Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 17 Mar 2006 at 21:06, bruce wrote: > That's the beginning of the "clear-up" ............. thanks Clayton. > > What are the origins of the McKee .................. if you have a > moment. Well, I inherited it from Dad, who got it from his father; beyond that I really don't have any way to know. My particular branch of the family is somewhat given to "improving" history in that regard, and so far none of the "old family stories" have ever actually held up when compared to verifiable facts in the historical record, so.... As far as I can determine, it's originally Gaelic, but the origin name, approximately rendered as "Aoidh," would likely have been either a nickname or some sort of honorific bestowed on someone or other, probably as an apres-melee battlefield honor, and so it's likely that there was more than one such individual. Currently, there's a Clan McKay, which is where most of the McKees and McGees (the two are equivalent here since the Gaelic spelling has no direct English equivalent) and McKays and whatnot fall into the chart (there are about thirty or forty surnames in the clan). There's also a McKay that's a sept of Clan Donald, with again several variant spellings. It's a smaller group but still fairly sizable, Donald being I believe the most numerous of the various distinguishable clans. I'm also told there's a group of usually McGees and some McKees who are actually of traceable lineage who are NOT McKay descendants at all, but were related to one degree or another to a certain notorious gent by name of Rob Roy MacGregor (of Liam Neeson fame) who found it somewhat advantageous to hide the relationship for various reasons relating to keeping their heads and hearths out of the hands and gaols of the Sassenach. The McKay lands are in the north, I believe, just west of the Clan Ross (and just as a historical joke my best friend here is a lineal descendant of THAT line.) And then there's the Irish group, about whom I know nothing beyond that they exist and are probably not blood kin of any significant sort to the Scots. And somewhere in all that, I'm a very very dilute descendant. I've no idea how that branch of the family tree came to the New World. Oh... and, probably of greatest significant interest on THIS list, MacKay and Whyte, one of the longest continuous production distilleries in the Highlands, produces The Dalmore Single Malt... which I recommend for various reasons. (Unfortunately some decades ago the company was sold to a larger company outside of the clan, I forget which, but it's still reasonably drinkable anyway.) -- R. Clayton McKee http://www.rcmckee.com Photojournalist rcmckee@rcmckee.com P O Box 571900 voice/fax 713/783-3502 Houston, TX 77257-1900 cell phone # on request