Welcome To Clan Young - United States!

THE BEGINNINGS

By Edward A. Young III

Several of our newer members have asked me what in the world sparked all this interest in things Scottish, and how did Clan Young get started,

 so I will try to recollect the answer to the same questions as posed by a Texas reporter several years ago.  I feel the rapid growth of interest in things

Scottish, especially in the South stems from an inherent desire of those with Scottish blood to seek the warmth and strength of a clan, or family.

 The clan historically was the strong family tie in Scotland.  However, in the late 18th century the Scot who came to America was probably the second,

or third son of the Laird of the Estate. The eldest son inherited everything and subsequent sons were literally nothing but mere farmhands or adjuncts

to the famtly. The desire to better himself led the young Scot to America, and he arrived either on his own or under the sponsorship of an uncle or even

friend. But it was either a lone existence or something close to it.  The closeness which can be identified in the Irish, the Italian, the Polish, the other

ethnic-based districts of many of our northern cities did not exist in the South, simply because there were not as many individual Scots arriving in America

by shipload after shipload as was the case of other nationalities.  A great portion of the America-bound Scottish adventurers settled in the Eastern

Canadian provinces simply because the terrain and climate reminded them of home.  For like reasons, many chose to settle in the mountains of North

Carolina. In some cases, three or four young men from one or two families or even close Scottish townships congregated under the influence of an older

uncle or friend from the same homeplace who had found success in America. This is apparent in the population of Dunedin, Florida, where if you scratch

a native you find a Scot!  A good example of this is illustrated in Camden, South Carolina, where John and Anthony Kennedy came to seek their fortunes

in the States in 1834, mere youths, being consigned to the care and training of a near kinsman, James Kennedy Douglas.  Ten years later, a younger

brother, Robert, then twenty years of age, joined them.  Prior to that, William Douglas McDowall, formerly of County Galloway, Scotland, at the age of 

twelve in 1820, at the death of his mother, came to Camden under the care of his uncle, Mr. Douglas. A cousin, Alexander Young, came to Camden in

1806 under influence of that same Mr. Douglas. So in this manner, scots found their niche in a community, but geographical space being so abundant,

they spread out within the town and throughout the countryside and lost, to a degree, the closeness formerly enjoyed.  Their children moved to Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and elsewhere.  Today, however, we are seeing a rebirth of this need of family.  Alex Hailey's "Roots." stirred our imaginations. 

The inherent Scottish trend to be a close family is no longer dormant.  The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games aroused the Scot in us year by year,

and as we put aside our inhibitions and donned our kilts and put on our wee bonnets, we got a lot of others of like origins to Join in the movement. 

Pipe bands were formed locally. St. Andrew's Societies were initiated. Scottish-American Associations emerged In the communities throughout the

country and now we find the South to be swarming with Scots. We find each year more and more communities and societies sponsoring Highland Games.

Within the clans, we call ourselves "Cousin".

Turning now from the general Scottish-American to Clan Young in North America, we find that originally the Young involved in the Scottish-American

movement did so under the aegis of a clan, usually taken from the name of the maternal side or other relative with a "recognized" clan name. Some of the

 Youngs became members of Clan Douglas in North America because Young is accepted by that organization as a Sept, or sub-family member. Since I was the Commissioner for Young within Clan Douglas, I was concerned that we were not getting too many new members with that name. I received the blessing of Clan Douglas to seek another avenue to unite more Scots with the name of Young. Following the announcement by the Lord Lyon King of Arms

that among the list of Dormant and Vacant Clan Chief was Young of Auldbar, I proceeded to take the necessary steps through the Lord Lyon to secure

approval of a new clan to be called Clan Young in North America.  My wife and I made five trips to Scotland between 1984 and 1988, exploring family

origins. Our President, Gordon Curtis Young, personally called on the Lord Lyon to obtain approval to use the crest of Sir Peter Young of Auldbar as our clan

crest.  Vice President Russell Allan Smith also visited Scotland to obtain more information.  The efforts to create the new clan were solidified in June of 1986, and in conjunction with the Orlando Highland Games in January of 1989 we adopted a set of by-laws and formed our new clan with 19 family

memberships.  By the second annual meeting in January of 1990 we registered 65 families.  We have members in Scotland, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Clan Young does not have a "Chief", nor are we particularly seeking one.  Our activities are structured through committee and membership input.

I hope this will give you one person's ideas on the answer to your questions, and I have tried to be as objective as possible.

"CLAN YOUNG"