Ok. Burnett Family question (the scottish clan)

Question

right so that's the surname of my family and i was recently doing some research about it and i came across that clan that orginated from somewhere between Dundee and Aberdean. I also remember my grandad telling me that we had gotten kicked out of the clan because we would not fight in the wars (between clans or against England i assume). I asked my dad to make sure i had got it right and i had. My family had lived in Dundee (i can go back to about the mid/late 1800s with the birth certicates i've got) before my Grandad moved down to South Yorkshire but i was wondering if this story had any truth in it. And i can't ask anyone who was born in Scotland because sadly thye have died. There's only me, my dad, my aunt and cousins who are left and all i really want is to find out more about my family.

Can anyone help?

thanx

Answer 1

Search on Burnett Clan and you will find info.  

I could not find any reference to the Burnetts having been kicked out of anywhere.

Maybe it was just one renegade ancestor of your grandpa.

Answer 2

The Burnetts are indeed a Clan !  Original name was de Bernard  and came to Scotland with David l and setled in Roxburgh in the Borders .The ancient seat of the Clan is Crathes Castle in Kincardineshire north of Dundee .The Burnetts were strongly opposed to the Union of Scotland and England and were in various skirmishes against them . A pretty bright Clan with a lot of smarties !  

Answer 3

Sadly you may never find out if the story is true. There are so many family stories out there that are simply passed on by word of mouth that are difficult to find substantial 'proof' for. Also oral histories can be prone to exaggeration, misunderstandings and mispronunciations! The only thing to do is keep researching your family history and the clan history as well and one day you may find that bit of information that you've been hoping for.

Interestingly, according to the official Burnett website the family is not technically a clan. Perhaps therefore the family story has been warped slightly over time and its not that you were expelled from the clan but that there was no clan? For more details check out http://www.burnett.uk.com/faq.html .

In the meantime there seems to be a great website for helping you research your Dundee ancestors called Dundee Roots (http://www.dundeeroots.com). It may help you get further back than 1800 and may even help you find other Burnett researchers who might be able to help with your specific question. It is certainly worth trying and a very good place to start. I thought their information and links pages were very good. I would certainly assume its a good place to garner local knowledge about records from!

I wish you all the very very best with your research.

Answer 4

http://www.burnett.uk.com/

That is the Burnett Clan website.  Maybe you can find some stuff on there or get in touch with someone who can answer your questions.

Good luck!