A Scots Heritage in Search of an Heiress

You might as well know, right off, that I consider myself the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland. If this seems preposterous, or at least fictional, please read on. I will attempt to explain.

Here is a brief overview of the official status of that throne, according to Wikipedia:

James VII continued to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. When he died in 1701, his son James inherited his father's claims, and called himself James VIII of Scotland and III of England and Ireland. He would continue to do so all his life, even after the Kingdoms of England and Scotland were ended by their merging as the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1715, a year after the death of his sister, Queen Anne, and the accession of their cousin George of Hanover, James landed in Scotland and attempted to claim the throne; he failed, and was forced to flee back to the Continent. A second attempt by his son, Charles, in 1745, also failed. Both James's children died without legitimate issue, bringing the Stuart family to an end.

• James VIII (Seumas VIII), also known as The Old Pretender, son of James VII, was claimant from 1701 until his death in 1766.
• Charles III (Teàrlach III), also known as The Young Pretender and often called Bonnie Prince Charlie, son of James VIII, was claimant from his father's death until his own death in 1788 without legitimate issue.
• Henry I (Eanraig I), brother of Charles III and youngest son of James VIII. Died unmarried in 1807.

After 1807, the Jacobite claims passed first to the House of Savoy (1807–1840), then to the Modenese branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (1840–1919), and finally to the House of Wittelsbach (since 1919). The current heir is Franz, Duke of Bavaria. Neither he nor any of his predecessors since 1807 have pursued their claim.

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Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933, as Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Prinz von Bayern), styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria before being deposed in 1918.
     Franz is also the current senior co-heir-general of King Charles I of England and Scotland, and thus is considered by Jacobites to be the legitimate heir of the House of Stuart as king of England, France, Scotland, and Ireland. "HRM [sic] the Duke generally does not comment on issues concerning his familiar [sic] relationship to the Royal House of Stuart," a spokesman told the media.

So you see, the official heir takes no interest in his wild northern -- potential -- kingdom, and the items pictured below go wanting:

Crown Jewels of Scotland, Edinboro.

How did I come to feel these would be a cozy fit on my head and in my hand?

In 2005, Tom and I took a longed for trip to Scotland. I already felt an affinity, due to my exposure to things Scots here in America. My grandfather Mitchell had belonged to a clan in Massachusetts. I loved bagpipe music and mountains. A drumlin visible from my childhood home was named Little Scotland, for its likeness to agricultural scenery in Scotland. We could hear the cowbells when the wind was from the right direction.

But once on the ground in the mother country, I fell headlong in love with the place and the people (exceptions to be noted).

My great-grandmother Caroline Martin came to Massachusetts from Dundee. I have no photos of Dundee, because when we were there the streets were torn up for reconstruction leaving the city a confusion of orange pylons -- totally unphotogenic.

The next stop for ancestor research was Aberchirder and environs.  Here's a map of that part of Scotland:

Huntly, Keith, and Aberchirder are town names in my family history. My father was Alexander Innes Mitchell Jr. His Grandfather Mitchell came to Massachusetts from Aberchirder, also known as Foggieloan, met Caroline, married, and worked as gardener at the Forbes Estate in Milton, MA. They lived over the coach house.

Here's a postcard of old Aberchirder:

You think this history of my background does not equal royal descent? You're right. I don't make my claim on biological descent, but on my fit with the modern country coupled with the emptiness of the throne.

Testimony continues.

Falkirk Wheel, a precisely engineered lock on Scotland's
national canal system. Each circular opening contains buckets
of boats heading this way or that along the canal. The wheel as it turns
connects the section of canal coming down from a higher elevation
 with the lower canal, seen on the level
of the bystanders, who typically stand awestruck.

The Falkirk Wheel introduced me to Scotland's history of superb and innovative engineers and their feats. I'd had no idea of the worldwide role Scotland has played in the development of modern inventions.

Our search for the homeland of my Dad's people continued in Huntly. Our night there is a story for another blog, but an event happened which gave me my first sensation of being the object of a royal homecoming. While waiting for Tom to finish an errand, I was drawn into the city hall and up its tower by the skirl of bagpipes and roll of drums. I mounted turn after turn of a grand stairway, my whole body reverberating with the stirring music. Then I came face to face with the town band, in civvies at rehearsal, but it surely felt like they had turned out to welcome the Innes heir home.

Huntly town band, in a commercial photo.
I did not see them in uniform.

AN ASIDE:   Innes? Yes, that's my father's middle name, because an early Mitchell had married an Innes lady. The Inneses were and are the local gentry and hold what remains of a huge ancestral territory near Huntly. Years ago, in 1989, when Tom and I took our daughters to England, my Dad encouraged us to look up Mr. Innes at such and such address, such and such phone number in London. The two men had been in correspondence, and my father thought there would be a welcome. Ha. I called the number from one of those red phone booths, but was not allowed to connect with Mr. Innes. The male secretary (so I imagined the man answering the phone to be) seemed to think us bounders from abroad. So much for my Dad's dreams of connecting with his family.

BACK TO 2005.

A wide view of the Foggieloan region.

My shot of the Deveron River valley, near Creelwell and Aberchirder.

A farm at Fortrie, also near Creelwell, where we stayed
at the Creelwell Farm B&B.

Easter School at Fortrie, and our rental car.

In the village of Aberchirder, my husband double-dared me to try to find a Mitchell. It worked. Mr. Mitchell was at home inside the only house on the street with a potato garden in the front yard instead of flowers or a "car park".  Typical of my Dad's family. And when Mr. Mitchell answered our knock, I was eerily shocked to see how much he looked like my father and grandfather. They could have been cousins. But these Mitchells -- though the lady of the house was avid to show us her tartan book and collection of Scots paraphernalia -- knew of no connection to my family.

I'm sorry to say that the pictures my husband took at the Mitchells' have been lost. But below is a pic of me in front of the town post office. Sorry for the lack of focus. We took very informal cameras on the trip, in order to force us to draw pictures to record our experiences.

Sara musing beside an ancient ox ford, near Aberchirder.

After Foggieloan, we left off specific heritage research. What follows are excerpts from the rest of our trip, the rest of my falling deeper and deeper in love with Scotland.

This class of upper elementary school children is watching a re-enactor
bring alive the history behind the William Wallace monument. 

More impressive to me than the history or its monument was the attention given to the teachers. The children were relaxed and enjoying their field trip, but there was no horsing around, snickering, etc. And when the teacher gave the quiet signal to GO, the children were on their feet and in line immediately.

Technology has brought this blog to an end. I can't download any more pictures, even after reducing the resolution. Sad.

There are so many more reasons for loving Scotland, that I'll start another post.