Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC
Chief the r. hon. The earl of Dalhousie, k.t VOL. XLVIII
NO. I
MARCH 2017
Clan Ramsay International Commissioners Appointed
February 3, 2017
Raleigh, North Carolina
“Dare to
be honest
and fear
no
labor."
…..Robert
Burns
As President of Clan Ramsay, it is my pleasure to appoint Clan Ramsay International Commissioners as follows: Laurent Jaunaux: Commissioner to France and Switzerland Andre’ Kerloc’h:
Commissioner to Luxemburg,
Belgium and Netherlands.
Laurent Jaunaux
Andre’ Kerloc’h
John E. Ramsay,
President,
Clan Ramsay International
Our Newest Commissioner
We have a new Commissioner, André Kerloc'h, who will take charge of Benelux membership
development and event planning. He will keep in touch with members living in the Netherlands,
Belgium and Luxembourg and manage the events taking place in these territories. This will initially focus on our following clansmen: André, Manual, and Frédéric B
The French branch is extended to include Switzerland. Laurent Jaunaux will continue as the
commissioner of this geographical zone and will provide advice and assistance to André.
At the level of our organization, here is what will change:
The events will be managed by the commissioners in accordance with their place of organization.
Admissions and adoptions of new members will be managed by territory.
At the international level - and this is the most important - we will remain as one and the
same family so when our Benelux branch needs a helping hand it will be able to count on us and
reciprocally. Moreover, I expect that everyone will gather together for special events during the
French-Scottish festivals in July and on the occasion of our next Burns Dinner in January.
So I invite you to join me in wishing good luck and a big welcome to our Clansman André to
the Commissioners of the Clan and in the mission entrusted to him by the clan.
Ora and Labora!
Laurent Jaunaux-Ramsay
Commissioner - France-Suisse
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 2
Clan Ramsay President’s Letter
.DEFINITION: A “Big Tent” Organization is defined as one
with a widely inclusive composition that allows people of
differing backgrounds, opinions and interests to be members.
Clan Ramsay has clearly become a “Big Tent” organization!
Just look at the names in this edition of Ramsay Report.
They include our new Commissioner for Belgium and Luxenberg, Andre Kerloc’h; our Commissioner for France and Switzerland, Laurent Jaunaux; our Clan Genealogist Nancy Miller,
our President Elect, Dick McGraw; Clan member and author
Richard Childress; our Commissioner to Colorado Wayne
Primo; our Commissioner to Oklahoma Ronda Shackelford;
former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey and our
Treasurer and Membership Chairman David Ramsey. And
don’t overlook our outstanding newsletter editor, Ramona
Ramsey.
Clan Ramsay was organized in 1978 by Dr. Carl Bailey with a
small tent at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
The first member was named John Odgers. Since then, over
950 have joined Clan Ramsay. Now, due largely to the enthusiasm and energy from each of you, our current members, we are definitely a “Big Tent” organization! We have
members from many of the United States and have expanded our “tent” internationally to France, Belgium, Luxemburg,
Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia, and Nova
Scotia! We are an international “Big Tent” organization. Our
members are diverse in geography, profession, politics and
athletic teams, yet we all share a common interest in Scottish
history and culture. We also share the common interest in
our heritage and the many opportunities to get together and
enjoy each other’s company at Highland Games, Burns Dinners and other Scottish events. Speaking of big tent events,
my future son in law David Coccarelli joined me for the 2016
North Carolina St Andrews dinner. There may be bagpipes at
the wedding.
In the United States, we are E Pluribus Unum (out of many –
one). In France, the national motto is Liberté, égalité, fraternité (liberty, equality, fraternity). I believe both statements
accurately describe Clan Ramsay and our membership.
Many have come together as one sharing a common interest
and we all embrace the principals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Our respective “tents” may be scattered – languages,
accents, traditions, and ancestors may vary by locale, - yet
our shared interests make our Clan Tent very big indeed.
Some of the scheduled upcoming games for 2017 are listed
in our Newsletter. The Scottish heritage events where Clan
Ramsay members will be represented can be found on the
back page. Please, make 2017 a year to share more stories
Clan President John Ramsay
and meet new Clan Ramsay members – and send your travels and stories back to share under our “Big Tent”.
North Carolina Commissioner Bob Ramsey has reserved a
“Big Tent” for the Rural Hill Scottish Festival & Loch Norman
Highland Games coming up on April 8th-9th. We hope to see
you there.
Ora et Labora ,
JER/John Ramsay
President Clan Ramsay International, Inc.
Stone Mountain
45th Scottish Festival
Clan Ramsay Annual Meeting
October 20, 21 & 22, 2017
Stone Mountain Park
Stone Mountain, GA
www.smhg.org
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 3
Clan Ramsay Members Named Scots of the Year
for….
“outstanding
service to the
Community
and
Scottish
Culture."
C.G. & Nancy Miller
November 2016/Williamsburg, Virginia
In late November, C.G. and Nancy Miller received a phone call from a board member of the Saint
Andrew's Society of Williamsburg, Virginia, inviting them to attend the organization's annual Christmas Luncheon. It seemed odd, since they are not members, although the Millers have participated in
many Williamsburg events over the years, including Tartan Day, the annual Kirking of the Tartan at
Historic Christ Church, and hosting the Clan Ramsay tent at the Williamsburg Scottish Festival. In addition, the couple recently presented a program to the group on the history of tartan and wearing the
kilt and arasaid.
During the phone conversation, C.G. and Nancy learned that they had been named co-recipients of
the Society's 2016 Scot of the Year award for "outstanding service to the Community and Scottish Culture." In addition, the award came with lifetime honorary membership in the organization.
C.G. and Nancy are long time members of Clan Ramsay. Nancy has served as Clan Ramsay genealogist since 1995, maintaining a database that now contains over 10,000 names.
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 4
The French Connection :
Burn’s Supper
We did it! We made a Burns Supper for Clan Ramsay in
France on Saturday, January the 28th in the year of our Lord
2017.
From the 6 points of the hexagon (nickname given to
France) and from over the borders, we came… 22 from
France, 4 from Luxemburg, most of our families were there
for this exceptional event prepared by our “tanist” (Geelic for
next in line) Philippe and Lady Magali.
That was a great moment of clan brotherhood, hugs,
greetings, congratulations, joy and happiness.
Words have always been nice, words of friendship, words
of love too… Joy to be together and to share our common
Scottish passion, our love for the Clan Ramsay who adopted
Frenchmen and women, so remembering the Auld Alliance.
Clansmen, Ladies and Lassies, pipe band, sword dancers,
whisky and haggis, all were there !
What a party ! What an ambiance ! All were proudly wearing the Ancient Blue Ramsay tartan, the clansmen wearing
kilts, the Ladies wearing sashes and ties for some others…
Unity… Everything was correctly done.
The 91st Gâtinais District Highlander Pipe Band played a
large list of Scottish songs and music, caber throwers were
happy to be with us.
The Haggis was delightful… Cooking level was at least as
high as the Ben Nevis ! It was so far the best haggis I have
ever eaten! We have to say our “chef” Philippe (that is his
real occupation) has driven the kitchen with his expert hands.
Our clansman Philippe cooked a Haggis to be domed, smooth
with a perfect whisky sauce. I have even noticed a gourmand
clansman eating a full plate of Haggis without the tatties and
neeps, his whisky glass on the side of the plate.
Our Clansman Gérald raised a very elegant toast to the
lassies… We would have believed he had done this for years!
There was a unique moment, a real feat done by Anaïs,
one of our Sword Dancers who made zero faults (the Scottish
dance teacher who attended our Burns told us she performs
at a competition level) in front of our guests. Zero faults
means victory on the battlefield…. Hey Cameron’s, hey
MacKinnon’s, be ready, Ramsay’s are coming !
And at 1 a.m., the 29th, we sang the Auld Lang Syne.
We are so thankful to Lady Magali, our Clansman Philippe
and all those who made this exceptional supper that exceeded all our expectations.
Ora et Labora
Laurent
Address to the Haggis ! Philippe and Laurent
Gérald, David and Lady Séverine, Laurent (another
one !), Lady Sandrine, Manuel and his Lady.
Photograph from : http://www.laird.org.uk/Scots/
A full table of Ramsay!
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 5
A Historical Lottery
Sub-title: Europe to Appalachia and Beyond—A Ramsey Family Through 1500 years of Social and Cultural
Change, by Richard Childress
About the author: Richard Childress is a retired military
and government executive and member of Clan Ramsey. He
began working on this book some 40 years ago. Among other
things, he was searching specifically for THE Ramsey who
came from Ireland or Scotland and continued the Ramsey line
that he and many of us are part of. Alas, the identity of that
elusive individual remains a mystery.
About the title: The author says “[The title] emerged as I
reviewed the final draft and realized each generation did not
chose their genes, their parents, their geographic location of
birth and were subject to the vagaries of political and cultural
change and disease that preceded them. Each birth was a
new beginning but the initial circumstances were a matter of
chance….The promise of America was that you could ‘write
your own script’, but the starting line was the result of the
lottery of life before you arrived.” Thus, A Historical Lottery.
It’s important to understand that statement as your
starting point for reading the book because the book weaves
and plunges its way through many of the circumstances and
events that occurred before we were born and contribute to
the reasons we are the way we are, where we are.
About the book: The book is thoroughly researched and
filled with rich personal and familial anecdotes, oral histories
and colorful characters. It leads us through a wide range of
cultural changes, history, economics and politics that occurred over a 1500-year period in northern Europe, the
British Isles and the American frontier. It loosely ties the likely impact those changes had on people, including Ramsey’s,
during that period of time. Where possible and known, Ramsey’s roles are woven into the upheavals, change, growth,
turmoil, politics, war and religion. The Ramsey name was
found as far back as the 10th century and the Ramsey Abbey
in 974 AD in Huntingdonshire, England.
While it is a large book, over 700 pages, it is still an abbreviated and enjoyable romp through centuries of Ramsey related history with heavy focus on a particular Ramsey family
in the 18th and 19th centuries in Virginia and West Virginia.
Ramsey family history is much more detailed in the sections of the book that cover the early migration to America of
Scots and Irish in the late 1600’s through the 1700’s and
1800’s. The history of the Ramsey’s in the Revolutionary and
Civil Wars is enjoyable reading. The descriptions of life and
times in Virginia/West Virginia in the 18th and 19th centuries
are particularly rich and informative. From the dust cover:
“The work contains never-before-published material on the
Civil War in Appalachia that deeply affected the Ramsey family, collateral relatives and the State of West Virginia.”
The book’s physical structure allows one to research
specific topics or periods of history. It is organized into 14
separate parts ranging from early origins, which covers the
known beginnings of the Ramsey family name, to migration
to Virginia, to Reconstruction following the Civil War, and
the integration of the Childress family into the Ramsey’s.
Each part has its own relevant and pertinent introduction,
which I found very useful.
The author says, “This work is as much a social history as
family history and combines sociological and historical
studies supplemented by oral history.”
For Ramsey’s not in the author’s direct line, he has retained Ramsey lists from Revolutionary War records, tax
lists, land records and other sources that he could not correlate to his line but will be useful to other Ramsey’s tracing their specific heritage. In addition, numerous collateral
relatives were enumerated in the text, genealogical tables
and cemetery lists.
A Historical Lottery is obviously a book of love—love of
his family, a love of history and a yearning to make a connection to the past. I found it to be a most enjoyable exploration.
The book includes 750 pages of text, photos, maps, index, and bibliography. It is available at Dorrance Publishing
Co., 585 Alpha Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 for $38.00. To
order, call 1-800-788-7654. You can reach the author at 33
Perseverance Pathway, Hendersonville, NC 28739.
Reviewed by
Dick McGraw
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 6
Connections Through Time the Guthries & the Ramsays of Angus:
Notes from John Guthrie –Attendee at Longs Peak Scot-Irish Fest 2016
We had many visitors to our Clan Ramsay AGM at the
Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Festival in Estes Park this year. While
most were of course related to a Ramsay or a Ramsey in one
way or another, there was one person who came to confer a
piece of historical information that involved his own Clan
Guthrie. This was John Guthrie who had travelled from his
hometown of Louisville, Nebraska, to attend the festival. Of
course he was visiting mostly with his Clan Guthrie folk, but he
took the time to tell us the following history that involved
both his Guthrie and our Ramsay kinsmen as well as to share
with us his family lineage that actually does include a Ramsay.
His Guthrie lineage dates back to the Reverend James
Guthrie, “The Martyr of Sterling”, who was executed in public
fashion in 1661 in Sterling on account of his anti-loyalist
writings and refusals to acknowledge the new King Charles I.
This James Guthrie had married to Jane Ramsay, daughter of
Ramsay of Sheihill Scotland, in about 1638. Their one son
William died young (1640 – 1662), a year after his father was
executed, but he had managed to marry and produce a son
himself. This was John Guthrie, the covenanter, who escaped
to Ireland about 1705 by the narrowest of margins. In Ireland,
he met and married Jane Stuart, a descendant of the Royal
House of Scotland.
The following comes from our AGM visitor, John Guthrie:
“Tarfside, Angus, is a hamlet in Glen Esk, Scotland. Tarfside
lies on the water of Tarf near its junction with the River North
Esk, 9 miles northwest of Edzell. Tarfside is the principal village in the remote Parish of Lochlee and is a very beautiful
place for walkers/hikers.
An Episcopal church was built here in 1879 by Lord Forbes
in memory of the Reverend Alexander Forbes, Bishop of
Brechin. Today, St. Drostan’s Church incorporates a retreat
center run by the Cathedral in Brechin. Tarfside has old associations with the principal landowners – the Earls of Dalhousie.
The 1st Lord Panmure built a Masonic Hall here in 1821
and later the Maule Memorial Church was built following
the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843. While
the 1st Lord Panmure was not sympathetic to the Free
Church, Fox Maule Ramsay, the 2nd Lord Panmure and 11th
Earl of Dalhousie, (1801 – 1874) gave the necessary land
to his friend and leader of the Free Church, Dr. Thomas
Guthrie (1803 – 1873). Both men are commemorated in
the fine stained glass in the Maule Memorial Church.
On the hill of Miguie to the west is a cairn known as
Rowan Tower that was erected as a Family Memorial in
1866 by Fox Maule Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie.”
The association of the Earls of Dalhousie with the
Maules of Brechin dates back to Lord George Ramsay who
married Jean Maule, daughter of the Honorable Harry
Maule of Kelly, the younger son of George Maule, 2nd Earl
of Panmure. It was George and Jean’s first son George, 8 th
Earl of Dalhousie, who sat in the House of Lords from 1774
to 1787. Their second son, the Honorable William Ramsay,
succeeded to the Maule estates in 1784 and was created
Baron Panmure in 1831. When the 10th Earl of Dalhouse,
James Andrew Broun-Ramsay died in 1860 without issue,
he was succeeded by his first cousin, Fox Maule-Ramsay,
the 11th Earl of Dalhousie and 2nd Baron of Panmure
[online sources].
Brechin Castle
Maule Memorial Church
This connection between the Guthries and the Ramsays of Angus caught my attention for personal reasons.
I’m aware that these connections continue even today as
my own sister, Susan Scott Premo (Casson), youngest
daughter of Anne Ramsey (Premo) of Durham NC married
in 1979 to William David Casson, whose mother is Christina Penman Guthrie of Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland.
Continued on Page 7
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 7
40th Annual Central Florida Games
January 14-15, 2017
The 40th Annual Central Florida Highland Games were held at
Winter Springs, Florida during the second weekend of January.
Attendees were entertained with dancing and music provided by several Scottish entertainers.
The weather was fabulous with all sunshine and no rain. The temperature was in the high 70’s to low 80’s and the beer line was so long
at four different locations that partakers had at least a 30 minute wait
to the served. I was prepared bringing my own and Mike Bryant, who
owns the Dunedin Brewery, provided me a large cup.
Ronda Ramsey and Lee Shackelford, Glen and Gus Breheen along
with Erin and Matthew Bauman and Doris Ramsey Calhoun, Clan Member since 1994 of Clan Colquhoun the honored Clan of the games,
joined me at the Clan Tent with Clan Scott adjacent to Clan Ramsay. We
had approximately about 20 people stop by the tent and signed our
Visitor Registration and took applications for membership. The attendance was larger than I had ever seen at the Central Florida Games and
maybe we should considered our annual meeting there sometime in the
future.
Submitted by: David F. Ramsey
__________________________________________________________
Continued from Page 6
Information from online sources
The lineage of our John Guthrie, visitor at the Clan
Ramsay AGM this year, extends back to Alexander of
Guthrie (1410 – 1470), I Laird of Kincaldrum, who obtained the sheriffdom of Forfar in 1457. The town of
Guthrie had been inherited from the fortunes of earlier
Guthrie kin as Squire Guthrie and Adam de Guthrie, who
with Walter de Maule, ancestor of the Lords Panmure,
had witnessed a decree by the burgesses of Dundee in
1348. These Guthries held the barony of Guthrie by
charter from King David II.
Alexander’s eldest son, Sir David Guthrie (1435 –
1500), was made Armour Bearer to King James III as early as 1457 when his father was made sheriff of Forfar. By
1461 David became Lord Treasurer of Scotland that continued until 1467 when he was appointed Comptroller of
the Exchequer. In 1469 he was made Lord Register of
Scotland. In the 1470s he was a Scottish ambassador to
England – made Lord Chief Justice in 1473. Due to his
high position, he was able to construct the tower and
castle of Guthrie, starting in 1468, and also a collegiate
church at Guthrie.
It was his son Sir Alexander Guthrie, II Laird of Guthrie, who died 9 Sept 1513 at the battle on Flodden Field
as did Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie.
Left to right: niece Denise, 26; John Guthrie, 59; nephew
Andrew 29; brother Joe 57; father Albert 91;
nephew Stuart 23; and sister-in-law Sue
Submitted by:
Wayne Ramsey Premo
Colorado Commissioner
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 8
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 9
Continued on Page 10
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Page 10
Continued from Page 9
Submitted by Ronda Ramsey Shackleford by permission from
The Quarterly Newsletter of the Clan Scott Society, Inc. Vol. 38 Number 1
100th Archbishop of Canterbury: Michael Ramsey
Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, PC (14
November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop
and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He
was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1974. He
was known as a theologian, educator, and advocate of Christian
unity.
Ramsey was born in Cambridge, England in 1904. His parents
were Arthur Stanley Ramsey (1867–1954) and Mary Agnes Ramsey
née Wilson (1875–1927); his father was a Congregationalist and
mathematician and his mother was a socialist and suffragette.
He was educated at Repton School and Magdalene College,
Cambridge, where his father was President of the college. At university he was President of the Cambridge Union Society and his
support for the Liberal Party won him praise from H. H. Asquith.
Michael Ramsey's elder brother, Frank P. Ramsey (1903–1930),
was a mathematician and philosopher (of atheist convictions) and
something of a prodigy, who when only 19 translated Wittgenstein's Tractatus into English.
During his time in Cambridge the young Michael came under the
influence of the Anglo-Catholic dean of Corpus Christi College, Edwyn Clement Hoskyns. On the advice of Eric Milner-White he
trained at Cuddesdon, where he became friends with Austin Farrer
and was introduced to Orthodox Christian ideas by Derwas Chitty.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Submitted by: MaryAlice Ramsey
The Right Reverend & Right Honourable
The Lord Ramsey of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
Michael Ramsey
Newsletter of Clan Ramsay INTERNATIONAL, INC.
2017 Games Information
51th Dunedin Highland Games
Saturday April 1st , 2017
Highlander Park
Dunedin, FL
www.dunedinhighlandgames.com
Colorado Tartan Day Festival
2017
April 8th & 9th
Boulder County Fairgrounds
Longmont, CO
www.coloradotartanday.com
24rd Rural Hill Scottish Festival
& Loch Norman Highland
Games 2017
April 8th-9th
Rural Hill Center for Scottish Heritage
Huntersville, NC
Mona Ramsey
714 North Aspen Street
Lincolnton, NC 28092
USA
Phone: 704-736-1440
E-mail:
[email protected]
or
Dick McGraw
[email protected]
www.ruralhillscottishfestivals.net
2017 Glasgow Kentucky
Highland Games
June 2nd- June 4th
Glasgow, KY
www.glasgowhighlandgames.com
32nd Annual Chicago Scots
Scottish Festival & Highland Games
June 16th & 17th, 2017
Hamilton Lakes
Itasca, IL
www.chicagoscots.org
62nd Grandfather Mountain
Highland Games 2017
July 6th-9th
MacRae Meadows
Grandfather Mountain Linville, NC
www.gmhg.org
Rencontres Franco-Ecossaises
French-Scottish Fairs
July 14th-16th, 2017
Aubigny-sur-Nère, France
www.aubigny.net/Les-Fetes-Franco-Ecossaises
Iron Thistle --Scottish Festival &
Highland Games
April 28th– April 30th, 2017
Kirkpatrick Family Farm
Yukon, OK
www.unitedscotsok.com/ironthistle
N. Central West Virginia Scottish Festival
(Games Cancelled)
We Are On the Web
www.clanramsay.org
2017 Log In
Contact:
[email protected]
2017 Smoky Mountain
Highland Games
May 20th & 21st
Maryville College Maryville TN
www.smokymountaingames.org
Gallabrae 2017
The Greenville Scottish Games
Saturday May 27th
Hope to see you at
Loch Norman!!!!
April 8th & 9th, 2017
Furman University Greenville SC
www.gallabrae.com
Bob Ramsey
North Carolina Commissioner
What’s Happening On the Clan Ramsay Website
www.clanramsay.org
is always being improved
Having trouble getting up into your family tree?
Here’s a Step-ladder!
A search feature is now available on the Clan Ramsay genealogy data
page. You can search by name, birth year, death year, place, spouse name,
father’s name, or mother’s name. Just click on the new search button on
the Clan Ramsay genealogy data page and give it a try!
Clan Contacts has been organized so that you can see where we are in
need of commissioners.
Keep checking the Upcoming Events page – events are always being
added and update. Check it often to see what events are near you where
the Clan Ramsay will be represented. Let me know if you have any events to
add.
If you have any suggestions for or problems with the web site,
please contact Webmaster, Alice Ramsay, [email protected].
Peace be with you.
The Ramsay Report
714 North Aspen St
Lincolnton, NC 28092
Newsletter of
Clan Ramsay
International, Inc.
Alice J. Ramsay/Webmaster