Hello again, This is actually Part II to the information prior to this on Coat of Arms, etc. Would someone be willing to write a statement and/or treatise on the surname FERGUS, and on the clan information? Controversy again! Cynthia SCOTTISH CLANS AND FAMILY NAMES THEIR ARMS, ORIGINS AND TARTANS, by RODDY MARTINE ISBN 1-85158-418-8 Fergusson The first settlement of this clan would appear to have been at Kintyre. Kilkerran, the seat of the Fergusson chiefs in Ayrshire is the modern Gaelic form of the name Campbeltown, and is named after one of the 12 apostles of Ireland who landed at Dalruadhain in the 6th Century. The Fergussons of Kilkerran descend from Fergus, son of Fergus in the time of the reign of Robert the Bruce. Fergus King of Galloway in the reign of David I married a daughter of Henry I of England. The Fergussons of Craigdarroch in Dumfrieshire have a recorded history that dates to a charter from David II in the 14th Century. Other Fergussons lived in Atholl and their chief was Fergusson of Dunfall and this Fergusson can be traced to the 15th Century. ---------- *Usually* the suffix son is added to a name and so the one with the suffixadded is the, BUT in the case of Fergus what I read was that there is NO clan Fergus but there is a clan Ferguson. ----------- The American Heritage Dictionary definition for sept is "a division of a tribe, particularly in medieval Ireland" and lists "clan" as a second definition of sept. On the other hand, the definition of clan in the same dictionary refers to "a traditional social unit of the Scottish Highlands, consisting of a number of families...." etc. What is now known as Clan Ferguson was back in very early times known as Clan Fergusa by the Irish scribes who wrote the earliest Scottish history known to exist. Is Fergus a sept or a clan? If you accept the two American Heritage defintions of sept - it is both. But, I have read a lot of Scottish history, numerous lists and sescriptions of of highland clans, and have never seen a reference to a Clan Fergus. But Clan Ferguson invariably lists the name Fergus as a part of the clan. -------- Hope wrote here can someone tell me how do I know if and > which clan my ancestors belonged to? You belong to a clan, if you have traced your ancestry along a surname line, a surname for which there IS an acknowledged Clan, and in the process you discover either- a. an ancestor of yours with that surname was formally recorded as a Clan member e.g. if that ancestor properly owned a Banner ["arms"], or b. your search for proven ancestry grinds eventually to a halt, in lands that are well documented as the "homeland" of that Clan. Note, only a minority of Scots surnames are Clan names. Most Scots surnames have no Clan connection at all. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ That said, the Clan societies today are friendly folk and if you elect to associate with a Clan, then your surname alone would probably be sufficient for you to be eligible for membership of that Society. ------------ It is within the authority of a Clan Chief to "adopt" incomers who have no biological connection to the Clan membership. It was always thus. If your surname is Murphy or Olejnik or..... and if you prove to be a worthy friend of the Clan and its Chief then you might very well be taken into the Clan. This is NOT a common practice but it can, and does, happen. ----------- FERGUS/FERGUSON The surname was recorded in Galloway where they were seated from ancient times. Some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The complete history not only includes in full colour the most ancient family name coat of arms but traces the surname origin back to the 11th or 12th century, including any nobility, titles, castles, branches in Europe, settler's around the world and many other recorded events pertaining to the family surname if available. http://www.camelotintl.com/bin/cgi/names?name=fergus&wild=y There are entries for both Fergus and Ferguson (son of Fergus) in George F Black's "Surnames of Scotland" (too long for me to type here with my limited typing skills<g>). Perhaps your local library would have a copy or could get it for you on inter-library loan. ---------