The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-05-02

Lindsay is not an uncommon name in
the United States, country many OF the
most eminent and successful of which are
the descendants of Scottish forbears. In
deed, there are Lindsays by the hundreds
and the thousands in most OF the Large
cities of North America, and to them an
appeal has gone forth from the chiefs OF
the ilustrious Highland house of Lindsay
to signalize the present year-the sixtieth
OF the reign of Queen Victoria OF Scot
landry the reconstruction of the once
famous clan of-Lindsay. The appeal is in
the shape of circular bearing the sigma
lures of the Earl of Crawford and Bal
cares, of his son, the Master of Lindsay,
commonly known as Lord Balcarres, OF
the Earl OF Lindsay, of Sir Coutts Lindsay
and OF the gallant Lord Vantage, and has
been addressed to all the known Scottish
American associations, as well as to such
bearers of the name of Lindsay as
happen to have retained their associa-
lions with Scotland. The circular in
vltes all Lindsays to place themselves
in communication with the chief
talns whose signatures appear at the
foot OF the document, at the same time
mparting any information which they
may possess concerning their lineage and
ancestors ancestry, the idea being that
most OF them are either descendants OF
the medieval Lairds of Lindsay, or else OF
the retainers Of the latter. For with the
Highland clans in the Middle Ages the
followers and dependents of chief,
especially those born on his lands, were
wont to assume not only his tartan, his
badge and his war cry, but also his very
name. Retalners no matter of what
degree, no matter whether they sat above
or below the salt, were regarded as men,
bers of the family of the laird as his
children. Indeed the word clan is the
Gaelic translation Tor children" of a
comm on parent. And on the understand
ing that most of the Lindsays in various
parts of the world derive their origin, if
not from the noble family of Lindsay it.
self, at any rate from some of its old-time
retainers, it is proposed to organize them
once more into clan, banded together
no longer for warfare on the southron, but
for mutual help and assistance-in one
word into sort Of benefit society, each
mem Der of which would have right to
wear the Lindsay tartan and the Lindsay
badge, and to feel that if in America he
was not without kinsfolk in the grand old
''land of cakes"
Perhaps it may be of assistance to those
OF the Lindsays in the United States who
have no records of their ancestry, and
who are consequently in doubt as to their
relationship to the Leirds of Lindsay to
know that tie members of the noble
house Of that ilk have from the days
OF the Norman conquest been distin-
guished for their sandy hair-some peo-
pie call it carroty, just in the same way
that the Douglasses of Scotland, of Ger
many, of Scandinavia and of Austria are
all noted for the swarth mess of tn cir COM
plexion and the raven hue of their capil-
larry adornments, whence the name of
"Black Douglas" And it may encour-
age the Lindsays on this side Of the
Atlantic, moreover, to learn that there
are no unpleasant sayings or proverbs
connected with their ancestral name.
Thus when poor Sir William Gordon
Cumming was branded by means of the
Cranky Croft scandal, followed by the
baccarat trial, as card cheat-there are
many who believe him to have bsen in
nocently conference.-the old Gaelic say
ing was recalled according to which
"while there's leaf in the wood, therell
be treachery in the Cummings In the
same way, every bearer of the name of
Mckenzie labors under the tradition to
the effect that."n Mckenzie is ever gra.
cous until he is fed" To the predatory
instincts of the MacFarland's tribute is
borne by the proverb, "while there is a
forest in Kintale, MacFarland will
never be without cattle in his fold"
Every true blooded Macleod should have
DETECTED extremities in order to live up to
the nickname OF which their clan was
once SO proud, namely, 1.-THE MaoLeods OF
the handy legs" In the same way the
Campbells are noted for their CROOKED
mouths" and for their ''black mouths"
and it is added there never was Camp
bell without guile" A few other CLASH
tications of clan character are the dirty
Dairy m pies" the ''winoy Murrays," the
Idiot McQueens," the "slow Mackin-
toshes," while the MacCullums are re-
nowned north OF Castle Stirling as the de
scendants of the sixty FOOLS" The Mac
Gregors feel themselves under a certain
amount of obligation to live up to the ira
dition that there was ne'er a boor of the
MacGregors," while If the McNabs are
famed for the virtue of the women it is be-
cause of the old proverb according to
which there was a ne'er hussy of the
MacNabs." The only classification that 1
can find with regard to the name of Lind
say is the occasional reference made in
Scottish records to the eight Lindsays."
But whether this has regard to the hue of
their hair or to the 1ightiness Of their
conduct | am unable to say.
The Lindsays are one of the grandest
houses in the history of Scotland, and
there are few names that are to be found
so frequent thy and figuring so prominently
on every page of the glorious annals of
Queen Victoria northern kingdom. It is
claimed that they are of Scandinavian,
rather than of Gaelic, origin. and that
they are descended from the same stock
as the Dukes of Normandy, who, after the
battle of Hastings in 1866 became kings
of England. They were for long time
the feudal lords OF the now SO glori6ed
Hamiltons, and frequently intermarried
with the royal house of Stuart, while
among the foreign sovereign houses who
include Lairds of Lindsay and of Bruce
among their ancestors, is the royal dy-
nasty of Bourbon and the imperial house