Lorimer, Anderson, Lennie

A search for a family tartan

Soon after I started Scottish Country Dancing in 1974, I thumbed through books of tartans (no internet in those days!), trying to locate a clan connection so I could get a tartan sash to wear. No luck, so I chose a Hunting MacRae tartan.

My father Jim Hyde and my aunt Barbara knew and kept in touch with most of their aunts, uncles and cousins; which was quite an undertaking as their mother, my grandmother Sarah Hyde (née Lorimer), was one of fourteen siblings. They were also aware their mother’s parents had emigrated from Scotland but weren’t sure where their grandparents had been born.

Dad had always loved history; he knew all the details of the intense battles fought in Scotland including the Battle of Culloden. He sparked my growing interest in our heritage and in the early 1970s with help from him and my aunt, I created the first steps of a family tree (done in pencil to allow for numerous rubbings out!) on their mother’s side, the Lorimer family.

Now, with so much information available on the internet, I’ve discovered Lorimer is from the Old French lor(i)mier (The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)), meaning “a maker of bits, spurs, stirrup-irons, and generally of all metal articles of horse-furniture”.

Building a family tree nowadays

The internet has opened up a whole new world for drawing up family trees. After my mother died two years ago, I inherited thousands of photos going back to the late 1890s taken by mum, my grandmother and my father. I’m slowly scanning representative images to build a family history.

I could identify many of the people in the photos but realised others might not, so I started developing a family tree online using My Heritage. The main advantage of using an online service is the site automatically constructs the family tree charts as you enter the details of your relatives. Another benefit is the site connects names in your tree with the same names in other people’s trees – enabling you to discover many more branches of relatives! This can lead you down many a rabbit hole …

Four generations ago: Lorimer and Anderson connections

On MyHeritage, I discovered my great-great-grandfather, William Lorimer, was born in 1804 in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He married Jean Anderson from Upper Boyndlie, Tyrie in Aberdeenshire in 1833 and had five children – Alexander Lovie, William (my great-grandfather), Elizabeth, Jane and Joseph.

Now knowing my great-great-grandmother Jean was an Anderson, I could choose to wear that tartan.

Three generations ago: Researching the name Delany

As a lover of history, my father was thrilled to have a photo of his grandmother Jane Lorimer. He recalled her maiden name as Delany.

Using the power of searching on MyHeritage, I found out my great-grandfather William Lorimer born in 1834 in Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, married Jane Lennie (originally from Stirling, Scotland), in Kaiapoi, Canterbury in 1863. At the age of 20 and described as a domestic servant, Jane had emigrated to New Zealand in 1862 aboard the ship Echunga travelling from London.

Delving ever deeper into the internet to find out more about the name Delany, I came upon the history of the MacMillan sept of de Lany.Leny/Lennie (a sept is a subdivision of a clan). The spelling of last names can vary in Scotland so de Lany, Leny and Lennie are three variations of the same name.

How amazing to find out I connect to Clan MacMillan through my great-grandmother Jane’s maiden name of Lennie! And I now have a choice of MacMillan tartans for my sash. I saw on the McPhees website a sash of MacMillan Hunting Ancient tartan was available. A purchase was made!

Feeling at home in Scotland

During 1979-80, I lived and worked in Pitlochry, Perthshire, Scotland for nine months. During that time, I travelled extensively throughout Scotland. Although I didn’t go to Aberdeenshire where my great-great-grandfather William and my great-grandfather William were born, I did go through Stirlingshire where my great-grandmother Jane came from and explored Stirling Castle.

How strange I passed through the area where my great-great-grandmother Jane Lennie was born without knowing that part of our family heritage.

Now I know why I’ve always loved Scotland – the music, the dancing and the landscapes – and feel at home there. I was fortunate to return to Scotland for a brief visit in 2019 with my sister Karen, who is also a Scottish country dancer. We’ll be back again one day to visit the land of our forebears.

from Loralee Hyde
15 April 2020

Macdonald, Macfarlane, McNeill and Stewart

You may have noticed that Rod and I both wear the same tartan (Macdonald Dress Modern) in our sash and kilt respectively. I have Scottish heritage through my father Ian (Mac) Macdonald, so Rod chose to adopt my tartan as he didn’t have such an immediate link.

Macdonald is a very common name, and Clan Macdonald (or Donald) is one of the largest and most ancient. Look around at any tartan night and you’re likely to see a number of dancers wearing one of the 32 variations of Macdonald tartan. (For example, Liz Hands, Catherine McCutcheon, Duncan and Mary McDonald, and more I’ve forgotten I’m sure.)

My grandfather was a carpenter who came to Australia from the US, his father was a Macdonald and his mother was a McNeill. He met and married my grandmother, the daughter of a shipwright by the name of Macfarlane from Liverpool, who absconded from his vessel when it docked in Brisbane.

My grandmother’s family ran a kiosk beside the Brisbane river and the family of 13 children all helped operate a rowboat service across the river – I recall my grandmother was a woman with mighty arms! From her I have connections to the more recent Clan Macfarlane.

Until a couple of years ago, I thought my mothers’ side was all English – with names like Bird and Pask. However it turns out there was a Stewart not so far back, so there’s a Stewart connection as well.

With clan mottos Per Mare Per Terras (By Sea and by Land, Macdonald), This I’ll Defend (Macfarlane), Buaidh no Bas (Victory or Death, McNeill) and Virescit vulnere virtus (Courage grows strong at a wound, Stewart), it seems life was one long fight for my Scottish ancestors.

As a child I didn’t really think about these Scottish connections, but my father always sang the old Scottish and Irish songs when we went on long car trips, things like The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond, and McNamara’s Band. I guess my love of Scottish music came from him.

I also grew up with a love of the pipes, although I’m not sure how that came about. I lived in a small country town with (I think) only one family of pipers who had a son in my class. As it turned out my dad also loved the pipes, but I only discovered that after I’d left home and we never managed to get to a piping event together as he died a few years later.

My mother Veda Pask, encouraged me to follow dancing (my other love), starting with ballet and tap for a couple of years until the ballet teacher left town, then folk and ballroom when the opportunities came along.

Between my parents and my ancestors, I was well primed with historical, musical and dance connections to launch into living life as a Scottish Country dancer.

from Kristin Downey