FWIW...My family and I were in Ireland and Scotland this summer. The following is the information we received from the Scots Heritage Society in Edinburgh. They told us that we were actually more often associated with the MacDuff Clan (note "associated with" not "a part of"). The Irish Heritage Center in County Wexford, IR also backed up the story that Kilgours arrived in County Ulster, Ireland from Scotland. We were also able to find the Kilgour family tartan. Jennifer Kilgore Jerome The tale of the name Kilgour begins with a family who lived in Kilgour, which is located near Falkland in the county of Fife. The surname Kilgore belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The ancient family name Kilgour is believed to be originally of the Pictish race. Legend relates this founding race as being settled in North-Eastern Scotland, coming originally from the shores of Brittany about the 5th century B.C. Migrating, they sailed northward to Ireland where the Kings of Ireland refused them permission to land and settle, but they were allowed to settle in the eastern part of Scotland on the condition that all Pictish Kings marry an Irish Princess, thus assuring the Irish of a colony which would always be a part of the Irish royal court. According the the Venerable Bede, England’s oldest historian born in 673 A.D., this Pictish settlement established a matriarchal hierarchy! which was unique in the annals of British history. One Pictish King shown in documented history was Nechtan, in about 724 A.D. There had been many who had fought valiantly at Hadrian’s Wall against the Roman invasion many centuries before. Rivals of the Picts to the west were the Dalriadans or the Highlanders of the Western Isles, who were their constant foes in the battle for supremacy for power over all Scotland, known then as Alba, or Caledonia. Nechtan was finally expelled from Pictland by Alpin, half Dalriadan, half Pict, the result of a political marriage. Alpin’s son, Kenneth MacAlpine son of Alpin, became the first recorded King of Scotland as we know it today. The Picts, compressed by the northern invasion of the Orcadian Vikings who penetrated as far south as Caithness, sometimes even to Edinburgh, were left with a territory on the eastern coast of Scotland from Inverness, south to Edinburgh. >From some of the many early records, researchers examined such records as the Inquisitio, 1120 A.D., the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, The Ragman Rolls, the Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, and various other cartularies of parishes in Scotland. From these archives they produced the early records of the name Kilgour in Fifeshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The surname Kilgour was found in many different forms. In the archives researched the earliest spelling of the name bore little resemblance to the one now used but the genealogical connections have been established by experienced historical scholars. Although your name Kilgour occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was spelt Kilgour, Kilgore, and some of these versions are still used today. These changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Preferences for spelling variations usually either came from a division of the family, or had religious reasons, or sometimes patriotic reasons. Scribes and church people frequently selected their own version of what they thought the spelling should be. The family name Kilgour emerged as that of a Scottish Clan or family in this territory. More specifically they developed from their original territories of Fifeshire where they held the territories of Kilgour near Falkland. The first on record was Sir Thomas Kilgour who was Chaplain of the Palace of Falkland. The family flourished on their estates and by the year 1600 another Sir Thomas Kilgour was Chief of the Clan. Alexander Kilgour , his successor had a son, David. John Kilgour was sacristar of the Aberdeen Cathedral. Henry Kilgour was Chief of the Clan territories in 1644. Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Kilgour of Fife. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Scotland was ravaged by religious conflict. The newly found passionate fervour of Presbyterianism and the Church of Scotland rejected all who could not pass “The Test” of taking an oath of belief in the Church. Those failing the “Test” were frequently hanged in the High Street, or, more kindly, banished to the Colonies, to Australia, the Carolinas of the Islands. Meanwhile, the Roman Church still fought to retain its status. Many Clansmen were freely “encouraged” to migrate to Ireland. From 1603 to 1790, Scottish Clans and families were recruited from the English-Scotish border and north of Edinburgh to populate northern Ireland with Protestant stock faithful to the crown. Many heads of families migrated from Scotland to Ireland during this period. They became known as the “Scotch/Irish.” The name Kilgour may well have arrived in Ireland early in the 17th century during the reign of James I of Britain, when six counties in Ulster were confiscated and settled by the Protestant Planters” or “Undertakers, as these settlers were known. The migration or banishment to the New World also continued, some went voluntarily from Ireland, but most come directly from Scotland, their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent. They sailed to the New World across the stormy Atlantic aboard the small sailing ships known as the “White Sails,” ships such as the Hector, the Rambler or the Dove. These overcrowded ships sometimes spending two months at sea, were racked with disease, frequently landing with only 60% of their original passenger lists. In North America, early immigrants bearing the Kilgour surname Kilgour, or a spelling variation of this family name included Francis Kilgore settled in Virginia in 1761; Joseph and Martha Kilgour settled with their four children in Barstable Mass, in 1822; George Kilgour arrived in San Francisco in 1850. The coat of arms found for a bearer of the Kilgour surname did not include a motto. Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Thanks. This is most interesting. "associated with" sounds like a band of bank robbers or something sneaky. Oh and the American Kilgores associated with this board have a coat of arms. If you need a copy, just email me privately and I shall send it to you. Cousin Dennie Member in good standing of the Purple Shorts & Pickle Flute Kilgore Clan [email protected] wrote: > FWIW...My family and I were in Ireland and Scotland this summer. The following is the information we received from the Scots Heritage Society in Edinburgh. They told us that we were actually more often associated with the MacDuff Clan (note "associated with" not "a part of"). The Irish Heritage Center in County Wexford, IR also backed up the story that Kilgours arrived in County Ulster, Ireland from Scotland. We were also able to find the Kilgour family tartan. > Jennifer Kilgore Jerome > > The tale of the name Kilgour begins with a family who lived in Kilgour, which is located near Falkland in the county of Fife. The surname Kilgore belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The ancient family name Kilgour is believed to be originally of the Pictish race. Legend relates this founding race as being settled in North-Eastern Scotland, coming originally from the shores of Brittany about the 5th century B.C. Migrating, they sailed northward to Ireland where the Kings of Ireland refused them permission to land and settle, but they were allowed to settle in the eastern part of Scotland on the condition that all Pictish Kings marry an Irish Princess, thus assuring the Irish of a colony which would always be a part of the Irish royal court. According the the Venerable Bede, England's oldest historian born in 673 A.D., this Pictish settlement established a matriarchal hierarchy! > which > was unique in the annals of British history. > One Pictish King shown in documented history was Nechtan, in about 724 A.D. There had been many who had fought valiantly at Hadrian's Wall against the Roman invasion many centuries before. Rivals of the Picts to the west were the Dalriadans or the Highlanders of the Western Isles, who were their constant foes in the battle for supremacy for power over all Scotland, known then as Alba, or Caledonia. > Nechtan was finally expelled from Pictland by Alpin, half Dalriadan, half Pict, the result of a political marriage. Alpin's son, Kenneth MacAlpine son of Alpin, became the first recorded King of Scotland as we know it today. The Picts, compressed by the northern invasion of the Orcadian Vikings who penetrated as far south as Caithness, sometimes even to Edinburgh, were left with a territory on the eastern coast of Scotland from Inverness, south to Edinburgh. > >From some of the many early records, researchers examined such records as the Inquisitio, 1120 A.D., the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, The Ragman Rolls, the Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, and various other cartularies of parishes in Scotland. From these archives they produced the early records of the name Kilgour in Fifeshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. > The surname Kilgour was found in many different forms. In the archives researched the earliest spelling of the name bore little resemblance to the one now used but the genealogical connections have been established by experienced historical scholars. Although your name Kilgour occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was spelt Kilgour, Kilgore, and some of these versions are still used today. These changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Preferences for spelling variations usually either came from a division of the family, or had religious reasons, or sometimes patriotic reasons. Scribes and church people frequently selected their own version of what they thought the spelling should be. > The family name Kilgour emerged as that of a Scottish Clan or family in this territory. More specifically they developed from their original territories of Fifeshire where they held the territories of Kilgour near Falkland. The first on record was Sir Thomas Kilgour who was Chaplain of the Palace of Falkland. The family flourished on their estates and by the year 1600 another Sir Thomas Kilgour was Chief of the Clan. Alexander Kilgour , his successor had a son, David. John Kilgour was sacristar of the Aberdeen Cathedral. Henry Kilgour was Chief of the Clan territories in 1644. Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Kilgour of Fife. > During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Scotland was ravaged by religious conflict. The newly found passionate fervour of Presbyterianism and the Church of Scotland rejected all who could not pass "The Test" of taking an oath of belief in the Church. Those failing the "Test" were frequently hanged in the High Street, or, more kindly, banished to the Colonies, to Australia, the Carolinas of the Islands. > Meanwhile, the Roman Church still fought to retain its status. Many Clansmen were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland. From 1603 to 1790, Scottish Clans and families were recruited from the English-Scotish border and north of Edinburgh to populate northern Ireland with Protestant stock faithful to the crown. Many heads of families migrated from Scotland to Ireland during this period. They became known as the "Scotch/Irish." The name Kilgour may well have arrived in Ireland early in the 17th century during the reign of James I of Britain, when six counties in Ulster were confiscated and settled by the Protestant Planters" or "Undertakers, as these settlers were known. > The migration or banishment to the New World also continued, some went voluntarily from Ireland, but most come directly from Scotland, their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent. They sailed to the New World across the stormy Atlantic aboard the small sailing ships known as the "White Sails," ships such as the Hector, the Rambler or the Dove. These overcrowded ships sometimes spending two months at sea, were racked with disease, frequently landing with only 60% of their original passenger lists. > In North America, early immigrants bearing the Kilgour surname Kilgour, or a spelling variation of this family name included Francis Kilgore settled in Virginia in 1761; Joseph and Martha Kilgour settled with their four children in Barstable Mass, in 1822; George Kilgour arrived in San Francisco in 1850. > The coat of arms found for a bearer of the Kilgour surname did not include a motto. Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and many families have chosen not to display a motto. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message