Another question about clans--adopted children

[Riverkilt]

I agree with the cousin being family....what came up for me surprisingly was that my "anti-kilt" boss where I worked before said his ancestry was Scottish but that his ancestor had been adopted out to a family in London and he had no clue what his clan or Scot name was. Sad.

[TheOfficialBren]

I agree with the cousin being family....what came up for me surprisingly was that my "anti-kilt" boss where I worked before said his ancestry was Scottish but that his ancestor had been adopted out to a family in London and he had no clue what his clan or Scot name was. Sad.

That is sad, Ron. Very sad, indeed. Oh well. Sometimes life is bleak.

[ThistleDown]

I agree with the cousin being family....what came up for me surprisingly was that my "anti-kilt" boss where I worked before said his ancestry was Scottish but that his ancestor had been adopted out to a family in London and he had no clue what his clan or Scot name was. Sad.

Perhaps he has no interest in the past, Ron, but not everyone in Scotland bears a "clan" name. A quick finger tour of any directory produces lots of names like Chan, Singh, Waskowiak, Shapiro, Purna, Barbosa, Jensen, Cooper, Ahmed going back many generations. Just as "Scots" as the Macdonalds, in fact. Many have made new lives for themselves in a new country and have no need to chase back after their roots. Perhaps your old employer is just like them and happy with his identity.

[Riverkilt]

Aye, may be...but he sure wasn't happy with me wearing kilts to work as part of my identity.

[ThistleDown]

Aye, may be...but he sure wasn't happy with me wearing kilts to work as part of my identity.

Now that's sad, for sure. In the Great White North I've worn a shemagh for years. Last year in the lobby of a Seattle hotel I was approached by a brown-skinned chap who pointed at it and with a snear said "The last time I saw one of those things I shot it". He then turned around and walked away, leaving me at first a little dumb-struck and then a bit sad for him.

[TheOfficialBren]

That reminds me of a story, Rex and Ron.

I was 16-years-old when 9/11 happened. There was a Sikh boy at my high school. We shall call him Singh for the purpose of anonymity. He was devoted to his heritage and an upright and admirable boy. He wore his turban proudly and looked smashing doing so. One could sense his pride for his cultural heritage.

On the morning of 11 September, Singh did not come to school. He was not there the following day. Singh did not come to school for a whole week.

It was terribly sad that he stayed home. I went to a school where few of the students had any experience with foreigners. My high school was in a smaller city than Los Angeles. Diversity was the exception rather than the norm.

[Mike_Oettle]

I had an adopted brother (sadly, he died some years ago). As a child he was always told that he was adopted, but that my parents loved him as if he were their own child.
Oddly, he looked a lot like my baby brother and me, and at school we would be asked: “He’s your adopted brother, right? Then how come he looks so much like you?”
When he turned 21 he was told where he came from: his natural parents were my father’s sister and her husband.
He was aware of my interest in heraldry, and wanted to have a copy carved of the family coat of arms. He consulted me about it and I told him that he had a choice between bearing arms as an Oettle or as a member of his natural father’s family. He definitely wanted to belong to my family, so I showed him how his arms could be adapted to be uniquely his.
I hope to have my family tartan woven this year, and his son (who married at the beginning of the year) will receive an item in that tartan.
Regards,
Mike

[GrainReaper]

My 19 month old son is adopted, I have been his father and my wife his mother from the day he was born, we were there for his birth, and as far as I am concerned, he is family as much as any blood relative, the question of adoption is not an issue, should he want to wear my family tartan he is welcome to, and God forbid anyone claim he is not "worthy" because he is adopted, he is my son so he is afforded every right afforded me.

Should he decide he does not want to consider himself a proud mutt of Scot, Irish, and German decent like his old man, well he can track down his own biological ancestors! Won't do him much good though, biologically he is just like me, Scot, Irish, and German...

[neloon]

"...Chan, Singh, Waskowiak, Shapiro, Purna, Barbosa, Jensen, Cooper, Ahmed ..."
And of course, at some point in Highland history, MacDonald, MacNeil, MacSween, MacLeod, Bruce, Chisholm, Grant, Fraser, Gordon, etc., etc. were all "foreign" names.
We're aa Jock Tamson's bairns!
Alan

[Riverkilt]

For Sure! My cousin did the DNA thing and it came back Scandanavian and he called confused, he thought we were Scots! Told him we were Viking raiders before we were Scots...Sons of Somerled.