Parish Registers - Wilkie

[SamiW]

Is anyone out there researching the Wilkie family from Old Machar/Lumphanan area?  I'm trying to locate the marriage certificate for David Wilkie b.c1810 to Ann Hay (May?), around 1830-38.  They had at least one son, David b.1838.  I would be interested in any info about the family.  If anyone could help, I would be most grateful.
Sami

[Parkhopper]

I have come across a David Wilkie bpt. 19/06/1789 in Leochel Cushnie and d. circa 1873 aged 85 in Old Machar.  Apparently he was a shoemaker and did marry an Ann Hay.  They had 10 children including a David Wilkie b. circa 1836 in Alford who married May (Mary/Majory?) Singer on 31/1/1872 in Old Machar.

Is this of any use or is it old hat now?  I am trying to trace the tartan that would be worn by the Wilkie family from Aberdeenshire/Kincardineshire if you can help?

[Forfarian]

Wilkie is not a clan name, there is no Wilkie tartan, and the name Wilkie is not particularly associated with any other clan or tartan.

The heritors, that is, the landowners in the parish of Leochel Cushnie, were Forbes and Lumsden, and there are tartans associated with both these surnames.
 
If you want to wear a tartan with some link to where your ancestors come from, have a look in http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/index.aspx and see if you like any of the Forbes or Lumsden ones. If not, just pick one you like the look of, and enjoy it. There is no tartan police and no-one is going to interrogate you about your 'right' to wear a particular tartan.

You might like to read the articles about Leochel and Cushnie in the 'Statistical Account of Scotland', online at http://edina.ac.uk/stat-acc-scot/ - use the 'Browse scanned pages' option to read them free of charge.

[Parkhopper]

Many thanks for your reply.  Greatly appreciated.

[bkw1962]

Our Wilkie name is a member of Clan MacDonald, whose tartan you can wear proudly!

[Forfarian]

Our Wilkie name is a member of Clan MacDonald, whose tartan you can wear proudly!

The Brigadoon Industry peddles an awful lot of nonsense about clans etc. 'If your name is xxx you belong to Clan yyyy' is a very common example of this sort of nonsense, and is not to be relied on.

It's a very common misconception that all Scots belong to one clan or another, but it is simply not true. The clans were originally a social phenomenon of the Gaelic-speaking Highlands. Lowlanders born and bred did not belong to clans until Sir Walter Scott's popularisation of the 'romantic Highlands', followed by Queen Victoria's balmorality, kicked off a fashion for declaring yourselves to be a clan instead of being proud of being a Lowland or Border family.

I have two different lines of Wilkies, from different parts of Scotland. The name is a double diminutive of William, and is therefore a patronymic surname. All the early references to the surname are from the Lowlands - Midlothian, Fife, Lanark and Selkirk - and none from the Highlands. It may well be the case that some Wilkies were at a later date under the protection of or owed allegiance to Clan Donald, but this does not imply that all Wilkies were. In fact my mediaeval Lowland Wilkie ancestors would probably have been horrified at the suggestion that they had anything to do with any Highland clan.

I am proud to be a Lowland Scot with no Highland or clan ancestry for at least six generations, and I am not about to claim a spurious affiliation to Clan Donald or any other.

As for tartans, as I have said, there is no tartan police, and no-one is going to check whether or not you are 'entitled' to wear a particular one. If you want to wear a tartan, just pick one you like and get on with it. Most tartan designs are relatively modern anyway, invented in the 19th and 20th centuries.

[bkw1962]

All good information. Except my ancestry does date back to Lanark...and we happen to be Clan MacDonald, based on information from relatives there.

[Forfarian]

All good information. Except my ancestry does date back to Lanark...and we happen to be Clan MacDonald, based on information from relatives there.

It would be very interesting to know if your Wilkie line can be documented back to a MacDonald marrying into it, or to Clan Donald in some other way.

Also, of course, if you can shed any light on my Lanarkshire ancestor John Wilkie. All I know about him is that he was a stonemason, married Margaret Storey in 1788, had 7 of a family, and was banned by the kirk for persistent refusal to attend the kirk services (and if that isn't counterproductive, what is?). I believe that he was also instrumental in founding a Lodge of Freemasons, but requests to the Lodge for information have gone unanswered.

[kathfa]

Hi Forfarian, i noted that you had mentioned in the below post that you ancestor namely, John Wilkie was a Stone Mason, living in Lanark in 1788.   My ancestor was James Wilkie from Lanark born 1774, also a Stone Mason, however James moved across the boarder and eventually died in Blackpool.  2 of his children were born in Glasgow, which i believe was his first wife's home and possibly his.  In addition i know that a number of trades were passed from father to sons or apprentices were secured.  A number of James children following in the same profession or similar trades.  I know its a long shot but was wondering if our Wilkies are related in anyway or maybe its just a coincidence.  Have you managed to trace this line back any further? as i just keep hitting a brick wall.