October 2013

In this Issue:

 Rob Roy - the Bold Outlaw  Coming Events
 Sir Thomas Lipton  October Celebrations
 Who Am I?  Society Officers
 Know the Clans  

Good Times

On September 12 at ICC it was Scottish Culinary night which replaced the shepherd's pie contest.  There were, however, many shepherd's pies to taste along with Scotch eggs and other delicious dishes.  The bar was a popular gathering spot.

Don Finch gave a slide presentation on Scottish culture of Cape Breton Island.  Local musician, Jane Hilton, played reels and jigs typical of Cape Breton.

Several new members and attendees were among the nearly 50 smiling Scots in attendance.  New member Jim Nelson won the 50/50 raffle.

Join us on October 10—outdoors in the ICC courtyard for Scots-toberfest.

Society Meetings

Regular membership meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at the Irish Cultural Center, 1106 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ. Beginning at
7 pm.   Come join us or log on to www.arizonascots.com.


Rob Roy - the Bold Outlaw

The celebrated Rob Roy (Red Rob) was born in 1660.  He seems to have acquired property on Craig Royston, an area of rock and forest which lay on the east side of Loch Lomond.  Like many other Highlanders, Rob was a cattle trader or drover. In this capacity, he is said to have borrowed several sums of money from the Duke of Montrose, but being insolvent he absconded.

He was constantly under attack from the law.  As the Duke contrived to get possession of Roby's land at Craig Royston, Rob in turn became "the bold outlaw" as represented later in song and story.  Rob resolved that the Duke's tenants should supply him with cattle, money and meal and went about systematically collecting these dues.  For many years he continued to levy blackmail from those whose cattle and estates he protected.

He is alleged to have died in 1738 in his own house at Balqhidder.  There is a story told, that, while on his deathbed, he learned that one of enemies proposed to pay him a visit.  "Raise me from my bed," said Rob, "throw my plaid around me and being me my claymore, dirk and pistols; it shall never be said that a foeman saw Rob Roy Macgregor defenceless and unarmed."  This foeman, said to be one of the Maclarens, entered and paid his respects, inquiring after the health of his formidable neighbor.  Rob Roy maintained a cold, haughty civility during the short visit and as soon as the guest had left the house, Rob said, "Now all is over; let the piper play 'Ha til mi tuidh' (we return no more)"; and it is said that he expired before the dirge was ended.

Wordsworth, who so admired peace, wrote a verse to his memory, comparing him with his southern counterpart Robin Hood…


   A famous man is Robin Hood, the English ballad-singer's joy!
   And Scotland has a thief as good, An outlaw of as daring mood:
   She has her brave Rob Roy!
   Then clear the weeds from off his grave, And let us chant a passing       stave
   In honour of that hero brave!



Sir Thomas Lipton

By the middle of the 19th century, Glasgow was expanding rapidly.  The city's population was growing fueled in part by families taking the short journey from Belfast, Ireland to escape the famine which had engulfed much of their country.  It was to this alien world of industrial Scotland that the Lipton family came sometime before the end of 1847.

Thomas Lipton was born in May 1850 in Glasgow.  His early life at school and at play among the neighborhood's squalid tenements and the smoky factories followed the pattern of the other youngsters of the area, including the inevitable brush with the law.  In later years, after his success, Lipton gave a rather "sugarcoated" version of his early family life so some of the "facts" may have to be taken with a grain of salt.

His youth coincided with the golden age of shipbuilding.  Clyde-built ships were to be found in every ocean of the world and Lipton was fascinated by ships and their voyages.  He asked any sailor he met, "Where has your ship come from?" 

Lipton's parents decided to use their precious savings to open a grocer's shop.  They had no experience running a shop, but reasoned that people had to eat to live.  Lipton left school to find work and contribute to the family finances.  In time, the opportunity to earn a living at sea presented itself.  For a young man enamored of ships, this was not a chance to be missed.  His first trip as cabin-boy did not last long, but taking the money he had earned he bought a ticket to New York.  He was only fifteen. 

Details about Lipton's four year stay in America are characteristically vague and given his penchant for "embroidery" the facts are uncertain.  He supposedly spent some time in the South, but soldiers returning from the Civil War were given preference for the jobs.  He eventually returned to New York to work in "a prosperous grocery store."  Here he learned American retailing—spotlessly clean shops with elegant presentation and competitive prices. 

In the spring of 1871 Lipton returned to Glasgow and opened his first shop.  His promotional activities and advertising stunts had customers coming in droves.  Within five years, he had opened 20 shops; within ten years, he was a millionaire.

By 1880 tea-drinking was at an all time high in Britain, and Lipton began buying small quantities from the wholesalers.  More people than ever flocked to his stores.  For years, loose tea had been sold in paper bags.  In the tea departments of Lipton's stores, tea was weighted and packaged in colored bags that bore the slogan, "Direct from the Tea Gardens to the Tea Pot."  Within a short time, he was selling 30 tons of tea every week. 

Lipton, always fascinated by ships and sailing had a series of yachts with which he entered  the America's Cup Race.  He made five attempts at winning the race between 1899 and 1930 but was never successful.  Reportedly, these losses were the biggest disappointment of his life.  After his final attempt, the Americans presented him with a gold loving cup inscribed, "The gamest loser in the world of sport."

Queen Victoria knighted him in 1898.  Although shrewd and tough in business, he gave generously to a wide range of charitable causes, particularly in Glasgow.  He never married.

Lipton died on October 2, 1931 at the age of 81.  He bequeathed the vast majority of his personal fortune to the City of Glasgow for the relief of the "sick and poor."   


Who Am I ?

I was born in Scotland in 1542, the daughter of King James V and was raised in the Catholic faith.  When I was fifteen, I married Prince Francis, dauphin of France.  In 1558 my father-in-law, King Henry II of France forced me to become Queen of Scotland.  In 1587 Queen Elizabeth I of England asserted her protestant faith for England and Scotland and has me executed.  Who am I?

(Answer at the end of the Newletter)


What's in a Name
By Ron Dempsey, FSA Scot

Morice / Main

Morice is another form of Morris or Morrice and is a part of Clan Buchanan..  A personal name, it is from the Latin Maurietus meaning Moorish, suggesting dark or swarthy.   In the Latin form it was recorded in 1364 in Scotland.  While the spelling Morice was noted in 1540.

The surname Main is also a personal name from the Viking, Magnus.  It was prevalent in the fishing village of Nairn, which was an area that was influenced by Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries.   Sometimes it was spelled Mayne in the Lowlands of Scotland.  Another more popular area for the Main name was found on the coast just south of the city of Aberdeen, known as Nigg Bay.  Here many families named Main fished for generations.

Mitchell

Mitchell is a personal name, from Michael and was first noted as a surname in 1428.  Through the Norman French form of Michel it received its pronunciation in Scotland It has clan affiliation with Clan Innes.  There is a Mitchell tartan.

Gandon

The surname with this spelling is heavily located in Southern England and is possibly of Huguenot origin.  The spelling sometime varies from Gandon and Guandon.  Another pocket of the name is spelled Ganden and seems to be particular to the Shetland Islands in Scotland.  There are also Gannon and Gannan from McGannan an Irish name, for son of the fair one.  It possibly could be one of the forms of the Gandon name evolved from the French source.  Theree is mention of a Gandon Inn in the county of Laois, in Ireland.  James Gandon is listed as the architect of the Old Custom House in Dublin from the late 18th century.


Coming Events

October 10 Membership meeting - ScotsToberfest
October 11 Ventura CA Games
November 1 Tuscon AZ Games
November 2 Austin TX Games
November 14 Membership Meeting - St. Andrew's Celebration
December 12 Membership meeting - Family Christmas Party

SOCIETY MEETING Regular membership meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at the Irish Cultural Center, 1106 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ. Beginning at 7 pm. Come join us or log on to www.arizonascots.com.


October Celebrations
If you would like your special date recognized in our monthly newsletter, we need to hear from you. Please let us know your correct birthday and anniversary information by email to anjrams@cox.net and it will be included in our Celebration list.

October 8 Steve Wylie - Birthday
October 11 John & Kathy Beatty - Anniversary
October 12 James Grant - Birthday
October 18 Earl & Hope Singleton - Anniversary
October 28 William Redpath - Anniversary
October 30 Toni & Andy Sarcinella - Anniversary
BEST WISHES ON YOUR SPECIAL DAY!

Who Am I ?

Mary (Stuart) Queen of Scots  


Caledonian Society Officers
President: Mark Clark
480-659-2740
Past President: (2010 – 2012) Jean Latimer
602-867-6507
1st Vice President, & Membership Chair Don Finch
480-895-4665
Secretary: Thom Von Hapsburg
602-882-6490
Treasurer: David McBee
602-617-5694
Games Chair
Jason Temple
602-920-5445
Trustee 1: Mark Pelletier
623-455-8076


Newsletter Editor:



Jo Ramsdell
480-969-8400