Scottish Women

My Jones Y-chromosome seemed to have problems saying no to Scottish women. My Dad married a Ewen (MacEwen). Pap paw Jones, my grandfather, married a Monroe (Munro). My great grandfather, Edward Turner, married a Henderson. My great great great grandfather, Thomas Jones, married a Chisholm. (Chism) All this happened in Kentucky. What's the deal? Scottish women seemed to have their way, along the way.

I suspect that some had to do with the fact that the Welsh and Scots shared a common Celtic ancestry if you go far enough out the family tree. The "phenomes" [hormones that cause sexual attraction] must have been well tuned. The Welsh and Scots also shared a common social identity based upon the family unit. Called a Tribe in Wales, and a Clan in Scotland, this family orientation provided a common bond. The family as a culture would be readily understood and agreed upon. The Welsh and Scots also shared many of the same enemy all the way back to the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Danes, Normans, and finally the English. This certainly helped shape attitudes, prejudices, and cultural biases. Finally, I think it was the frontier that brought these two cultures together. They had to learn how to trust one another since their very survival depended upon covering one another backs so they didn't loose their scalps. Scottish women, who would have guessed.

The picture to the right shows the tartan of the MacEwen Clan. The first Scottish Clan Society formed 1725. Since that time the Clans have given their heritage to a few folks on this side of the great pond. The best book I have read on the subject is titled: "Highland Clans a & Tartans" by of course a Munro, R.W. Munro, Crescent Books, NY, 1977.