Power & Strife! The story of the Scottish Border Clans. 

I see here in the comments the unquenchable thirst of Americans of Scottish descent to cling to their Scottish roots. It's a pride that never diminishes no matter how many generations from Scotland that we are. My own family who left Scotland over a 100 years ago still gather each year in a common place in the states or Canada to celebrate our history and customs.

I grew up in Northumberland and the list of rieving families was like being back at school hearing the register being called

I learned something about some of my ancestors today. Scotts and Johnsons are in my family tree. Thank you!

Im part of the Johnstone Clan myself, definitely a boarder Clan, proud and we are still strong😊 Thankyou for sharing.

Gordon, may I say your telling of this particular tale warmed my heart. As an Armstrong myself, I knew much of the Jonny Armstrong saga etc. Nonetheless, the very clear light you shine on the Border Rievers truly captured my imagination. Thanks again for a super episode in the history of the people of that wonderful land - Scotland.

I’m an Armstrong in the US grew up in southern ny and family from north eastern pa.. always loved hearing the ballads of Johnny Armstrong and Kinmont Willie so cool to see that it wasn’t just some made up stories from my grandfather but real ballads. Thanks for the this video! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻Invictus Maneo!!!

So interesting! I love your comparison to the wild west...both producing such characters and legends, as well as very strong and determined people. Thank you for a great episode. You should teach Scottish history!!

I'm a direct descendent of Sir Edward Johnston. BTW, My name is William Johnson. He helped found the Quaker Church in New Kent Virginia in the 1600s. The first of my line born in America was a Thomas Johnston born in New Kent in 1680. Our family has a long history of Military Service and Horsemanship. Now for the funny part. I married an Armstrong and have a daughter with her. And we all ride. Our affection for horses must be genetic. Anyway, I enjoyed your video. Thanks for taking the time to make it.

Fantastic recounting of Scotish history and its close connection to the forming of America. Excellent video!

Really enjoyed your talk Gordon, I am a Laidlaw, another Border family name, My Gran was a Mac Gregor, we came out to NZ in the 50's to start a new life ,but my father made sure we understood Scottish history for which I am very grateful.

Gordon, I love learning about Scottish history from you! :-D

Thank you Gordon for this fine presentation! I’m happy I found you and now subscribed. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Gordon, I love your videos. I learn a lot from it. You asked for the word reevers how its related to german and dutch. I am german. Our word for reevers in standard german is Räuber. It is close to the english robber. But in plattdütsch, the german dialect in the north, its called Rover, which is more close to the dutch and Old English. All the best for you.

A very nice talk about the Borders. I live in the North East of England and have the pleasure of visiting Scotland quite often, passing through many of the places you have mentioned. Your words will add extra meaning.g to these visits.

Thoroughly enjoyed this! We're colorful! Thank you, Gordon.

Thank you Gordon I am so pleased I found your You Tube Scottish History!! Loved your stories and "asides" about the Border Clans. I do have some Douglass relatives here in Canada - your stories give me a real insight into some of their characteristics! They are/were very much "Wild Westerners" here in Canada! You are so easy to listen to - making History come alive along with "Outlander" books and series!! Thank You again - I will certainly recommend your series to other History buffs! (My clan is Campbell - found out not to mention it around the MacDonalds!)

Thank you Gordon for sharing a little piece of a personal side of our unique contribution to history and how we helped a young nation find it's way to make America something great .

Great content. Much appreciated.

What an intriguing world my ancestors lived in. Thank you for your dedication to bringing this rich history to us. I have learned much from watching this. John Gordon

My ancestry goes back to the Douglas clan, thank you for this show

Super episode Gordon... 12th great-grandfather - William Kerr, born Ferniehirst Castle 16 May 1562.. Thank You So Very Much...

Enjoyed!!!

Thank you so much for making this video. About 2 years ago I discovered my father's line came from the Elliott (Eliot), Scott & Douglas Reiver Clans. It took me awhile to find out about these clans & their activities but eventually I found a good book with information, along with a Facebook Group dedicated to the Border Reiver Clan Families. I was able to obtain more information and have discussions with other descendants. It was great to finally get to converse with others from the same Border Reiver families! Our Scots-Irish Reiver Clan ancestors inter-married (the Scott & Douglas Famiies to my Irish Toland/O'Toole line) in hopes of settling some long standing feud's. Eventually, several of them (my direct ancestors) all immigrated to America. I am presently doing research on these lines and where they settled and what became of them. One thing I find very ironic is that my father & his 3 older brothers were always "scrappers" as my grandmother called them. These men were small in stature but not afraid of anything or anyone! I have heard the stories of my grandfather (in defense of his sons) willing to take on men twice his size. My father was also a skilled horseman when he was younger (which is a trait I also inherited). So, guess the Apple does not fall far from the tree - I think that rebellious nature carried on thru our DNA and that 'Reiver Spirit' still lives on to this day in my father (age 83), my brother & my nephews, who are all fiercely independent! I don't often find anyone discussing the Reiver Clans (either no one knows about them or they are a 'taboo' subject so I GREATLY appreciate your discussion and insight on this topic. I had read about the 'Black Douglas' before but I think I need to research him more. Thanks for renewing my interest. One day when I was telling my aunt about our Border Reiver Family History, she said "Well it explains alot, we always knew we were a bunch of hoodlums, guess it's now in writing"!! She is a funny lady, lol

My "Scott" family are in the Appalachia region Pennsylvania and West Virginia in America. Thank you for making this. I alsobhavevIrushbfrom same region " Connelly" .

Thank you for mentioning Clan Maxwell. One-time Warders of the Western Marches.

I so enjoyed your program. I am a descendent of the Grahams of the Borders. What you said about their strength and resilience touched me deeply because I have seen it in my own family. A strong but a proud lot that I come from. Some would say contentious at times but faithful to family and kin. Thank you.

Happy to find your channel!

that you so much mr.gordon

I am from clan YOUNG. I saw in another video that they lived along the southeast border with the Kerr Clan. When I did a database search for the surname young in Scotland today, the highest population was still in the same area. Great video, thank you!

Great thank you. Very informative.

I enjoyed this very much, Thank you

Thanks again Gordon. That’s where my people came from the shire of kirkcudbrightNice to see you back.

I have enjoyed learning so much. You are the only one to mention my clan name Crozier.

Enjoying the video

Glad I found this channel. Elliott with a little Pringle mixed in here.

Thank you Gordon for your videos. It really is helping bring together things I heard from my dad growing up; one were the stories of those eternal feuds.. I'm a Bell in the U.S. grew up in Pennsylvania. Recently have become interested in my Scottish history and what a treasure trove!

Thank you Gordon for your wonderful informative video. My male ancestors married ladies from the families of Bell, Armstrong, Carruthers, and Little so I'm a bit of a Scottish / Australian heinz lol I'm going to share your video with my Canadian Scottish cousin and my Scottish cousin from Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland so they to may understand more about the border Reivers My ancestors immigrated to Australia in 1839 as free settlers to help develop the Colony, hence why I was born here in Australia. Their cousin and his family also immigrated to the USA and went on to settle in Canada. So our family lives on centuries later.

Interesting.Thank you.

As a Scotch Irish American who traces her roots to Clan Home I found this piece particularly interesting. Thank you for such a well presented historical piece.

very interesting as usual

Excellent my friend. We are still here in Appalachians . The DNA is still going strong as described.

I loved watching this video. I am an Armstrong in the USA, and descended from "Johnnie of Gilnockie" according to information we have traced back. There are Grahams, Elliots, Halls, and probably a few other border clan names in my family tree.

Loving this history!!

Awesome😮

Thanks for mentioning my family and namesake.

Don't forget Clan Carruthers. Thank you for this. Not many know about the border reivers.

Love the vid. My 4 clans are Armstrong, Campbell, Hastings and Stewart. The last 2 of royal lineage

You just popped up on my feed and glad am I.... Moved to Scotland and Glasgow from Sweden in 2001, funny thing is that one of the friends that I made has family in Sweden and another has a daughter there. Plus, one of my old friends in Sweden, is the 4th generation Scot living there, MacLean if I remember correctly.... I got Magnus Magnusson's book on Scotland as a gift and I loved it, need to read it again I think.... The book Clan Battles: Warfare in the Scottish Highlands by Chris Peers is on my shopping list and I'm always looking for more, as I never get tired of learning about Scotland and its history.... Needless to say, watched, liked and subscribed! 🍻

Great Video. Here on Tyneside all those border names you mention are extremely common. Myself I have a Scottish Gaelic surname. Both sides of my parents being of Irish and Scots origin.

Insightful, informative and honest discussion of Border Reiver history. Can you provide a link to the video you reference at 37:30? I greatly appreciate and enjoy your work. West March Border Reiver descendant: Preston Beatty

Being of Clan Bell, English cattle are very nice. Not sure which Sept I come from as we are also connected to Clan MacMillian.

Thank you, Gordon. Patrick Gordon

All of us with border surnames, who are proud Scots or proud English need to remember that our riever ancestors were not proud Scots and proud English.😊

I’m an Armstrong here in the U.S.A.

A descendant of the land clearances MacPherson/Cecil.. did not know they were a border clan . thanks for the post..🍺🇦🇺

Possibly you could have covered the parlours economic circumstances of the Scottish and English borders regions such as poor lands for farming, limited access to markets, rude winters, and so forth as reasons for the need for raiding for stock and goods to supplement low returns from local meat and domestic trades. The more hospitable and fertile lands were and are north and south of the border territories. Even today Scottish and English farmers cannot manage to install decent farm gates.

My family is 100% Appalachian and nearly 100% Scotch-Irish. Been able to trace lines to Oliver’s, Armstrong’s, and Elliot’s so far. The Border Reiver history is probably my favorite part of late-medieval/ modern British history.

Just ROAR!!!!!!! He is so gentle , this fellow!! I love his energy. But sometimes he triggers the Meeeeeeeow!

thank you. i have been trying to understand all my scottish ancestors , robert the bruce and james douglas is now understand those. still looking to how the gordons, frasers, stewarts and grant fit into the history of scotland. plus many more clans.

I'm from the Appalachian Mountains of the US. You are correct about the influence of the Scotts and Irish in the area. Names that appear in my genealogy are Johnson, Farrell, Jarrell, and Callahan.

Thank you for this video! Great job. I am a Johnston clan descendent. We definitely have a wild and a cynical side. I’d rather be left alone and despise being dictated too. However, being left to our own devices can also be dangerous. 😂

I also love these video's and I have done extensive research which is very interesting and makes me proud of my Scottish heritage. My father used to go to the town of Moffat every year until his Alzheimer's has taken over..

Being from a Border family myself, I think it should be said that the Borders never had Clans. Clans were a Gaelic Highland phenomena. The Borders had 'Families' or 'Grains' as they were also known. They existed on both sides of the border between Scotland and England. Borderers were loyal to their name. My family are Kerrs and Watson's, but we have family from both sides of the border, as do many border families. There is also no such thing as a border tartan, unless you include the black and white shepherds plaid. All other Border and Lowland tartans are inventions of the Victorians, but more specifically, the Sobieski-Stuart brothers.

My family names besides Bell are McVey, McClarigan, Hanna, and Ross. The Ulster Scots moved to Pennsylvania in great numbers because they were warlike and settled here to be Indian fighters.

Plenty of border Revier descendants all through America anymore, Coast to Coast. I myself am descended from the Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone clan, whichever one of those you care to use, as they all refer to the same clan. Your video was great, and completely accurate-thank you! One other point of mention, the Johnston clan were also regarded as some of the best horsemen in all of Scotland. When King James subdued the Johnstone, the worst of them he had executed. The next worst of them, he thought weren’t beyond hope of being rehabilitated, he sent to Ulster to learn to be peaceful farmers on the plantations; I descend from this bunch. The remainder were able to stay there on their lands. The border Reviers were ostensibly of a religion, but in actuality, weren’t really spiritual at all, but rather occupied with daily life and survival. Once King James took control of them, they were anglicized; the Presbyterian Scott’s developed farther North, and some remained Catholic. Those sent to Ulster were routed into the Church of England. I’m pretty sure the Johnston bunch in Ulster were there to tame and rehabilitate them, but I do know there were some border Revier clans that the King used to police the Ulster region…Gordon, do you have any information as to what clans did this? Once again, great video!

One point you might not fully realize is that once the Ulster Scots immigrated, mostly to the Philadelphia area, they gradually traveled down the trail known as the Warrior’s Path and split off on not one, but four trails depending on their planned destination. They settled these areas for a time, but some left often individually, becoming the long hunters of the Rockies and the vanguard of settlement of the American west. I am a McColloch, who mostly settled in the upper Ohio Valley, but one of the ancestor’s neighbors Billy Dixon’s way west is well documented in his memoirs. Billy is one of very few to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor as a civilian and is credited with what is still one of the longest sniper shots of all times with his Sharp’s rifle.

Thanks for the video Gordon.My ancestors didn’t get on well with the Maxwells.I hope they don’t hold a grudge about the little skirmish at Dryfe Sands.

I have been able to trace my husband's heritage back to Bo'Ness in the late 1700's. What you describe about fighting for family more than anything describes my father-in-law. And he was at least a third generation American. I have heard that the Thomson surname was on a Boarder Reiver curse a couple of times.

They tell me there is a large home there north of town owned still by the herons. Hope to visit one day soon.

Excellent channel, thank you. Could you please explain to me if there is a difference in Mac vs Mc spelling? Could you also explain the McGregor proscription and finally the history of the East India Company in regards to Scots? Thank you so much for such a depth of information.

Thanks for that from an Annandale.

I’m Johnstone. This is very interesting and inspiring 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Thank you for the well constructed information. I’m a Rutherford learning about my ancestry and family history. Currently reading Steel Bonnets, it’s fascinating to me how my ancestors survived such a harsh way of life for so long.

Could you please do a small film about Common Riding in the Borders . My grandmother was an Elliott , half her family emigrated to Canada , at the moment I live in Cheshire but looking at property around Duns and I’m researching all I can about the Borders as I feel a huge kinship to this area and can’t explain why …..must be in the DNA somewhere …..I also have horses and funnily enough ride with a flame haired lassie called Armstrong, another Border family . The history of Common riding and tradition is fascinating.

Rather than the wild west, what came ro mind for me in similarity was the Appalachian mountain family feuds. The most famous of these was the McCoys and the Hatfields, where it started with the disputed theft of a pig and went on for several generations with many deaths by raid and by execution.

My family and I are all from the Appalachian mountains. My great grand was an Armstrong.

I’m a Pringle, a branch of the Douglas Clan.

My family is Border Clan Home /Hume. Like to hear more what is known. We have family buried in Village if Gordon. My branch went to become known as missionaries of India around 1790

Thank you for your very clear explanation of what clan means in the Borders and how they worked. I wonder, how long does clannishness last? Would there have been a tendency for clans to stick together and support each other 2-300 years after the reiving ended? Btw., roeve is the Scandinavian verb meaning to rob.

I am so glad that I found your channel. Thank you very much for this information. I am doing research for a book that I am writing about my family. Do you know if the Dunn family were involved in the borders and if, what role have they played> Regards.

This is new information for me! Thank you. Is this data a available for purchase?

Great video. Really enjoyed it thank you. When you mention a dirk is it comparable to a highland dirk or just a similar name?

Gordon, I seem to remember reading somewhere, that when the Rutherfords lost their clan chief, they then joined in with the Hume clan. Am I mistaken?

in canada i come from clan gray two of my bestfriends are elliott and johnstone, i also know some croziers and nixon, douglas is also my middle name and has been passed down as a first or middle name for generations

Just wondering, Are the people ( Planters) that were sent to Ireland from here ( the area you are talking about) ?

Thank you Gordon, very informative and insightful. I found it funny that my dad (before he passed) used as his password Graham but backwards "Maharg" used still in honor of our border ancestors whom had been kicked out of Scotland!

Gordon, re the Armstrongs and Johnstones, they are both my direct ancestors, my ancestor Benjamin Armstrong married Mary Johnstone. I also thought that Johnnie of Gilnockie was invited to visit King James V and was met as a guest only to be betrayed and hung alongside his men. Thanks for your video.

Merry Christmas from Sweden! 🎄 Do you know something about a place called Balram?

Hi Gordon any info on clan Duncan

Gordon my name is Michael Grimes. I've been wondering if my last name may be a derivative of the name Graham. If you have time and maybe know how to find out that it is would be of great help in my search of my family history. My grandmother on my mother's side once told me her mother was Scotch -Irish. She was born in 1897 and was from Tennessee. I've been looking into this aspect of family history for the past 35 years. Thank you for your video and research. I was up one night and came across your video and really enjoyed it. Thank you for the information you shared!

Thank you from east Tennessee. I'm a Massingale. I am in the process of getting my Big Y 700 dna testing. From what we already have learned, our families were from Clan Robson. Is there more specific information on this clan. If it helps, we believe Clan Robson were allies with Clann Gunn. Thanks for the treasure of information, sir.

No mention of the Lockerbie Lick - the famous battle between the Johnstons (by the way, careful to pronounce the "t") and the Maxwells? My grandfather used to tell me the story of it far more than I asked him to. I always like to tease anyone I meet named Maxwell by saying, "I'm a Johnston, no hard feelings about Lockerbie I hope" and see how up they are on their history. Of course, most aren't.

All those names are names I grew up with here in the mid Atlantic of the US...I'm related to the Rutherfoords on my mother's side...They apparently didn't like the Kerrs back in the day.

I’m from the Scott and Kerr clans, two of the border clans. I’m very interested in his subject

I am a Maitland by marriage. Apparently all Maitlands are descended from Earl Lauder from the border town of that name . You can visit Thirlestane Castle to this day

Read The Book The Steel Bonnets. My Grandmothers maiden was Elliott but far as know, not from Scottish borders her mother's father was Joesph Deans from Westruther in Berwickshire

my great grandfathers were Douglas from Inverness and thompson. were they rivers and what's the diff with thompson and Thomson? great stories btw

Can I ask a question? Did some of the so called Scotch-Irish originate from the Highlands as well? Our McClure family line were in I think County Donegal Ireland and immigrated to the colonies as part of that wave. But I had assumed they were originally from the Highlands(Isle of Skye?). I suppose nothing is that black and white in these histories.

Never wanted to HUG someone so badly in my whole entire life

Hello Gordon, Rutherfords kin present in the comment section. Do you have any information on our clan? And can you talk about why many of the border family left for Ireland?