Another Noob Question

[Babyvett]

Definitely to honor his heritage. Prior to my doing his ancestry, he would have NEVER considered a kilt. He does like Renaissance festivals, for example, but never would have worn a kilt to one as he wasn't aware of having any Scottish heritage. He said to him it would be like someone wearing a Marine Corps Dress Blues when they aren't in the military, just because they liked the look.. Now, his family is very simple, I guess you could say - i love them to death, but getting any information out of his parents about his family roots is asking about quantum physics. They could tell me one generation and that was it.. So, I started to do his tree when I got tired of the headache that was mine.. All his life, he had thought his family was German and Irish, not sure why.. But, his m-grandmother was a Campbell and his m-grandfather was a Barnett (who's line takes him through into Clan Sutherland later down the road). Now that everything is checked, double checked and triple checked and he's definitely predominantly of Scottish heritage, he wants to own a kilt to wear to honor that heritage. He decided on Campbell, since that line is, in his opinion, the strongest line as his m-grandmother and his mother are the only females in the line. Definitely won't be wearing it to fit in - his dad is even laughing at the idea at this point.. LOL

[TheOfficialBren]

Gotcha. I can relate.
Perhaps I can lend some support here, if I may.

Mum's family is predominantly English (Anglo-Norman stock, settled in Leicestershire years back) and Dad's family is Scottish mostly (Galloway, Inverness-shire). There is a a sprinkle or two of some Cherokee blood in there, too.

I am the only kiltie in my family. They were all pretty perplexed about the whole business...they never laughed but Mum was the least supportive. She seems to be coming around a bit.

You see the tradition of the kilt died in my family when they came to America years ago. Also, it took some effort to even get a bead on the origins of our roots. Without hard documentary evidence (many of my kin were backwoods folk who didn't bother with birth/death certificates, deeds, et al) for many of them, I used a cunning but not fool-proof method. I cross referenced immigration patterns with cultural and linguistic patterns along with historical records of the names in our family to their earliest appearances on record and made allowances for variation in spelling and regional variations.

For example, one name in our family is Colbert* (NOT the French pronounciation!). The name can be found in Galloway in Scotland in the Middle Ages as well as England and Ireland. The name is alternatively recorded as Culbert, Cobert, Cubert, Cuthbert, Calbert, Calvert, and Colbhert.

I wear the kilt without reservation and openly acknowledge that my geneology could be squewed...but the tartans I choose to wear are always either universal tartans OR tartans to which I am connected...in my case Shaw and Chattan.

My point is that I can empathise with the labour of tracking down one's roots.

*It should be noted that Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French statesman at the court of King Louis XIV claimed Scottish ancestry...not French.


Sorry for hijacking. Feel free to hijack one of my threads in return.

:-D

[Babyvett]

LOL Hijack away, I don't mind at all..

I'm having a real problem doing my own roots.. I've worked a good portion of it, but one particular line is at a dead end before even beginning... Not sure where the heck my G-G-G grandfather (where my maiden name derives from - Berryman) came from.. Have done multiple searches for name variations as it is believed he changed his name when he came from Prussia, but the story is he was a stowaway on an immigration ship so theres no proof of him coming... I've tried contacting various extended family members and we're all at the same place.. LOL I DID find some Scottish on one of my other grandparents lines, so I was happy about that. Needless to say, I'm a nice mix of Irish, Welch, English, German and French, with a bit of Scottish, Mexican, Sweden and Cherokee for added flavor.. LOL

Charles' tree looks much better.. Three out of four grandparents come from Scottish heritage. The only line I haven't worked is his Prince line but I think we're probably going to have to get involved with y-DNA testing to find out where his ancestry there came from. His G-grandfather was adopted and we can't find any records of his Prince parents so we're at a road block there.. And like you, that side of his family is very "backwood".. LOL Sometimes I just want to

You know, I just realized your in Cali.. Do you hit up alot of the Scottish festivals/events around here?? We're just now figuring out where they are and making plans to hopefully go Might hit up the Queen Mary event next month if I get a new car before then.. lol

[TheOfficialBren]

To be honest, I haven't been attending Highland Games and was unable to attend this year's Burns Supper.

[Father Bill]

I'm having a real problem doing my own roots.

Have you tried Clairol? ;)

[Babyvett]

Have you tried Clairol? ;)

I'm a "nice and easy" type of girl ;) (did I just say that?????)

[Fedgunner]

If he is fond of military head gear, get him a MOD tam. It still has a self colored toori, but it is issued to the troops that wear kilts.

(MOD= Ministry Of Defense)

[TheOfficialBren]

Father Bill:
"Have you tried Clairol? ;)"

Hahaha!!!

If he is fond of military head gear, get him a MOD tam. It still has a self colored toori, but it is issued to the troops that wear kilts.

(MOD= Ministry Of Defense)

Fedgunner:
WORD! Great suggestion! A REAL military cap that fits with the kilt. Sounds like a winner!

[Lyle1]

If he is man enough to wear a kilt, he is man enough to choose his own damn hat! To me, it seems that he is giving more consideration to what he likes than he is to what other people might think about his choice of a hat, and good for him!

[Geoff Withnell]

Given that most folks can't tell the difference between a beret, a tam, a caubeen, or a balmoral I have to agree. I have at least one of each - I like wearing different hats. As far as people making assumptions about his means based on his hat? Words fail me.

If he is man enough to wear a kilt, he is man enough to choose his own damn hat! To me, it seems that he is giving more consideration to what he likes than he is to what other people might think about his choice of a hat, and good for him!