Yesterday I found myself drawn to the history of Clans and their make-up. Now that I know about being part of the Grant clan and finding more info on it has spurred me on to learn more about the Bowie's who were part of the MacDonald Clan.
While I was researching the Grant clan on this website:http://www.clangrant-us.org/. I saw that Bowie's were associated with this clan. My interest was peaked!
I then looked into how Bowie's could be part of both the clans. Apparently the Bowie's had always been with the MacDonald or Donald clan until the time when the clan's leader changed religion from Protestantism to Catholism. There was a divide among the Bowie's and those who chose to remain faithful to Protestantism were accepted by the Grant Clan and they associated themselves with them.
Although William Bowie's children were all baptized into the Catholic church he himself was Protestant, therefore, I am associated with the Grant Clan on both my maternal and paternal side- talk about being inclusive.
Now if this wasn't enough, the origins of the Grant Clan came to be as explained here on Wikipedia:
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While I was researching the Grant clan on this website:http://www.clangrant-us.org/. I saw that Bowie's were associated with this clan. My interest was peaked!
I then looked into how Bowie's could be part of both the clans. Apparently the Bowie's had always been with the MacDonald or Donald clan until the time when the clan's leader changed religion from Protestantism to Catholism. There was a divide among the Bowie's and those who chose to remain faithful to Protestantism were accepted by the Grant Clan and they associated themselves with them.
Although William Bowie's children were all baptized into the Catholic church he himself was Protestant, therefore, I am associated with the Grant Clan on both my maternal and paternal side- talk about being inclusive.
Now if this wasn't enough, the origins of the Grant Clan came to be as explained here on Wikipedia:
The Grants are one of the clans of Siol Alpin, and descend from the 9th century Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots; and also of Norse origin, from settlers who are the descents of Haakon inn Riki Sigurdarsson , Jarl of Hladr, Protector of Norway ( Hakon Sigurdsson ),(c. 937 – 995), sometimes known as "the Great ", who was the defacto ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995.
The first recorded Grant was Sir Laurence le Grant who was Sherriff of Inverness in 1260. His son, John Grant was captured by the English during the Wars of Scottish Independence.[1][dead link] Members of Clan Grant have owned land in Strathspey at least since 1316, prior to that , most likely in Stratherrick, to the east of Loch Ness. In 1316, John Grant of Inverallan sold his land to John le Grant, who was father of Patrick le Grant, Lord of Stratherrick.
After our trip to Iceland this past September and learning more about the importance of the name Sigurdar, we really wanted to include that name for our baby- well knowing that the son of Sigurdar was the beginning of the Grant Clan just is the icing on the cake!!
It is amazing at what can inspire us at various times of our lives. I am grateful for the legacy that has been left for us and I try to impress these matters on my children as they grow and develop their own sense of who they are. I know that I am edified each time I learn about my each person in my ancestry.
