My family has always known that we were Scottish, each being told by their parents that it was an important part of our heritage. However, it wasn’t until my brother began researching into our past that we really learned the whole story. He began by asking some relatives and researching online to discover more about the history of our family. As a result, he found Daniel MacKay, who was born in 1754 and was part of the MacKay clan in Scotland. The MacKay clan occupied the northern highlands of Scotland and often had to battle cold and harsh weather. The clans in Scotland each have a tartan, a specific type of plaid that is attributed to each clan and can determine the clan in which someone belongs to. Each of the patterns is very different containing a multitude of colors and criss-crossed lines. We bought this tartan when we went to Scotland a few years ago to have a piece of ancestry that we could keep and always remember. In spite of Daniel MacKay’s scottish lineage, he did not always live in Scotland. Arriving in Philadelphia in 1774 he came on the brink of revolution, because of this he became a drummer boy and later on a soldier in the war, suffering the winter at valley forge. After the war was won, he was given land in South Carolina as a reward for the service he provided during the war. He remained there for the rest of his life having twelve children. Consequently, many of his descendants still remain in that region including my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and even some of my cousins.

– Lucas Tack

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more