Might not be Scottish after all.

[GreenDragon]

My mother found a book her aunt sent her of our family history dating back to her grandfather, my Great Grandfather: Earl Reuben Scott who came to America in 1856 .....






from Denmark.




Still, it is decidedly agreed that we are Irish and my Aunt (our source for our genealogical information) swears we're Scottish. More investigation to come.

[Sir William]

Don't be too hasty in your judgement. I once worked with a Norwegian military officer named McDonald. Lots of Scots left Scotland and joined foreign militaries or went into business abroad - especially after a failed Jacobite rebellion.

[GreenDragon]

Mark from Clan Scott Society told me the same thing via email.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all. Scott is a very Scots surname. Even if your gr-grandfather did come from Denmark it is still almost assured that his lineage eventually comes from Scotland. Perhaps by way of France, Belgium, Holland, or England. Your gr-grandfather was probably living in the mid- to late 1800's and there were many Scott families that were on the move between 1700-1900. They moved all over the globe. Some because they joined the British Army and others who were simply seeking a better life in a new land.

Mark"

[M. A. C. Newsome]

That may very well be how your family acquired the surname of Scott. I can imagine your ancestor migrating from Scotland to Norway and people there calling him "So-and-so the Scot" because of where he was from. This identifier could quickly transform into an inherited surname, much the way names like "Fleming" arose in Scotland.

[BEEDEE]

Earl Reuben Scott does not sound Danish. Check the World Name Profiler http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames/Default.aspx and you will find a few Scotts in Scandinavia.

These old records are strange sometimes. My GGF went from Co Antrim to New Zealand, but the records show him as joining the ship in Gravesend, England Given the proximity of Scotland to Denmark it is entirely possible that that is where he joined a ship to travel to the USA and not his country of origin.

Brina
Brian

[GreenDragon]

More info! My Great-Great Grandfather, Peter Nissan Scott was the one who immigrated from Holden Denmark to the US. He was born in April, 1859.

[skauwt]

its worth remembering in the days gone by Scotland had close ties with the Scandinavian countries through trade and fishing i guess it may be possible your ancestor was a fisherman or a merchant trader of sorts and left Scotland

[JolyStNicholas]

Be patient, that's the secret. If ya haven't been searching for at least 20 years
{hehehehehe} ya haven't got a good start on ya yet!

I just used that name profiler and to my suprise, besides Scotland and England,
I would never of guessed Australia had more families with my surname.

[wvpiper]

Denmark is a stone's throw from Scotland. Perhaps your ancestor went there on a trade ship, fell in love, both with Denmark and a woman, and never left. It is the happiest place on earth, after all. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Econo...7585729&page=1

Besides, many US Scots can claim Scots ancestry even though their ancestors migrated from Northern Ireland. I wouldn't sweat it.

[EagleJCS]

I wouldn't worry about the purported point of origin either - my great-grandmother was born in Toome, County Antrim, Ireland (nowhere near the coast) and came to the US at age 11 with her family. The point of origin for their ship was Liverpool, England.

It could be that your ancestor went to Denmark to get on a ship heading for the Americas earlier than others leaving from the UK. Or, it's just that was the point of origin for the voyage.