House Of Gordon, Calling all Sept's of the House

As a Gordon I thought I'd start the thread for all Gordon's and their Sept's.
I will post material about this family here.
I hope those of the Gordon family will post here also as hopefully we can all meet.
In All things Scottish,
Annabelle Gordon

My family Moore is associated with the Gordon Clan. However the spelling of our name has varied over the generations. In America our ancestral home is Elon College North Carlonia. In Ireland it is Ulster. In Scotland it is Gallway. I wear the Anderson Tartan as it is my mother's Clan because I have not be able to buy the Moore tartan.

I just started rescearching things about my family. So I just foudn out I'm part of the Gordon Clan through my grandmother, I'm just not sure what part Ireland her father was from.

The Gordon's are one of the great families of the north-east of Scotland, and their surname has many suggested meanings, although the family origionally were almost certainly of Anglo-Norman descent. There is also a tale which makes the first of the family the saviour of a socttish king, in this case from a wild boar. This explains the boars heads which appear on the Gordon arms.

The first record of the name places the family in the Borders during the reign of Malcom IV and William the Lion. Richard De Gordon appears in manuscripts and died around 1200.

Sir Adam De Gordon was one of the wardens of the marches in 1300 and in 1305 and was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate with Edward I (longshanks) seeking settlement to the competition for the crown of Scotland. He became a strong supporter of Robert the Bruce and was one of the ambassadors sent to Rome to petition the pope to remove the excommunication which had been placed on Bruce after his murder of John Comyn. For his services the king granted to Adam the lands of Strathbogie.

The Castle of Strathbogie was renamed Huntly after a portion of the Gordon lands in Berwickshire.

Sir Alexander Gordon in 1436 was created Lord Gordon and his son was raised to the title of Earl of Huntly.

The family became involved in the deadly battle for power between the king and the Douglases. Huntly for the king but when he moved his forc3s south, the Earl of Moray, and ally of the Douglases. invaded the Gordon Lands and burned Huntly castle.
The Gordons were recalled and soon defeated them. After the fall of the Douglases the power of the Gordons grew unchallenged. Their control over their lands was almost regal and the chiefs to this day fondly are referred to "as the cock of the North". A grand new Huntly castle rose from the ruins of the old one.

Gordon history channel will return later

Greetings and salutations...

I too am a Gordon, through the Todd sept. I can trace my particular branch of the Todds into Virginia, Augusta County shortly after the Revolution. From there they drop off the face of the earth. I suspect that they were granted land for army service during the war, but where they came from beyond that I've no idea. There's a few family rumors, though.

The Gordons will be at Ligonier this weekend...any others going to be there?

I'd like to attend the Ligionier Games once to see what they are like. Hopefully one year. Right now looking forward to meeting the Gordon Clan at Bethlehem!
Welcome the Todd's!!!!
Funny you mentioned the Rev War. The Gordon's that were here in America at that time contributed to America's defense in the war. They were merchants, farmers and tradesmen who wanted freedom.



but then that's another story...

Interesting. Considering the location of where they settled and the notoriety that Virginians/West Virginians still have concerning individualism and freedom, that would actually be consistent. It worked to their detriment during the Civil War, but that's a saga for another time.

I'm actually considering participating in a DNA survey to see if I can find anything out that way. I'm *seriously* up against a brick wall in several places otherwise.

i don't know much about my scottish heritage, but I am distantly part of the Gordon clan, as i was told. my friend did a monsterous amount of research and my last name (Mabry) goes back to Mowry, or Mowbry, somewhere in the Gordon Clan.

Maidean Mhath........
My clan connections are Marr, Ross, Maclennan and Grant.
The Marr's are old friends and allies of the Gordons, often mentioned as a sept, though not really given the dignity they deserve.....

If you look at old maps of Scotland you cant help but notice: Brae of Marr - the name officially recorded for the stomping grounds of the Mar's, Marr's, Erskines and Im sure their good and powerful friends the Gordons too.
(Bobbing John Erskine who was from France but married the duchess of Mar,
Mar being the premier earldom of scotland dating back to when earls were known as Mormaors). Braemar castle is similarly linked to this region.
Now although the Mar or Marr clan motto is Je Pens Plus " I think more",
the Usurper John Erskine Earl of Mar didnt didnt carry out his ancient responsibility of bonding powerful clans properly, nor finishing battles properly, being the opportunist foreigner that he likely was and hence as you know the Jacobite Rebellion failed.
Scotland in ruins, taken over by the English, mars and marrs were suddenly forgotten, and they either went to your esteemed Gordon Clan for protection or left for the colonies. Erskines have retained their Earldom of Mar, but its worth knowing that although alot of Mar/Marr land was confiscated to weaken dominance of Mars, another branch of the original Mar family actually were granted back much of their lands by Queen Victoria.

Slainte mhath,

Balachasen.

Indeed? Hm...I just got done listing all the septs of the Gordon clan and Mowry and the variants aren't listed.

I did however take the liberty of looking through the sources I have, and that surname is listed in either the Fife District or as its own clan, Mowbray.

::headscratch:: Sure they're part of clan Gordon?

In other news...

There is currently a DNA testing going on to see if several lines of the Todd clan who heretofore had no link "across the pond" are related. Including my line. One line looks promising, in which case I finally got one brick wall out of the way.

Here's hoping!

My, my Annabelle, haven't we been busy!!

My dear Annabelle,
take a look at this link (another website I found and visit, but don't tell Paul, besides, Celtic Radio is a MUCH better place to be!!)

http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/f...ies/gordons.htm

My mother has been researching our family history for years, I'll have to get some of the information she's dug up and post it.

If you don't mind, I found a couple of graphic/photos for anyone who is not familiar with the gordon crest or Huntly Castle.



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Another of Huntly Castle

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Coat of Arms

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