First of all: Why the name “Red Book of Scotland”?

Within ancient Gaelic culture it was usual for information of a genealogical nature to be written down in a “Leabhar Dearg,” or “Red Book,” thus, in view of that tradition, the choice of name for this particular project was a simple one.

The Project’s Origins:

The Project first took root in the mid-to-late 1980s. Searching at that time for evidence-based works of genealogy it became apparent that little existed and none of that was modern. Indeed, a story which that body of work told was of how from its heights during the days of Sir William Fraser, John Maitland Thomson, Joseph Anderson and their equally as worthy contemporaries, over an ensuing period of nearly one hundred years, genealogy as a discipline worthy of having a respected place within historical research had declined to such a degree that it had become regarded by mainstream academia as far more of a "hobbyist" pursuit than a necessary part of their own curriculum.  This not only impacted on genealogy’s good standing but it also had a corresponding negative effect on the publication of works which focused on that particular study.

The skill and class of Fraser & Co., aside, during initial research it also became evident that many of the assertions made by a number of authors of the Victorian and Georgian eras in their various family histories struggled to compare with facts contained within primary source documentation, and it is unfortunate to have to conclude that much of that can be attributed to a deliberate obfuscation and skewing of fact to promote personal agendas such as competing claims to seniority. With such works forming the totality of what was then on offer to those keen to learn more about the genealogical intricacies of Scotland’s old families, it is unfortunate that those same assertions have been so widely promulgated over the years that to this day they still dominate and continue to muddy the waters, as it were. Examples of this include Ethel Maxtone-Graeme's misinformation relating to the right of succession of the Carel Naret Oliphant to the Gask estate in the mid-19th century; Amelia Murray MacGregor's attempts to prove her  family's descent from Duncan Ladosach and thereby a genealogical right to the Chiefship; Poyntz Stewart's relegation of the Drumcharry and Garth Stewarts to a junior position to his own in order to claim seniority of the Garth and Fortingal stirpes; the aberration that is the Red and White Book of Menzies, and the complete removal of details relating to the life, marriage and issue of George Essex Montifex Drummond, (died 1887), the grandson and heir of George, Earl of Perth & Melfort, who, having had the audacity to have developed what were then referred to as dangerous "democratic tendencies," turned his back on his family and fortune to live a simple life as a fisherman and ticket-man in New York with his wife and daughter. None of that is to be found within existing accounts of the family – not even within the pages of the much celebrated “Scots Peerage” - nor is there any mention of his daughter, Mary, the heiress to a substantial inheritance, or her employment as a telephone receptionist.

Such manipulation and sanitising of fact is nothing new, though, and I doubt any older manuscript genealogy was penned solely for the purposes of recording facts for the sake of preserving them for posterity. In his MSS of circa 1692, William, 1^st Viscount Strathallan, ascribed a fantastical early lineage to the Drummonds and refuted their origins from the Lords of Loch Awe, and Baird of Auchmedden, (died 1774), moved from a position of declaring in a letter to Sir Robert Douglas that he had absolutely no knowledge of his ancestry beyond Andrew Baird, 1^st of Auchmedden, to conveniently asserting in his subsequent MSS genealogy that he was the heir male of the long extinct senior branch, Baird of Posso. This is later further compounded by his grandson, Fraser of Findrack’s deliberate omission of the issue of an elder of Baird’s daughters as a means to smooth the way to his own family’s claim to be formally recognised as senior representative of Baird of Auchmedden.

That is not to say that such works are not without use to the genealogist, rather, my advice is that they must not be taken at face value and instead should form a parallel point of reference to research being undertaken within primary sources.

Also of some surprise was the discovery in older records of many families who have long since become extinct in heirs and whose genealogy has hitherto never been pieced together and recorded. Not only do they deserve a place within written history but historians would do well to note their existence and consider them within their analysis of wider social connections and involvement in events of some importance.

I appreciate that the above summary is a negative one and I make no apology. It is, at least, an honest appraisal of genealogical research as I found it back in the 1980s. The reson d’etre of the Red Book Project  has been to redress that and make available information found within primary sources.

Methodology:

Previous editions of this section included summaries of methodology, however, it is impossible to define each point without citing and discussing multiple examples and so they have been removed. A publisher recently approached me with a proposal to author a handbook on the subject and if time ever permits, I may well accept. In the meantime, should you wish to discuss in further detail, please do get in touch.

A brief word on the somewhat gnarly subject of the Origins of Families: in a majority of cases a complete lack of evidence renders it impossible to definitively state what a family’s remote ancestral and ethnics origins were. As this is generally a hotly debated subject in which “tradition” is conflicted and disputed, and now has to contend with the added introduction of modern DNA studies, I prefer to remain within what is proven by documentary evidence and will generally limit comments to an ancestor being the “first for whom there is evidence” principally because those are the plain facts, but also because I really do not want to be drawn into lengthy debates to which there can be no real conclusions. If the following examples are considered (1) Abercromby: new evidence I cite within the Abercromby of that Ilk entry proves the earliest named ancestors to have been Nigel and his son and heir to have been named Ivo. Both persons lived in the first period of the 13^th century and alluded to in that Ivo’s charter is a grandfather who first acquired those lands, but whose name is not recorded. That scant evidence offers up no evidence whatsoever either to the family's immediate ancestry or their ethnicity but, of course, the use of the forename, Ivo, is curious and a person of that name may well be considered to have migrated to Scotland, however, on the other hand, his father’s forename, Nigel, is so popular in Scotland that his choice of his son’s name may also reasonably be explained away as having been influenced from a maternal side (2) precisely the same can be said for the first identified ancestor of the Murrays, Freskin. He may well have been one of the many people of Flemish extraction to settle in Scotland in the mid-12^th century but that claim is simply based on his forename rather than particular evidence of ancestry, and it is perfectly reasonable to consider that that such a choice could as easily have been as a consequence of Flemish ancestry on his paternal side as it was on his maternal side. In view of those and may other examples, the more sensible option is that I dedicate research to establishing facts as opposed to speculating on those aspects of a family's history which are not provable.

And Finally

It is a continual source of validation to the Project’s existence when extremely kind comments filter back to me from a variety of sources. These include professional and amateur researchers alike, students, academics, authors, TV production personnel etc. I hope that you too find the Project’s work of some interest and perhaps even some use.

On a final and general note on genealogy, although no academic courses or associated qualifications were available either at the establishment of this project or for at least two decades afterwards, it is heartening that several of Scotland's universities are once again recognising the importance of genealogy and have established degree courses.

 

Gordon MacGregor

30 June 2021.