How does the name 'White' become Scottish?  Good question.  Let's look at Scottish history.  Scotland (or Alba (Ah laP aa) as it is called in the native gaidhlig) is a country that is older than Christianity.  The first migrants to the British Isles were the Celts (please, pronounced with a K sound - Celt comes from the Greek Keltoi, and there is no soft c sound in the Greek language).  The Celts migrated to the British Isles in two waves, the Godelic and Brithonic.  The Godelic, or Gael, split and one small tribe followed the eastern seaboard.  They were called Picts.  The rest of the Godelic migration, the Gael, settled in what is present day Ireland (Eire).  Many centuries later, when Ireland was divided into five farthings, or kingdoms, the sons of Ul Nial crossed the Irish sea and settled on the Argyle coast of the Pictish kingdom of Alba.  They created a new kingdom known as Dal Riada.  Though they were Gael, the Roman Legions, when encountering this new enemy (the Romans were already fairing badly against the Picts) called them Scotti (barbarian ... the same as the name Keltoi) and hence our modern day term Scott.

 

In the ninth century, the king of Dal Riada was Alpin.  He was cousin to the Pictish king, and the two kingdoms were close allies against the growing threat of the Angles and the Saxons.  Alpin's son, Kenneth (or Kenneth MacAlpin as he was called) married the Pictish princess, and when the King of the Picts died, Kenneth claimed the Pictish and Dal Raidan thrones as King of Scotts.  (By this time, the apostle Andrew (brother of Simon Peter) was the patron saint of Alba, and become such of all Scotland - hence the white saltire cross on a blue background as the Scottish national flag....the symbol of Andrew.)  

Now ... depending on the legends and what can be proven - this is about the time the ancient Clan Gregor came into being.  (843 AD)  The two leading theories of our existence are:

     a) that Griogair was brother to Kenneth, and his progeny were the          MackGriogair (MacGregor).

     b) that Griogair was a descendant of Kenneth, and a son of Somerled - First   Lord of the Isles.   Either way, the Clan Gregor (the MacGregors) are            direct descendants of the first King of Scotts, and hence our motto
 'S Rioghal Mo Dhream - Royal is my Blood.

 

Now, jumping several centuries of Scottish and clan history, lets just say for now, that the Gregors led a very interesting life.  Never ones to back down or go meekly, our pride and honor tended to keep us in the forefront of the Highland rogues.  In 1603, after years of difficult sidestepping and careful maneuvering to protect his kindred and clan, Alasdair MacGregor, Chief of Clan Gregor, lost his life at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh along with 30 of his kinsmen - for merely upholding their honor (yet another story -ask me sometime, and I will give you the horrid details of this crime by the government against the Gregors). 

  At that time, Archbald Campbell, 7th Duke of Argyll, (a conniving and backstabbing villain - but for those who know Scottish history, they know the very name Campbell means liar and cheat) was able to secure passage of an Act of Fire and Sword against the MacGregors.  In those days, the King or his Privy Council could pass an act (known as an Act of Fire and Sword) that in the governments eyes, removed a name from very existence.   Under this act, the MacGregors could not hold their true surnames, could not receive the sacraments of the church (the highlands were very devoutly catholic), could not receive aid, food, water, or medical help, and merely admitting your name was a death sentence for men (lasses and bairns (women and children) were branded and sold as slaves to the colonies)  Criminals could have ANY crime pardoned if they present the local magistrate with the head of a dead MacGregor.  It was a truly ghastly and horrific ethnic cleansing, the likes of which have not been seen in centuries.  

And while most clans "put to the sword" only suffered a matter of a few years (Edinburgh, the King, and most of the Lords were Lowlanders - who considered the great clans (the Highlanders) to be no more than filthy savages.  They were terribly and mindedly wrong.), MacGregor suffered for 172 years.  In 1775 when the proscription was lifted, the clan had been mostly dispersed, and most of the MacGregors had migrated (with so many others) to the American Colonies.  This was during the time of the Highland Clearances.  And all the Highland clans were treated no better than cattle (usually worse).  And by this time, most of "The Children of the Mist" (a very old name for the MacGregors) had lost their ancestral connections and become accustomed to the new names they lived under.

 

Now .. for the White connection.   'White' is a name claimed by TWO highland clans.  The Lamont, and Clan Gregor.  Clan Gregor, though makes a very strong claim - and the family history of B F White Sr. makes a strong claim of MacGregor.  The Whites of Deeside are ancient MacGregors, MacGrigors, and Gregorsons mostly from the House of Roro, in Glen Lyon.  A branch of the Glen Lyon MacGregors, these people tended to be very fair skinned, blonde haired (a trait still valued today as pure Celt).  They usually had blue or green eyes.  When the proscription of the name came to pass, most of them took the Gaidhlig name Bain as a descriptive alias.  

in time, they migrated across Scotland from the region around Loch Lomond and Loch Earn to end up in the Cairngorm Mountains near Deeside.  As the English defeated the Jacobite forces in 1745, one of the acts of George the Hanoverian (King George I ) was to banish the native language of the highlands .. Gaidhlig.  So, our Bains had to change their name again .. to the English translation - White. (also spelled Whyte by some silly English clerks).  In time, the Whites of Deeside became involved in the tobacco trade between Glasgow and Fredericksburg, Virginia (see where this is going??)  Many of them migrated to the Virginia colony to continue their trade, and settled around the state.  Quite a few followed other Scotts, and settled in the Carolinas and the north mountains of Georgia.

 

Now, let me add another factor to this tale ...  a son , (of B F White Sr. (1800-18790 is named David Patullo White (1826-1903).  This is the key to the MacGregor connection.  Patullo is one of the common variations of the name Patillo, and is a very old surname of the Clan Gregor.  It dates back to before the 1300s.  And even in the 19th century, the stigma of having a MacGregor name amongst the Scottish immigrants (and in Scotland) was still dangerous.  So, for a person to name his son with a MacGregor name would not be done lightly .. and never by some one without the bloodlines of that ancient clan.

 

I might also add that you should consider your own personal traits and how they match the Gregors.   I for one am a very talkative person (as if you couldn't guess).  Let me tell you about some of the common traits of the Gregors - all 2000 of us.

 

The MacGregors - according to Ishbel McGregor of Alloa, Scotland (a dear friend and cousin)

1.  MacGregors will make friends with a sign post, and talk to anyone who isn't capable to get away.

2.  MacGregors will argue with that same sign post if they decide it is wrong - and will keep arguing till the sign post admits it is wrong.

3.  MacGregors are fiercely loyal to their family and friends - if you have a MacGregor as a friend, you can rest assured they will not stop fighting in your defense.

4.  MacGregors hold grudges ... always.   Cross a MacGregor, and know that you have made an enemy that will remember long after you have forgotten.

5.  A MacGregors most cherished possession is his/her) honor - and the honor of their clan.  Highland honor comes before life, and after the Lord.

6.  A MacGregor always follows the highland code, and shows proper highland hospitality.

 

(the list goes on ..but you can get the idea of this ancient and proud family of Celts.)  I would imagine that you might find some things in there that describe you or your parent(s).  It describes both my mother and father (my mother is a King - an ancient Sept of MacGregor)

 

Slainte Morh!

 

yours, aye

Brian E. MacGregor-White