I have a question for you geneaology folk.

[The_Tailor]

My mother-in-law married into McCorkell. Being the geneaology nut that she is, she has discovered, as I have, that McCorkell(or any of the other spellings) is a sept of both Gunn, and MacLeod. Is this correct? I mean is this possible?

Now, I personally have no Scottish ancestry that I know of. I am the husband of the daughter of said McCorkell by marriage, what, if anything, does this mean to me?

[dfmacliam]

That is correct... But it does not refer to everyone one of that family name.. Just refers to the branch of the family that had the tie..

Let's say my name is Wilson (it is) and I live in Texas... and then in Arkansas is another family of Wilson's... ok .... Here in Texas the family I might have ties to is the Gunn's... It will make me a sept of the Gunns.. Over in Arkansas, the predominate family are the MacHinery's.... Those Wilsons are a sept of the MacHinerys... It then becomes a matter of geography.. now change the names and geography to Scotland and that is how it works out..

[HeathBar]

You really have to be careful with the sept concept. Lots of family names are septs of multiple clans. I would imagine that either clan society would be glad to have you and your wife as members as long as you pay the membership dues. If you really want to do it right, then I would research where in Scotland her family came from, then make your decision based on what you find. Then if you are wanting to purchase a kilt in the clan tartan, make your decision based upon that research. You will be better off for it. If you must have a kilt before that, then there are universal tartans available and district tartans. With the thousands of tartans out there, I'm sure you could find something to tide you over.

[macwilkin]

You really have to be careful with the sept concept. Lots of family names are septs of multiple clans. I would imagine that either clan society would be glad to have you and your wife as members as long as you pay the membership dues. If you really want to do it right, then I would research where in Scotland her family came from, then make your decision based on what you find. Then if you are wanting to purchase a kilt in the clan tartan, make your decision based upon that research. You will be better off for it. If you must have a kilt before that, then there are universal tartans available and district tartans. With the thousands of tartans out there, I'm sure you could find something to tide you over.

To quote Ranger Bill Bell, 'nuff said.

T.

[kiltedsawyer]

Well, obviously you have no "blood" ties to Gunn or MacLeod, but you could buy a kilt in either tartan, (or any variation there of,) and if confronted by the Kilt Police, swear under oath that you are wearing it to honor your wife's heritage, all the while just wearing the tartan that appeals the most to you. If you don't tell,.....I won't.

[jkane]

What ever Clan you decide to be a Sept of, be ready to fight on their behalf when the invaders show up trying to take over the land your clan lives on! ;)

(Just being a bit silly today! Sorry.)

[kiltedsawyer]

What ever Clan you decide to be a Sept of, be ready to fight on their behalf when the invaders show up trying to take over the land your clan lives on! ;)

(Just being a bit silly today! Sorry.)

Or at least buy the first round when the real men get back from the battle field.

[TheNaughtyScot]

If you have trouble finding all of the connections from your wife back to Scotland, as many do, I would suggest searching for the origin of the name and from which clan it sprouted. You have the option of either clan in your case, but if you can't decide I would suggest going with the earliest.

I know that for my heritage, there have been diasporic Todds in Scotland, England, and Ireland for hundreds of years and people argue over whether Todd (Todd, Todde) is a Scottish or English name. But the origins of the name are found in Berwickshire where they were a sept of the Gordons, before spreading across the isles. So I sport the Gordon tartan. Eventually, I might trace my ancestry all the way, but there are these wonderful ink smudges and the lack of universal registries that seem to make that goal a lofty one.

[Cawdorian]

Don't forget, the in-laws were part of the family (Clan).

If you really want to find your correct clan or sept it is necessary to trace the family bloodlines back to Scotland and determine the area where they actually lived. That should give you a clue about the correct clan affiliation.

If you can't do that, you may just have to take a guess at it.

[SteveB]

The possibilities are many. But the only real answer is in the genealogical research. A very time consuming and as addictive as kilt wearing hobby. An example is my spouse who is a MacLucas. Allegedly MacLucas can be either MacDougall or Lamont. Tracing my spouses family across the pond to Ulster, and tenants of the Earl of Donegal. Auld lease agreements, flax tax lists, Griffith's valuation lists, and tithing tax lists, with an occasional baptism thrown in has brought the family over from the Cowal peninsular of Scotland. The townlands are all at one time or another under the control of Clan Lamont. (Prior to the Campbell's massacre of the Lamonts.) To further certify the lineage, I traced the descent of the MacLucas families in the MacDougall territory. They eventually left the Macdougalls and moved into the land of the Campbells, took allegiance with the Campbell chief and assisted in the doings against the MacLucas families under the Clan Lamont.

This equates roughly with some of the families that were involved in the War Between the States here in the U.S. where one brother wore blue and another wore gray.

CajunScot is our resident Historian on Scotland. I have had the pleasure of researching and publishing the genealogies of a few of the Scottish Clans.

Slainte