CLSNA' LamontCentral Forum

jmartin0805 · Member

Black Sept

super8mm · Senior Member

Welcome to the site. Mr Lambie or one of the other will be along shortly that is more knowledgeable on the history of the Surname of black.

Have you been to any Scottish festivals?

What part of the world are you from?

jmartin0805 · Member

Thank you Sir. We're from Mass (USA) and we went to the Scottish Fest in NH last year. We visited the Lamont tent, which was great, and got some help there but I'm curious as to what else may be out there that I haven't already seen, plus, I have a few questions I thought you guys may be able to help answer.

EoinDubh · Senior Member

There are a couple of posts in the Genealogy section that you might take a look at. Have you done tracing as to where your family emigrated from?

jmartin0805 · Member

Thanks Eoin. A great Grand Father John Black emigrated from County Tyrone, Ireland. I did see those other posts you mentioned. There was a mention of a book on the Blacks. Do you know the title of that by any chance?

LaCalif2 · Senior Member

Welcome to the forum and to Clan Lamont. There are many suggestions as to the surname Black. One is that it relates to Naill of the Black Knees. Another is that it is named for an area when Lamonts changed their name to avoid losing their heads. Tough life eh!

jmartin0805 · Member

Thank you Tom. I've been looking into it for a little while and it's the first I've heard of the Naill and "area" theories. I appreciate the possibilities. Any chance you can tell me where you found these? Or where I can find out more about them?
Thanks,
Jay

LaCalif2 · Senior Member

I read both in some of the history of the Clan. Naill was also called "of the nine sons" This is an Irish King if you didn't know around 500 AD. I will search out my sources and let you know the specifics. We also had Whites for the same reason (hiding out after being "put to the horn!")

jmartin0805 · Member

Ok great, yes, I would love to check them out when you get the chance.
Thanks Again,
Jay

Robertb99 · Member

Hello Jay!

There are a significant number of pages that mention the Black persons associated with the Clan in the Hector McKechnie book; in fact, they have a separate listing in the Index on p. 598 - unlike the Brown families. confuse One entry on p. 307 that might intrigue you is a certificate of character that was provided by the minister, Knockdow, for the "bearers hereof, Archibald Black and Mary Lamont, married persons, having lived in our Parish of Kilfinan almost from their infancy to this date (1760)" It further mentions that "this clansman, who had been born in Glendaruel, was well received in his new home, where he traded with Ireland as a merchant and shipmaster, and was one of the founders of the Gaelic chapel. ... It was in 1762 that the first contingent from the county migrated to North Carolina, and settled there in large numbers."

I don't know if that has any significance for you, but the McKechnie book is one that you should try to find available via your library, or you may be able to purchase a copy from the folks at Scotpress in Alabama who reprinted it last year, which is where I obtained my copy. Apparently it was available through Amazon, but they currently indicate they have no copies left. You can access the Scotpress web site at Scotpress.com and send Vicki a message to see if they still have any available.

Robert in Kanata

jmartin0805 · Member

Hi Robert,

Thank you for the input. I actually have the McKechnie book and have read most of it. It is a big help and a big part of the puzzle. I am grateful for it but it mostly just touches on them and their origins and doesn't really attempt to go deep into the matter. This is understandable as it obviously wasn't the purpose of his task. Never the less, it's a great resource, and confirmation, of some of the basics regarding the family. I guess I've just been pushing the envelope a little bit wondering if there may be more detailed resources out there on the family maybe even within the family itself.

Thank you,
Jay

Anniebeth · Member

My Scottish cousin and I connected over our copies of the Black's of Breich Water. It is finally freely available online. My branch ended up in Oklahoma.

super8mm · Senior Member

Anniebeth wrote:
My Scottish cousin and I connected over our copies of the Black's of Breich Water. It is finally freely available online. My branch ended up in Oklahoma.

Thats cool, have you both built Family Trees to see where they connect?

jmartin0805 · Member

Thank you Elizabeth. I will look for it and check it out.

Anniebeth · Member

Hi there,

Yes, he is well versed in the Scottish branch. He didn't know, nor did the other Scottish family historians on his side of the pond, have any idea of what happened to my branch. Fortunately, William Black was a writer of some popular fame at the time so much has been written about his life which we can extrapolate. He was the brother to my ancestor. I am at least 150% Scottish on that side of the family.

A bit rusty on the particulars - three brothers - one went to Canada, one to Australia and one to America. Cousin has connected with all branches and we are roughly all about the same age and basically the only ones interested in genealogy.

Here, they followed the mining and wound up in Henryetta, OK. Interesting to note that the Masonic tradition is very strong in the family.

Cheers

super8mm · Senior Member

Very interesting, good work

jmartin0805 · Member

Elizabeth Thank you for the reference. Although, i don't believe they are my direct Blacks, I found it very interesting and a great resource for the Black puzzle. I'm curious, since you are directly related to William, if you know anything more, or have ever heard anything about, the "Black Priest" story that he suppossedly reported led his ancestors from Lamont country?

Anniebeth · Member

No, I don't. But will check with cousin.

jmartin0805 · Member

Thank you!