible surname that has ever or could possibly be associated with it. This is not unusual. Many other clans do as well. Our surname, I have discovered, is associated with at least one other clan as well as a family that would like to be a clan. Why do the clan associations do this? Why do they almost deliberately mislead people?

Of course one can understand the tartan manufacturers and kilt merchants trying to cast as wide a net as possible to ensnare the naive, and coming up with all sorts of stories to sell their wares to the unwary. This has been going on for nearly 200 years, ever since the idea of clan tartans was invented---long after the clan system was even a living memory--- and woolen producers and tailors promoted them as a ruse to bilk a newly affluent, Industrial Revolution era middle class out of its money.

But one would hope that clan associations would be more helpful. One guesses that perhaps they are more concerned with increasing their membership and thus their income.

To my mind there is nothing at all wrong with being descended from a Prussian waiter, if that is the case. We are what we are. But there is something very wrong with pretending to be something one is not.

[Rigged]

Wow! I love this stuff! Also, it seems those randy Scotsmen sowed their oats far and wide to the point where almost anyone can shake their family tree and have a Scotsman fall out of it!

[KiltedKnight]

Going back about thirty years I remember a fellow in the U.S. Army over in Hoerchst Germany by the name of Krueger. He pronounced his name crew-gur which would have been close to the correct pronunciation with the German umlaute if indeed it ever had one but the Germans never questioned the pronunciation as they were apt to if we murdered any German word.

Chris.

[beloitpiper]

Makes me thankful for my family history. My last name "Long" was Anglicized from "Laing" during the Great Famine. We have records that go deep into the Scottish Highlands.

[cloves]

Gary,
And, one more thing to consider: many German surnames were "Americanized"

Todd

In fact many names were North americanized even way before the great wars. My surname "Steeves" is the anglo version of the German "Stieff."

[McClef]

Steiff the famous makers of teddy bears

[Mike1]

Note my last name "Roeger" was "Roger" with 2 little dots over the o.

Krueger (if it's a German Surname) would have been Kruger with 2 little dots over the o.

What Rocky is describing would look like this - Röger and Krüger.

[cloves]

Steiff the famous makers of teddy bears

Yes! I heard once that there was a Steiff tartan but I've yet to find record of it.

[McClef]

Found it on the Scottish Tartans Authority website

Steiff tartan:

[Gary Krueger]

[/QUOTE]
To my mind there is nothing at all wrong with being descended from a Prussian waiter, if that is the case. We are what we are. But there is something very wrong with pretending to be something one is not.[/QUOTE]

Be careful here, Mr. Gilmore. You seem to be making an unwarranted assumtion. I am what I am and am a bit resentful that anyone would suggest otherwise. I found it interesting that in doing a search of the surname "Krueger" I came up with a scottish connection...TO THE SURNAME ONLY AND NOT TO MY FAMILY HERITAGE.