Clan Dewar is a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...

). Published in 1994. Pages 118 - 119.

History

Origins of the clan

Traditional origins

As with many Scottish clans a legend exists to demonstrate physical prowess. There is a tradition that a savage

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

was terrorising the district around

Heriot Heriot, from Old English ''heregeat'' ("war-gear"), was originally a death-duty in late Anglo-Saxon England, which required that at death, a nobleman provided to his king a given set of military equipment, often including horses, swords, shields ...

and a reward was offered to the man who would despatch the beast. Dewar is said to have achieved this and received his bounty. However it is not known if the lands of Dewar are named after the surname or if the surname is taken from the lands.

Recorded origins

The earliest record of an organised family by the name of Dewar is in the

Ragman Rolls Ragman Rolls are the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favour of Balliol ...

of 1296, where Thomas and Piers de Deware appear swearing fealty to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

Lord Borthwick Lord Borthwick is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Alexander Nisbet relates that "the first of this ancient and noble family came from Hungary to Scotland, in the retinue of Queen Margaret, in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, ''anno Domini'' 105 ...

granted a charter for the lands of Dewar to William Dewar in 1474. This Dewar family were known as '' of that Ilk'' and rose to prominence, appearing in various charters in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. William Dewar sold the lands of Dewar and moved to Carrington that was nearby. From this William Dewar descend the chiefly line of Clan Dewar.

Wars of Scottish Independence

A derivation of the name in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

is ''Deoradh'' which means ''pilgrim''. The most distinguished of five Highland families by the name Dewar were the Dewar Coigerachs who were custodians of the Staff of

St Fillan Saint Fillan, Filan, Phillan, Fáelán (Old Irish) or Faolán (modern Gaeilge & Gàidhlig) is the name of an eighth century monk from Munster, who having studied at Taghmon Abbey, traveled to Scotland and settled at Strath Fillan. Name The na ...

. The staff was carried at the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

in support of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

in 1314. The priceless artefact of the early

Celtic church Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...

is now held in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

17th and 18th centuries

A branch of the Clan Dewar, the Dewars of

Cambuskenneth Cambuskenneth ( gd, Camas Choinnich ) is a village in the city of Stirling, Scotland. It has a population of 250 and is the site of the historic Cambuskenneth Abbey. It is situated by the River Forth and the only road access to the village is alo ...

were established by at least the 17th century, although Dewars are recorded in nearby

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, which was a Royal Burgh, from as early as 1483. John Dewar, son of Patrick Dewar of Cambuskenneth was fined £50 in 1710 for causing ''blood and riot''. The chiefly line of the Clan Dewar, the Dewars ''of that Ilk'', became successful merchants and in 1719 purchased the barony and estate of Vorgie near

Gorebridge Gorebridge is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. Gorebridge has an annual Gala Day which always takes place on the 3rd Saturday in June. This is much like a town fair, with rides and games. The gala day has a tradition of picking ...

. The representation of this family had passed to James Dewar who was a nephew of William Dewar ''of that Ilk''.

19th and 20th centuries

The Vogrie estates were a hive of industry, and a flourishing coal mine was sited there in the mid-19th century, as well as Scotland's first gunpowder mill. The fifth Laird of Vogrie lived in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where he was a High Court Judge. He died in 1869 and was succeeded by his brother, Alexander Dewar, sixth of Vogrie who served in the Bengal cavalry. The mansion house of Vogrie was built by Alexander, sixth Laird, although the estate has shrunk from 2,000 to around . Kenneth Dewar was an aide to

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

and commanded

HMS Royal Oak (08) HMS ''Royal Oak'' was one of five s built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1916, the ship first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Medit ...

. It is from this Kenneth Dewar that the present chiefs of Clan Dewar are descended from. The Dewar family whisky business was transformed into a major Scottish company by John Dewar who was created Baron Forteviot of Dupplin in 1917. This Dewar family's seat was at

Dupplin Castle Dupplin Castle is a country house and former castle in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated to the west of Aberdalgie and northeast of Forteviot and Dunning. It overlooks Strath Earn. The earliest known owner of the castle was Sir William Oli ...

which was built between 1828 and 1832, and is one of the grandest houses in Scotland.

Clan chief

The father of the present chief of Clan Dewar, Lt Col. Kenneth Malcolm Joseph Dewar of that Ilk & Vogrie, was recognised by the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

in 1990 thus allowing the Clan to be recognised as an official Scottish clan with chief rather than an

Armigerous clan An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...

without a chief. The present chief is Michael Kenneth O’Malley Dewar Of That Ilk And Vogrie.

As a sept of other clans

The surname Dewar is also regarded as a

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...

of the

Clan Menzies ''For Menzies as a personal name, including its pronunciation and a list of famous people of that name, see Menzies.'' Clan Menzies (IPA: /ˈmɪŋɪs/ - ); gd, Clann Mèinnear, a member is a ''Mèinnearach'' is a Highland Scottish clan. ...

Clan Buchanan Clan Buchanan ( gd, Na Cananaich ) is a Highlands Scottish Clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox."The Scottish Clans and Thei ...

Clan Arthur Clan Arthur or Clan MacArthur, (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Artair) is a highland Scottish clan that once held lands on the shores of Loch Awe opposite Inishail. The clan has been described as one of the oldest clans in Argyll. Clan Arthur and Clan Cam ...

and Clan Macnab.Dewar surname search on Scotclans.com
scotclans.com. Retrieved 12 September 2013.

References

External links

Clan Dewar at ScotClans

{{Scottish clans Dewar