Clan Dewar is a

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

.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 an organisation that represents many prominent Scottish clan chief, clan chiefs and Scottish clan chief#Chief of the Name and Arms, Chiefs of the Name and Arms in Scotland. It claims to be the pr ...

). 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 grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

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 The 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 Ball ...

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 (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

. Lord Borthwick granted a charter for the lands of Dewar to William Dewar in 1474. This Dewar family were known as ''

of that Ilk "Of that Ilk", otherwise known as "Chief of that Bluid", is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans. The term '' of that ilk'' means "of the same ame, and is used to avoid repetition in a person's ti ...

'' 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 (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

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 n ...

. The staff was carried at the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

in support of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

in 1314. The priceless artefact of the early

Celtic church Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiab ...

is now held in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

17th and 18th centuries

A branch of the Clan Dewar, the Dewars of Cambuskenneth were established by at least the 17th century, although Dewars are recorded in nearby

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, 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 Pit village, 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 tradit ...

. 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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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. George w ...

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 Fleet (United Ki ...

. 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 O ...

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, Peter Dewar

& 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 gran ...

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. Be ...

without a chief. The present chief is Peter Dewar Of That Ilk And Vogrie. his heir, Roderick Thomas George Dewar, will take over, after the death of, Peter Dewar.

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 both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

of the

Clan Menzies Clan Menzies (IPA: Help:IPA/English, /ˈmɪŋɪs/ - ); ; a member is a ''Mèinnearach'') is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan. History Origins of the Clan Mesnières in Normandy was the original home of the Normans, Norman fam ...

Clan Buchanan Clan Buchanan ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, 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 T ...

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 C ...

and

Clan Macnab Clan Macnab is a Highland Scottish clan. History Origins of the clan Traditional origins The name Macnab is derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''Mac An Aba'', which means ''child of the abbot''.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish ...

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

References

External links

Clan Dewar at ScotClans

{{Scottish clans Dewar