Clan Donnachaidh
Robertson * Reid * Duncan

 

 

dna58animTHE AIMS OF THE DNA PROJECT....

              

  

 

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 ........A GENEALOGY DATABASE.....image 1
                                            

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Click on articles below to view newest reports:

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Sadly - We are leaving Clan Donnachaidh

We are both sorry to be leaving the Clan this Spring and have made very good friends. Jim will be nearby, working in the local garage in Blair Atholl.
Ginnie is hoping to retire and see more of her family and grandson.

With our very best wishes, Ginnie and Jim.

 

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Welcome our newest staff members at Clan Donnachaidh Centre

Secretary: Carol Paterson

Shop manager: Ruaidhri Brannan (Rory)

 

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Marj Hale-Espana - 1st International Vice Chairperson

 

heartBorn in Dundee and moved to USA after the 2nd World War, following her first marriage.

A long time member of Clan Donnachaidh Society, she came back to Scotland in 1977 for the International Gathering. Shortly after that she was elected to the Council and began her work encouraging US branches and helped to form new ones, including the split of the California Branch into North and South branches. She served as secretary of the North California Branch touring, with the clan tent, to many of the Games throughout the country until her health forced her to retire.

She was instrumental in founding the Atholl Rannoch Society which enabled members of both Clan Donnachaidh and Clan Murray in the USA to make tax-deductible donations, which were dispersed internationally. She was also involved in the formation of the Dr. Dan Reid Memorial Solo Piping Competition in memory of Dan Reid, a branch member. This competition is held annually in San Francisco and the current chairman of the trustis Ozzie Reid.

 In 1991 Marj was elected Vice Chairman of the Society. During the following years she flew to Scotland for almost every Council meeting.

When the Constitution was revised in 1993 it was decided to include the position of International Vice Chairman and Marj was elected to that post.  In 2002 she retired.

 

heartShe died peacefully in her sleep on 29 May 2010.

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If you would like to make a memorial donation, her favorite charities were, Dr. Dan Reid Memorial Solo Piping Competition. Donations should be made out to, St. Andrew's Foundation DRM and mail to the address below:

Ozzie Reid, Chairman
P.O. Box 2432, Alameda, CA. 94501-9998

A California 501c3 non-profit foundation and Piping Trust.

 

 

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Christy has been named acting Overseas Vice Chairperson by Andrew Duncan, Society Chairman, with formal approval to follow at the AGM.......

The Clan Donnachaidh Society has entered a period of diminishing memberships and financial stress. It’s not the first time and probably won’t be the last. The Society was created in Perthshire in 1823 as a local organization and was active until 1842. Resurrected in 1893, it slumbered again at the onset of WWI in 1914. In 1950 it was resurrected anew as an international society with thousands of members around the world.

The Society is once again on the downward slope of a cycle, due partly to international financial stress and partly to a lack of inspired leadership. We have no control over international ebbs and flows but we can seek out those among our ranks with the energy and demonstrated ability to turn our fortunes around. Happily, we have one such person.

Christy Lange is the Secretary of the Clan Donnachaidh Florida Branch. She is the dedicated officer who manages communications within the branch, publishes four newspapers per year, and her enthusiastic spirit has become a hallmark of the Florida branch. Due to her efforts and those of the Board of Directors, the branch has received “Best Clan Tent” awards and “Honored Clan” status at recent Central Florida, Sarasota and Ocala Highland Games, and the branch has recruited 122 new participants in the Clan Donnachaidh Youth Membership program…21% of the total.

Due to her record of achievements and demonstrated dedication to Clan Donnachaidh, Christy has been named acting Overseas Vice Chairperson by Andrew Duncan, Society Chairman, with formal approval to follow at the AGM in September. Establishing contacts with our many branches is high on her list of priorities, as is soliciting new Society memberships from the 1378 (and growing) participants in the Society’s DNA, Youth Membership, and Genealogy programs. I will be available to help Christy as needed.

I ask each branch to welcome Christy and offer your full support.

Bill Robertson
Past International Vice Chairman

 

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Meet our new International Vice Chairperson

 

I am greatly honored to have been asked to take on the position of International Vice Chairperson...as we all work together to help our Clan Society grow...... read more

 

 

 

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New polycotton Robertson Hunting tartan has been chosen:

There was a significant majority in favour of the largest sett and Janet Washington will now have it made up.

               images click on buttons below to see large view of samples:

                         Image by FlamingText.com            Image by FlamingText.com           Image by FlamingText.com                              
Reduced by              Reduced by               Original size
25%                             50%                              100%   

 A professional dressmaker comments that, although a small sett looks attractive close up, from a distance it can create a very ‘busy’ effect; it tends to look more like a check and so less Scottish; and it can look more like a children’s pattern.

Commissioning of the tartan:

A professional dressmaker comments that, although a small sett looks attractive close up, from a distance it can create a very ‘busy’ effect; it tends to look more like a check and so less Scottish; and it can look more like a children’s pattern.

The sett for the new polycotton for Modern Robertson Hunting tartan has been received in three sizes, printed on card with samples of the cotton attached.

The colours in the scans provided are not a perfect match with the real colours
A scan has been made of each sample and an electronic copy has been requested from the manufacturer. Unfortunately none of these fully reflects the vivid colours of the card copy and cotton samples. It appears the manufacturer usually checks tartan colours against recommended sources.

The pdf scans are too light. The GIF images sent by the manufacturer, which are the right size when viewed at 150% in Microsoft photo manager, are also too light and do not reflect the right quality of colour when viewed on screen. A better result may be obtained by printing.

It has not been able to adjust the scan colours to match the card and cotton samples. The green is a deep emerald and has a quality not reflected in the scan on screen. The blue is a deep marine blue, and the red is scarlet. The colours are not the muted colours of the ancient Robertson Hunting tartan. They look more like colours sometimes seen in silk.

 

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New articles on Clan Donnachaidh surnames and The Robertsons of Muirton

News Flash

1. We now have 2 new articles on Clan Donnachaidh surnames and The Robertsons of Muirton. See our DNA page to find these articles.

2. This special notice to the website. This is a special deal for the 12 marker Y-DNA test that Stephanie got from FTDNA after she met with them in Scotland this summer. We have until the end of November on this special price. We will make this order at the end of the month. We already have ordered 10 kits on this offer from FTDNA. These kits are for Scotland where we are working to gain more participants.

People donate through the FTDNA general fund site for the Donnachaidh DNA Project. Below is the site address and information.

Use this link to access the FTDNA general fund site.

http://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx

Select 'D' in the left box and then 'Donnachaidh' in the right box. You can then enter the payment information. Or you can call FTDNA at 713-868-1438. You can also direct the donation as you like.

FTDNA also has their holiday sale on until Dec. 31st for the 37 and 67 marker test and mtdna test. It would be good also to note this separately. The holiday 37 marker price is $119.00 for the Donnachaidh Project.

 

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CLAN DONNACHAIDH SOCIETY GATHERING IN 2009

In recent years several events have been laid on alongside the Society’s AGM, so members have the opportunity to visit the clan centre at Bruar and see something of clan country. Donald Reid organized two excursions this year: a walk round Blair Atholl and Old Blair and a bus tour of clan country. As the photos indicate, traditional weather was to the fore, but everyone enjoyed the opportunity to visit sites of significance in clan history and to benefit from Donald’s wealth of knowledge.

      1abu    Click this icon to view more about our 2009 AGM...Please allow time
               for pictures to load..

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Undoubtedly the most important project created during the past few years is the Clan Donnachaidh DNA Surname Project. Everyone at some time or another has wondered about his or her origins, but until recently family history research relied on oral tradition and written records, both usually in short supply.  Now, however, the new and rapidly expanding science of genetic genealogy has created an explosion of Mitochondrial and Y-DNA testing.  The Clan Donnachaidh DNA project, administered by Family Tree DNA of Houston, Texas, presently numbers more than 500 participants, and many have identified other participants with whom they share a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA).  The program includes an estimate, based on test results, of how many generations ago the MRCA probably lived. For more, open the DNA section of this site.

The Donnachaidh Honorary Youth Membership program, implemented three years ago, has resulted in more than 580 enthusiastic young members to date.  Designed to educate children under the age of 21 about the role of Clan Donnachaidh in Scotland's history, the program is free.  Each new Clan Donnachaidh Honorary Youth Member receives a beautiful certificate, suitable for framing and signed by the Chief. The certificate design is actually borrowed from the original 1893 Clan Donnachaidh membership certificate.

The history of our great clan is a story worth telling and retelling, as was the custom under the old clan system. However, we live in a different, faster world today and if future generations are to hear the Donnachaidh story it will be our children and our grandchildren, the historians of tomorrow, who will tell them. We must teach those children today.

Enrolling your children is as simple as going to our "Youth Membership" page , completing the form and mailing or emailing it to us at the address shown. Cheryl and I will continue to administer the program for the time being.


   Bill Robertson
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For a 2009 Society Brochure click here   ...........coologo


Minutes of the 6th AGM of the Clan Donnachaidh Society Guarantee Company:

          PDF         goldtrim       or        word document     goldtrim

Clan Donnachaidh Society Financial Statements (Company
Limited by Guarantee)for the year ended 31 December 2008 ....    spintri


Clan Donnachaidh Charitable Trust Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 December 2008 ....      spintri


Clan Donnachaidh Society & Charitable Trusts year ended 31 December 2008, Summary of Results ...spintri

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For sheet music of Struan Robertson's Rant
and Robertson's Hornpipe click on bagpipe      

 

 

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         Upcoming Events:

 

2011 ......International Gathering of the Clans and Celts in Nova Scotia

             

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   click on image for details

 

 

 

 

More Articles:

1. 2010 Annual General     Meeting

2. Clan Name Badges

3. Culloden Stone

4. Black Watch

5. For the Ladies

 

 

 

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