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Archiver > ALLISON > 1997-09 > 0873552745


From: <>
Subject: Re: Allison Clan?
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 09:32:25 -0400 (EDT)


In a message dated 97-09-04 22:34:39 EDT, writes:

> I think Paula's point is, as usual, well taken. If Clan Donald is
> willing to have us ... why not? Besides, I hear the Isle of Skye is very
> nice this time of year.
>
> I also think that when most of us use the term Clan Allison, the
> reference is not to hierachical system which held sway for centuries in
> Scotland, but to the social structures and values our families imported
> and maintained in the new world. The Allisons may have dropped their
> kilts (so to speak) when they arrived on this side of the Atlantic, but
> they held on to the mutual aid society, family-oriented traditions of
> the clan system, just as the Johnsons and other reiver border families
> gave up raiding, but maintained their relationships with those with whom
> they once ridden the moors.
> This approach works for me. It may not work for others.

I can see using the generic term "clan," meaning a close-knit, extended
family. That's a perfectly correct usage. It would be "the Allison clan,"
not "Clan Allison."

Ewen Allison
Panola County, TX branc

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