ST - fw: Scots Ancestry

[Elspeth de Forbeys]

I thought some might find this tidbit interesting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The experience reported by Glenn Gibb (or Glendinning)
[ML 5:34] is less unusual than he might have thought.
The idea that non- armigerous people in Scotland
inherit their surnames is a 20th- century innovation.
In Scots law a surname is a description or 
identification, not an admission of paternity. Of
course, it is usually the task of the father of a
child (as its legal guardian, not directly as its
parent) to "take unto it" a surname with which to
start life, and this is today usually the
father's surname, but there is nothing in Scots law to
insist that, for the non-armigerous, it must be the
father's surname. Accordingly, it is possible in
ancestral searches to be misled by finding siblings
with different surnames, and the farther back in
history ancestor hunters venture, the greater the
possibility of experiencing this.

However, surnames recorded in the Registers of the
Lord Lyon descend with the arms, just as do peerage
titles. The name in which arms are granted or
matriculated or confirmed is a "name of dignity," and
to change it requires from the Lord Lyon a 
"Certificate regarding Change of Name." Such changes
are usually a result of a "name and arms" clause in a
will that requires a legatee to change name and arms
with the approval of the Lord Lyon in order to benefit
from an inheritance. Such changes have not been
uncommon in Scotland's history, and even today one can
immediately call to mind full brothers with different
surnames.

I hope this will act as a useful caveat for those
researching Scots ancestry.
                          Frederick Hogarth, The
Baronage Press
                          http://www.baronage.co.uk


=====
yours in service,
Lady Elspeth de Forbeys
motto:
Aurum peccamenes multifariam texi

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.