PERTH COUNTY, SCOTLAND ROBERTSON FAMILY John Robertson of Blair Atholl |
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Introduction Clan Donnachaidh The Robertson surname is the primary surname of Clan Donnachaidh. In the early years there were no surnames. Typically, a person was known by his or her given name, followed by where he has from, or in some cases for a physical feature The Clan is named for Duncan the Stout, i.e. Fat Duncan. Regardless of his girth, he was a fierce warrior. He fought along with King Robert 1 of Scotland in the Battle of Bannockburn in June of 1314. He inherited title to the Barony of Atholia. He acquired land in Rannoch and Fortingale by his first marriage. He was rewarded with titles in Dull and Dunkeld in 1355. This made him a very powerful land Baron. Donnachaidh means “children of Duncan” in Gaelic. Duncan is the first Clan Chieftain. The current chieftain is number 26? The Chieftainship is passed down from father to his eldest son. If the eldest son is deceased or has no children it goes to the next eldest son, etc. The Robertson line is the longest proven line in Scotland! There are a few more generations further back, prior to the origination of Clan Donnachaidh. Now it is time to dust off your high school English books. (You kept those didn’t you.) Duncan the Stout was a descendant of Duncan I, King of Scots. He was killed by MacBeth on 14 August, 1040. Yes, this is one and the same as the main character in “MacBeth” by William Shakespeare. Actually, you need not worry about your old English books. Much like books and movies today, Shakespeare’s play bears little resemblance to the true story of MacBeth. |
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Robertson DNA Project A few years ago a friend of mine directed me to Family Tree DNA. I decided to have my Y-DNA tested. The Y-DNA is what makes us men and is passed down from father to son ad infinitum. I initially had 37 markers tested. This determined that our male line is 100% European descent for millennia. The test also revealed a delightful surprise. My test results revealed that all of us from Savannah, Georgia are closely related to the Chieftain’s Line, i.e. “Robertson Royalty.” Of over 1500 Robertson men that have been tested, only about 20 are honored to be a part of the Chieftain’s Line. |
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Full Genome Corp At the urging of the head of the Clan Donnachaidh DNA Project, I had additional testing done by Full Genome Corp who tested every testable Y-DNA marker available in 2016. The results are very complex. It did give some guidance on where we fall in the Clan genealogy. There have been a two lines of royal succession descending from Duncan Robertson, 1st Drumachuine. The current Chieftain of the Clan descends from one of those lines. There are a few more lines of descent of others from Duncan Robertson, 1st Drumachuine that are known from traditional genealogy research that have been tested. Our branch splits off from the royal line just a short bit earlier, but after the Robertson surname was adopted. This connects us to the royal line of Robertsons somewhere between the 4th Chieftain Robert (Riabhach) de Atholia who died in 1459 and the 10th Chieftain Robert Robertson of Strowan who died in 1630. |
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RESEARCH SUMMARY ca 1805. John Robertson was born in Blair Atholl Parish, Perth County (Perthshire), Scotland. This is exactly where Clan Donnachaidh originated. He married Margaret Stewart on 8 Jun 1837 in Caputh Parish. She was born ca 1811. At the time he married, he was a resident of Dowally Parish. See Descendant Chart that follows for more details. Timeline
1805John Robertson born in Blair Atholl. Perthshire, Scotland. 1837John Robertson married Margaret Stewart in Caputh Parish (her Parish). He was living in nearby Dowally Parish. 1839John Robertson living in Dowally Parish. See 1851 Census. His daughter Barbara was born there. 1841Census. Monzie Parish; John Robertson, Age 35, Male Servant; Margaret, age 29. 1851Census. Killin Parish; John Robertson, Age 51, Police Constable, b. Blair Atholl; Margaret age 38, b. Blair Atholl. 1852John Robertson living in Comrie Parish. See 1861 Census. His daughter Elizabeth was born there. 1861Census. Comrie Parish; John Robertson, Age 57, Letter Carrier, b. Blair Atholl; Margaret age 47, b. Blair Atholl. 1865Marriage Record of his daughter Janet Robertson to Robert Parker, Comrie. 1871Census. Not found. 1873Marriage Record of his daughter Margaret Robertson to William Lewis, Comrie. ?Death Record. Not found. |
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JOHN ROBERTSON Possible Children Marriages |
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Child |
Married |
Date |
Parish |
Barbara Robertson |
No marriage found |
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Janet Robertson |
Robert Parker |
10 Jan, 1865 |
Comrie, Perth, Scotland |
John Robertson |
Margaret Ann McKernan |
5 Jun 1864 |
Washington, D.C., USA |
Margaret Robertson |
William Lewis |
7 Jan, 1873 |
Comrie, Perth, Scotland |
Jane |
No marriage found |
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Christian |
No marriage found |
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Elizabeth |
No marriage found |
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Christina Bell |
No marriage found |
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Compiled By: David H. Robertson, 159 Hickory St., Roswell, GA 30075 davidhr@hushmail.com |
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