Clan Trotter 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 ...

of the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

.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. pp. 464–465.

History

Origins of the clan

The name Trotter is believed to be derived from the French word which means ''runner'' or ''messenger''. There is a tradition that a brother of Lord Gifford was given the name for delivering a message with great speed to

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh Ca ...

. The chiefs of the clan in the Scottish Borders were the Trotters of Prentannan in

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

. They followed the

Clan Home Clan Home (pronounced and sometimes spelt Hume) is a Scottish clan.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). ...

on many of their forays across the border. A junior branch of the clan, the Trotters of Mortonhall claim to have held their lands as far back as the reign of

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Stewa ...

15th and 16th centuries

Another junior branch of the clan were the Trotters of Catchelraw. William Trotter of Catchelraw was a knight charged with keeping the peace on the Borders under royal warrants of 1437 and 1450. A grandson of his was treasurer of the city of

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 ...

. A chief of the Clan Trotter was killed at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

in 1513.

17th century & civil war

The Trotters of Catchelraw were staunch supporters of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

and were fined for assisting

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

in 1645. A direct descendant of the Trotter killed at Flodden fought for

John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (21 July 1648 – 27 July 1689) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. He was responsible for policing southwest Scotland during and after the religious unrest and r ...

at the

Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and S ...

in 1689. His grandson was the Reverend Robert Trotter who was a distinguished academic who produced a work on the life of Christ and the Apostles. The work is still considered standard reading in many theology colleges. Dr John Trotter continued the family's Jacobite sympathies and treated wounded Scots soldiers returning from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

19th century

Robert Trotter of Bush who died in 1807 was Postmaster General for Scotland. In 1815 Thomas Trotter of Mortonhall was killed at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

serving with his squadron of Dragoons.

Clan chief

Alexander Richard Trotter of Mortonhall, and 5th of Charterhall, and

chief of the Name and Arms The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...

of Trotter, JP, DL.burkes-peerage.net
/ref>

Clan profile

*Arms: Quarterly, 1st & 4th, Argent, a fess Gules between three mullets in chief Sable and a crescent in base Azure; 2nd & 3rd, Argent, a chevron between three boars' heads couped Sable. *Crest: A knight in armour Proper, holding his courser Argent caparisoned Gules. *Motto: In promptu (In readiness). *Supporters: Dexter, a lion rampant Gules, armed and langued Azure; sinister, a horse Argent maned and hoofed Or.

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20070319212007/http://www.myclan.com/clans/Trotter_326/default.php
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter Scottish clans