Quick Review
Through family tradition, historical research, and DNA comparison the families of McCuistion, McCuiston, McQuesten, McQuestion, McQueston, McQuistian, McQuistion, McQuiston, McChristian, and a few other spellings, have been connected to each other, to immigration from Northern Ireland, and to origination in Scotland, specifically on the Isle of Skye.
A Ridiculous Claim?
In my first posting I spoke of how our family can theoretically be traced back to Biblical days. To a person new to our history this may seem like a ridiculous claim. However, there are many sources for belief in this theory.
April 6th has been set aside as "National Tartan Day" in America by the U.S. Congress. It is recognized annually by the President, and by Scots from all over the world.
The following is some text taken from U.S. Senate Resolution Number 155:
"Whereas April 6 has a special signifigance to all Americans, and especially to those Americans of Scottish descent, because the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence was signed on April 6, 1320, and the American Declaration of Independence was modeled on that inspirational document;
"Whereas this resolution honors the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this nation . . .
"Whereas this resolution recognizes the monumental achievements and invaluable contribution made by Scottish Americans . . .
"Resolved, that the Senate designates April 6, of each year, as "National Tartan Day."
The most important part of this resolution may be the mention of the Declaration of Arbroath, which was a document, or letter, sent to the Pope by the noblemen of Scotland, in 1320, in support of Robert the Bruce as their true king. We descend from Robert the Bruce, too, and I will tell that tale elsewhere.
What is significant is that the Arbroath letter states clearly the belief of the Scots that they did come out of the tribes of Israel. It states:
"We know, Most Holy Father and Lord, and from the chronicles and books of the ancients gather, that among other illustrious nations, our's, to wit, the nation of the Scots, has been distinguished by many honors; which passing from greater Scythia through the Mediterranean Sea and Pillars of Hercules and sojourning in Spain among the most savage tribes through a long course of time, could nowhere be subjugated by any people however barbarous; and coming thence, one thousand two hundred years after the outgoing of the People of Israel (Exodus), they, by many victories and infinite toil, acquired for themselves the possessions in the West (Scotland and Ireland) which they now hold. In their kingdom one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, no stranger intervening, have reigned."
There are many thoughts and actual phrases of the Arbroath Declaration which were used in the Declaration of Independence of the United States, so highly thought of was this 1320 document. I will show, in future postings that the dream of freedom in America is directly related to the Scottish fight for freedom, as proclaimed in the Declaration of Arbroath.
But what if the Scots were just being romantic? What other proof exists?
First, it has to be said that this theory is not so bold when one considers the relatively short distance that exists between European countries. When we speak of the early Celtic race of the Scots as travelling from, say Austria to Spain, we are not talking an unusally long distance. There was no ocean to stop them and plenty of persecution to drive them west. Besides, these people had to have come from somewhere, so why not neighboring European countries?
But what of other proof?
Josephus, an historian from A.D. 70, writes in his "Antiquities of the Jews" that:
"...wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates til now (A.D. 70) and are an immense multitude..."
This author is speaking of the two missing tribes of the original twelve Isrealite tribes. These were the tribes of Dan and Benjamin, and he locates them in Asia and Europe.
In early Ireland we have a people known as Tuatha De Dannon, which is sometimes translated as "Tribe of Dan". These folks, along with other tribes, made up the original Scots settlers of the Highlands and Islands.
Denmark was originally Dan Merk - a merk being a measurement of land, thus "Dan's land". On old maps of Ireland, by the famous mapmaker, Ptolemy, we find "Dan Sower" (Dan's Resting Place) and "Dan Sobairse" (Dan's habitation). In fact, there are many places in Scandanavia, Ireland and Scotland which use some form of Dan, Don or Dun.
The Irish form of Donald is Daniel. Clan Donald could thus be translated as "Children (or Tribe) of Dan" just as is "Tuatha De Dannon". This becomes an even more tempting connection since it was, in fact, the Tuatha De Dannon who made up a good share of the blood that became Clan Donald.
But there is more!
The Hebrews are referred to, in the Bible, as the Heberites, in Numbers 25: 45, being descended from Heber, the great, great, grandson of Noah. In Spain, at the time of the Celtic presence there, we find the Iberians, and finally, the islands between Ireland and Scotland, those first settled by the ancestors of Clan Donald (and many a Scottish king), are still today called the Hebrides (pronounced Hebri-dees).
There are other ancient documents that proclaim the same source for the general population of Scotland and Ireland. Among those are Andrew Wyntown's "Chronykil of Scotland", from 1400 A.D. which was predated by at least three ancient Irish compilations - "The Chronicles of Eri", "The Annals of the Four Masters" and "The Annals of Clonmacnoise".
This theory of the origin of the Scots as being traced back to the Israelites is written about in many modern works and seems undisputable in the face of all the evidence.
There are two more common threads to be considered. One is the Irish harp, which is said to be patterned after the harp of David. This theory is supported by much tradition and by archeological evidence. Another common thread is the "Stone of Destiny", which warrants its own web page, in the near future. For now, suffice it to say that this stone is said to be the pillow of Jacob in the Bibilical story of his dream, and is said to have been brought to Ireland by Socta, daughter of the Pharoah Cingrus.
Scota's name is one source given for the word Scotland. The other, typically given, is Scotti, the Celtic word for raider or voyager. I think it is possible that the Scotti got their name from being voyagers, just like Scota, and her people, and then their Scotti name was transferred to Scotland when these Irish raiders or voyagers made their way into the Herbrides and coastal areas of Scotland. Scotti land became Scotland.
Thus we see it is possible that Scotland was named indirectly for Scota and the Hebrides were named for Heber - two names dating back to Biblical times and the general region of Israel.
Finally, on a trip to Europe, in 2003, I was surprised to find a wonderful museum in Zurich, Switzerland, whose early historical displays were dedicated almost exclusively to the Celts. In doing some follow-up research, I was to find that the Celts populated much of the Alpine region in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France. They were eventually driven out by Ceasar, who by his own count, had 1,125,000 Celts killed. His men chased them all the way to Great Britain, where Hadrian's Wall was built to keep them contained in the Scottish Highlands.
Just as many believe that Scotland and Ireland were settled by remnants of the lost tribe of Dan, some historians believe that the Scandanavian countries were populated by the lost tribe of Ben. Our Viking bloodline also has to be mentioned, as early members of our family had a substantial amount of Viking blood. The McDonalds, themselves, were approximately half Viking and Hugh's second son, from whom we most likely descend, had a purely Viking mother through the Gunn family of Caithness, Scotland. We are at least as Viking as we are Celt, in origin.
The abundance of proof that the Scottish and Irish native tribes (and even the Norwegian Vikings) owe their origins to the tribes of Israel, seems to stand the test of any skeptic . This tradition was stated in the Declaration of Arbroath, which, in turn, is honored by the United States Government.