QUESTION: Did 'Huguenots' settle in Scotland?

[RJ_Paton]

The Pogue line is one of my main enigmas ...... Until recently a solid Irish brick wall .

However a chink appears and it is possible that the Pogue line is possibly Dutch/Flemish in origin as is another of my Irish lines (Fluck/Fluke may have been Flook).

My interest in Pollokshaws stems from  my father who was born there - My grandfather (who carried the Pogue and Fluck Lines) stayed and worked there in the dye works. Often during my childhood I heard tales of the "queer folk o' the 'shaws" and its reference to the mills.

You also have to be careful as there have been considerable Flemish influences in Scotland since the 12th Century rather than purely Huguenot settlers.

I have only recently started to look at possible influences from Europe but for a while it is likely to remain wishful thinking.

I am also easily distracted and often end up reading piles of material simply because something has caught my eye 

[Jeanette H]

Hello Falkyrn,

Thank you for your prompt reply.
I think we all must take many little diversions in our research, for if we did not we might never come across an end result, or have the knowledge to make the decisions as to which may be our next direction within our research.

When I first posted this 'Topic' it was because I had heard about
'The Huguenots', and because we could not make any connections going back with in my research, I was trying different scenarios as to why there was no ancestry.  There could also be a real possibility of a link to
'The Covenanters', with my families in the Ayrshire/Wigtownshire areas.

At this stage I do not know where my ancestry arrived from prior to Scotland / England / Wales / Ireland, but that is further down the track.

However, it has only been within the past month or so, with the help from other people here on 'RootsChat', that my assumptions relating to my family connections have been confirmed as being correct.  I still have a long way to go, but now I have a direction to go.

The following links are where my assumptions - turned to reality and confirmation:
Topic: Re: BROWNs of OCHILTREE: Similarity of 2-Families with Possible Connections.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,165126.0.html

Topic: James and Margaret BROWN (nee CAMPBELL).
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,60007.0.html


Topic: Is This 'TURNBULL' Family On Your Family Tree?
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,68197.0.html

Topic: Thomas TURNBULL - Merchant of Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,59474.0.html

I wish you success in your travels with your research.

Jeanette H.

[Malmo]

This is very interesting. There are lots of uniquly Scottish family names with Latin origins. I know Latin was spoken in Scotland since the days of St Columbo but that doesn't explain to me why Scotland, a land steeped in it's own history and cultural identity should adopt foriegn names.
Could it be the case that such names came about much later through the introduction of people like the Huguenot's
M

[trishmac]

Hello Jeanette
Put 'Huguenots' into Wikipedia and you get an interesting history/timeline and also a list of famous people who are/were of Huguenot origin.
On the Mutch family website www.mutches.com Harry Mutch speculates whether the Mutches were Huguenots from the Low Countries, the theory being that Mutch comes from 'mutze' meaning a linen cap and our ancestors were weavers. However, having read what Falkryn says about the Flemish coming to Scotland from the 12th century onwards, perhaps not, especially since the first mention of a Mutch in written records - Marjory, a witch -  is in the 1590's, if I remember correctly.
Malmo, I have also wondered why there are so many surnames in the North-east of Scotland which end in 'o'...e.g. Dalgarno, Argo, Catto etc. Was that because they were originally spelt with an 'eau'? D'algarneaux?
Just a thought.
Trish

[Jeanette H]

Hello Trish,

Thank you for directing me to 'Wikipedia', it certainly gives a good coverage of the topic, with plenty of 'Food For Thought'.

Jeanette H.

[Malmo]

I don’t know the answer to that Trish, but there was a time when the Scots weren’t getting on too well with the English that French was taught and spoken routinely in elements of Scots society. Correct me but I think this was about and beyond the time of Mary Stewart. Isn’t it the case that she changed her name to Stuart to accommodate the French who didn’t know what to do with W’s? I just checked this out with my wife who is fluent and she can’t think of a single example apart from “le weekend”. Not exactly the definitive word on the subject particularly as she is watching television.
Anyway, I don’t mean to move away from the Huguenot’s which is interesting in itself but your comment about certain names of French origin being concentrated in the north east of Scotland is telling. My own family name which comes from French, Latin occurs more frequently in Aberdeen than elsewhere and my namesake was the burgess of that city in fifteen fifty nine. As you say, there are many other examples. I would love to know why.

[RJ_Paton]

The relationship between Scotland and France is an old one as both countries had a common foe who was bent on conquering both ..... the relationship was dubbed "The Auld Alliance".

Again courtesy of Wikipedia

The first such agreement was signed in Paris on 23 October 1295

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Alliance

[Walder]

My family name is Bearn and family 'lore' handed down through the family said that our ancestors came from the Pyrenee's area ,in particular the town of Pau which is the capitol of the Bearn region.
They all seem to settle in Brechin ,Angus and were weavers and flax dressers there.
I cannot find absolute proof of this and at our local Family history meeting last year we had a Hugeneot 'expert' giving a talk and he assured me that No hugeneots settled in Scotland .This I found hard to believe.I am glad it's not only me that believes that they settled there

[linmey]

I am only taking a guess that my family were Huguenots because I believe them to have come to Scotland sometime around 1760 from or via France. The surname was Muter and one of them founded a textile business in Stonehouse Lanarkshire. There is a possibility though that they did not originate from France but possibly the Low countries. Trish suggests earlier in this thread that the word `mutze` means a linen cap so there could be a link there with the surname Muter. Just a wild guess though.

It seems there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Huguenots did settle in Scotland.

Linda.