Any Gilmores out there????

[gilmore]

My stepdad is a Gilmore, though he was adopted...

I don't think adoption matters. (Actually, it could be argued that clans don't matter as viable governing institutions, and haven't for several centuries.) Others on X Marks are more informed and can tell you more than I, but blood relatedness wasn't a prerequisite for being associated with a clan. The gravamen was allegiance to the chief of the clan, and he decided who was and was not of it and in it.

[McElmurry]

If anyone has in information on a Gilmore tartan or if Gilmore is a Sept of a clan which one.

Graham

thank you

from the Scottish Borders.

I am fascinated by your mothers's (edit) maiden name McElmurry.
My wife has an ancestry line McIlmorrow from Dailly in Ayrshire in Scotland. For some reason they changed their surname to McMurray in the early 1800's.
There are no McIlmorrow's in Scotland nowadays but I have discovered McLemores in USA descended from a branch of the same McIlmorrow family and indeed there is a two hundred year old tombstone in Dailly kirk yard for a McIlemorrow which appears to be another spelling of the same name. So your wife could possibly be related to my wife!!!

There is a little information on the Clan Morrison Society of North America web site here.

http://cmsna.x10hosting.com/

Apparently, one group named Mac Ghille Mhoire worked as judges and smiths for the McLeods. There was a small dispute about who father who and the McLeods ran the Mac Ghille Mhoires off their land. The CMSNA site says the closer the surname is to Mac Ghille Mhoire then the earlier the people left the area.

The first McElmurry on my line emigrated from Ulster to Kentucky before 1750. I suspect the family left Lewis/Harris in the early 1600's and had no reason to change the name once in Ulster. It is also possible the family is from Ulster and not from the Hebrides.

The Morrisons have a DNA project if you are interested. My DNA won't work because McElmurry was my mother's surname.

[James C]

If any of the Gilmore's want to get in touch with their Irish heritage they would wear the Down County tartan.

[McElmurry]

If any of the Gilmore's want to get in touch with their Irish heritage they would wear the Down County tartan.

I have found quite a few references to Mac Giolla Muire in County Down (one of which is in my signature line) although Gilmore and Morrison can be derived from other Gaelic names. I have a strong suspicion McElmurry is from County Down because it was not anglicized like the Lewis and Harris branches of Morrison were. So in short I agree there is a strong connection between these names and County Down.

The House of Edgar version of County Down looks orange on my computer screen and I don’t want to make an unintended political statement. So County Down is not currently high on my list.

[gilmore]

There is a little information on the Clan Morrison Society of North America web site here.

http://cmsna.x10hosting.com/

Apparently, one group named Mac Ghille Mhoire worked as judges and smiths for the McLeods. There was a small dispute about who father who and the McLeods ran the Mac Ghille Mhoires off their land. The CMSNA site says the closer the surname is to Mac Ghille Mhoire then the earlier the people left the area.

The first McElmurry on my line emigrated from Ulster to Kentucky before 1750. I suspect the family left Lewis/Harris in the early 1600's and had no reason to change the name once in Ulster. It is also possible the family is from Ulster and not from the Hebrides.

The Morrisons have a DNA project if you are interested. My DNA won't work because McElmurry was my mother's surname.

While testing your own DNA might not help, you might look into testing the Y DNA of a McElmurry male relative of your mother.

[McElmurry]

I am a McElmurry myself and I was wondering if you could share with me what information on the McElmurry's you have, because I have been stuck on locating the origin of the McElmurry's before 1750. I don't know the plaid color or anything else before 1750. So if you could please send me some information I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Again welcome. If you are looking for a modern Scottish clan then Morrison is the one. I am sure they would accept a McElmurry no questions asked. On the other hand there are several possible origins of the name McElmurry at least one of which is "mere Irish" in this instance mere meaning pure. A variation of the name is also found on the Isle of Man. If your goal is to pick an applicable tartan then you can look at the Morrison tartans for a Scottish origin and County Down and Ulster province for Irish origin. Two branches of Morrison come from the Isles of Lewis and Harris and there are some regional tartans associated with the Hebrides.

If you are intent on researching the origins of McElmurry then I would be happy to collaborate with you. I live in the USA and my first documented McElmurry ancestor in the colonies was John McElmurry who ran a trading post on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River just downstream of Cave in the Rock. McElmurry creek flows into the Ohio from the Kentucky side. He was born in 1758 and was killed at the age of 32. A narrative of his demise includes a description of his red haired scalp. If you live in the USA and are of this line I have quite a bit of information. I am very interested in trying to go back from 1758 so even if we are on separate lines or even in different countries it still may be useful to collaborate.

[LostMcElmurry85]

I do live in the U.S. and I am a direct descendant of John McElmurry on my father's side. My father was born a McElmurry. Any information you have on John McElmurry and his parents origins you can give would be greatly appreciated by myself and the rest of my family.

[McElmurry]

I do live in the U.S. and I am a direct descendant of John McElmurry on my father's side. My father was born a McElmurry. Any information you have on John McElmurry and his parents origins you can give would be greatly appreciated by myself and the rest of my family.

It will take me a few days to put the information together but I will email you what I have on John Senior although I do not have any information about his birth. My line is John Sr./David/John/John “Peg Leg”/William Marion/Marvin Lafayette…

This is the Kentucky/Illinois John Sr. not the Cadron Blockhouse John of Arkansas.

[LostMcElmurry85]

Isn't the McElmurry's part of the Murray clan? I was told that it was. And I do believe that it was John McElmurry Sr. and his sons David and John Jr. that settled the Cadron settlement, and I have found evidence that supports it, and that John McElmurry is of my line. There are websites that state that John Sr. and his sons owned land in that area. Plus John Sr. had owned land in Ill. known as McElmurry Station at one time before heading south into Arkansas. It is my understanding that John McElmurry Sr. and his family traveled quite a bit before he was killed. For the most part I am confused about a lot of the information. All my grandfather told me was that we are descendants of John McElmurry Sr. who was born in Livingston Kentucky and founded McElmurry Station, and helped his boys with the settlement in Arkansas.

[Nick the DSM]

My theory is that McElmurray is deriviative from Ghillemhuire, sort of cut down. I think there is even a McIlMurray.

If you look at the Clan Morrison web page and go the DNA site, you can see McElmurray families in the list.