Robertson, Robinson, Robison

[TheOfficialBren]

I have a question for our clan experts.

We have traced my mother's ancestry to an unexpected direction, to the Scottish names Robertson and Robinson (or Robison, depending on the immigration documents viewed) in the early 19th century.

What can you guys tell me about these families? Where do they hail from in Scotland? Which clans are they associated with and would it be appropriate (I understand the one tartan general observance in Scotland but I am an American, mind you) for me to wear the tartan(s) associated with these lines?

Just curious. Thank you, folks.

[ThistleDown]

BREN, all three are simply based on the name ‘Robert’. Robison/Robeson/Robertson/Robinson are the written forms used by all Robert's progeny, whomever that Robert might have been; without a lot more genealogy you won’t be able to officially connect yourself with any particular clan and certainly not with a Highland one. There was a family of Robertsons at Struan in Perthshire. They are often referred to as the Clan Donnachaidh in recognition of a Duncan ancestor who was pretty important. The chief of the name now lives in the south of England. Today most folk with the name Robeson/Robison/Robertson/Robinson settle on this connection in lieu of attempting the near-impossible task of proving another. Nice tartan; wear it if you wish.

[TheOfficialBren]

Excellent. Thank you, Rex. Shaw is my father's Highland clan. That's good enough for me but I am curious about this new maternal line.

Valuable information, my friend.

[creagdhubh]

BREN, all three are simply based on the name ‘Robert’. Robison/Robeson/Robertson/Robinson are the written forms used by all Robert's progeny, whomever that Robert might have been; without a lot more genealogy you won’t be able to officially connect yourself with any particular clan and certainly not with a Highland one. There was a family of Robertsons at Struan in Perthshire. They are often referred to as the Clan Donnachaidh in recognition of a Duncan ancestor who was pretty important. The chief of the name now lives in the south of England. Today most folk with the name Robeson/Robison/Robertson/Robinson settle on this connection in lieu of attempting the near-impossible task of proving another. Nice tartan; wear it if you wish.

I agree with Rex. My wife, Stephanie is a staunch member of Clan Donnachaidh and is of Robertson of Struan descent (her maiden name is Robertson). Her family comes from beautiful Perthshire near Dunkeld and Pitlochry. The Robertson tartans (both clan and hunting variants) are very handsome indeed.

Here she is wearing a scarf of Robertson clan tartan (this version has a sett in a rather small scale - not her favourite) in the ancient colour scheme and the Robertson clan badge.


Cheers,

[gilmore]

The name can't have been misspelled by immigration officer in the mid-19th Century because there were non then, not in the US. There was no standardized spelling before the early to mid-19th Century.

Robison and Robinson are claimed as septs by both the Robertson and Gunn clans, but such claims are highly dubious, since most septs were invented by 19th century tartan merchants in order to induce a newly affluent middle class to by tartan products.

Robisons are shown to be most numerous in Galway and the borders, so thus would not have been associated with a clan, since clans are highland.

There are only 2 ways to determine which clan, if any, one's ancestors were associated with. One is through standard genealogical research, starting with one's most recent ancestors and working backward in time, carefully documenting each ancestor before moving on to his or her parents. You local library should have books on how to do this.

The other way is DNA testing that might, and only might, give you a clue, though since it is a maternal ancestor, the usual YDNA would not work. You could not use your own DNA but would have to find a male line descendant. See the FAQ at www.familytreedna.com

[TheOfficialBren]

Wow! Lots of great information shared here! Thank you, folks.

Kyle, you're right. Clan Donnachaidh has some fine tartans, indeed. My preference is for the "Hunting" sett.

Sydnie7, thank you for the heads-up.

It seems that what I believed growing up (that we had some Scottish connections) seems to be expanding to quite a few! I grew up believing that we were more English than Scottish. It seems that we are roughly equally English and Scottish.

Shaw (father's mother) and Robertson (maternal) being quite prominant names in our family tree (although neither is my surname).

Is it accurate to say that Clan Donnachaidh (Robertson) is currently without a chief? I got that impression from a documentary I watched on the clan.

I also get the impression that historically not everyone in Scotland was part of the clan system, even in the Highlands and certainly in the Lowlands this seems to be the case. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Gilmore, I agree about septs. Much of that information seems to be romanticism invented by the Victorians and the clans went along with in in many cases. Afterall, it was good for business and raised their level of prominance to a degree.

There is, as many are quite aware, a lot of mythologising and mythology surrounding the clans and Scottish history. I am under no delusions about this. I know my roots and want to learn more but being very analytical there is the need for facts rather than fiction (which can be difficult to sift out at times).


Being well aware that IN SCOTLAND things are not always done the same way that they are done IN AMERICA, perhaps I will invest in a Robertson kilt in addition to my Holyrood and (future) Shaw.

Thank you, again, folks. Much appreciated.

[Carlo]

It looks like there is a clan chief

[StevieR]

Robertson is the surname most usually associated with Clan Donnachaidh. There are a number of other septs but I wasn't aware that Robinson was one of them. In the UK at least, Robinson is accepted as being a particularly English surname and Robertson a Scots one.

Clan Donnachaidh, particularly Robertsons from the 17th century onward, have a long and colourful history and are a notable highland clan.

[TheOfficialBren]

Gotcha. Thanks, Steve. Clan Robertson does indeed have a colourful history! I just watched an episode of "Scotland's Clans" which featured Clan Robertson. Very interesting stuff. Alexander Robertson sounds like quite an interesting character.

[Chas]

It should be noted that many Scots came south to England and changed their names from (for example) MacDonald to Donaldson.