Namesakes

[sanddog28]

ith:

[sanddog28]

I know what you mean. My surname is Rowland which is an English name derived from Normans but coming from Ayrshire...what?! ;-)

*** on the confusion, to look at just my grandparents it appears the family is English and Danish but one more generation from there and each of my great grandmothers are Scottish... The new world was like a blender of families and heritage, so if your confident of your research and your family wear your kilt with all the pride it deserves...

[long_hand]

Being an American I tend to look at things on both sides. I follow to the best of my ability the trails of blood where they specifically go...but at some point it also helps to say..."well, it looks as if I'm so and so part Gaelic, so and so part Gaulish, so and so Germanic and what...where in the world did that Italian come from?" take it all with pride AND a grain of salt and realize that our culture today is but a continuance of those great heritages. We may not entirely self-identify as a Gael or a Saxon or whatever since our more immediate ancestors forged a new American identity, but it is still what we are if we bother to look deep into our beliefs, ethics, and cultural institutions.

[Stratherrick]

I always say that it was just an accident of geography that I was born in England (Torquay, Devon)!

Whatever the characteristics of English folk, well, I just don't identify with them. My BIG decision came in 1981 when, while walking up 'Wembley Way' towards a football game between England and Scotland, I had to choose which team to support. I was 21 years old. I'd always favoured Scotland through my youth, especially as England didn't qualify for the World Cup finals throughout the 1970s.

It really didn't take more than a moment's thought to side with the Tartan Army hordes thronging the streets. The rest, as they say, is history...

Slainte

Bruce