When I first began researching my own Cromarty line, much of the work had been done for me (thank you Granny!). Still, one thing puzzled me. There was a certain amount of speculation about the origins of the Cromarty family as a whole. At first glance, according to 'the books' Cromartys did not have a recorded right to arms. Thus, it could not be certain where they lived. At this point I decided to start at the beginning. I looked into the etymology of the name and discovered of course that it was not a patronymic ('the son of such and such') but was taken from a place name in the area of the Scottish Highlands known as 'The Black Isle'.

From there, I looked into the history of the general area from Cromarty Firth in the east to Kyntyre in the west. I discovered that Urquharts appeared to be one of the oldest clans in that area and that early in the county's history, they were granted the hereditary sheriffdom of Cromarty. With this information stored away in my memory banks, I came to the assumption that given the relatively low population of the time, Cromartys had to have been related in some way to the Urquharts. It seemed logical to me at the time.

In modern Scotland, Cromarty is a name that appears almost exclusively in the Orkney Islands, especially in So. Ronaldsay. To be sure, during the 1700's it was one of the most frequently found names in all of the Orkneys. I have also found the name in Caithness in the 1500's. Tracing back through time as far as I could find records, I discovered that the earliest record of a Cromarty owning land in the Orkneys was in 1479. Which, in my mind, indicated that they would have been eligible for the right to have their own arms! So I determined to research the records of arms, depictions of arms, etc. Lo and behold, I (nearly accidentally) came across a publication on the topic of heraldry in the Orkneys. "Aha! Me thinks I have stumbled upon something significant!" I exclaimed, to my husband's amusement. It was not a connection to my specific line, but definitely of a Cromarty in early times giving indication of his close link to the Clan Urquhart.

Upon some old tombstones in Orkney, one man (J. Storer Clouston, bless his heart) with a yen for heraldry and the study of certain coats of arms, had the Orkney Antiquarian Society publish his findings. Amongst many others, I found his rubbings of tombstones bearing the name Cromarty and the arms granted to the individuals!

To briefly explain the significance of Coats of Arms, it must be said that the families who were given their own arms were counted as gentry either by wealth (which in those days was determined by ownership of lands) and social position or by ancestry. Officially, ancestry was the chief factor in determining eligibility for arms, wealth being the 'practical test' for identifying 'class'. Family coats of arms were inherited by son from father and these were first recorded in official records in the latter 1100's. Arms were found only in the upper military and wealthy factions of society and became a badge of nobility. In Orkney, Mr. Clouston says that arms came into use relatively early; by the beginning of the 1200's, and were "confined to a few leading families and were nothing like as commonly used as in Scotland".

In all three, we see the three boars' heads, two also containing a stag (one of which appears to be leaping, crippled, as it is missing it's forelegs). Figures 1 and 2 are illustrations of two arms being joined, that of husband and wife. Figure three shows only the husband's arms, the three boars' heads.

All things considered, we know that the first Cromartys in Orkney took their name from their place of origin (ex: John of Cromarty) and were buried with their family arms engraved upon their tombstones. We know that the Urquhart coat of arms is the three boars' heads and so can presume that these early Cromartys were in fact Urquharts, displaced (for as yet unknown reasons) to the Orkneys. These Cromartys could only claim the family arms if they were indeed members of the family claiming those arms, as they are an inherited badge of nobility.

Although we may not have specific names and dates to connect our generations, it is safe to presume that all Cromartys are descended from the man who arrived in Orkney using the name of the place he had been born and raised in.

As a point of interest, by the way, the Stag seen in these arms is found only in the Orkneys and belongs to the Clouston family.

In conclusion, I would like to give credit where credit is due.

To Nila McCallum, I give my heartfelt commendation for a job well done! She recognized the significance of this information and submitted it to the Chief of Clan Urquhart. We have her to thank for the recognition of Cromarty as an official sept of the clan.

URL address for Urquhart - http://www.urquhart.org/

URL address for the town of Cromarty (John of Cromarty; Magnus of Cromarty) where it appears the Cromartys

came from before coming to the Orkneys. http://www.black-isle.info/Cromarty/

To All Whom These Presents Do or May Concern,

KENNETH TRIST URQUHART OF URQUHART, CHIEF OF

CLAN URQUHART, Sends Greeting:

KNOW YE THAT, reposing special trust and confidence in PEOPLE OF SCOTTISH DESCENT BEARING THE NAME CROMARTY who, believing that they have a special historical connection to Clan Urquhart, have, over the years, expressed the wish that they be counted as members of Clan Urquhart; and taking into account evidence which can reasonably be interpreted as supporting belief in a special connection between the Cromarty Family in Orkney and the Urquhart Family in the Old Sheriffdom of Cromarty, We do hereby welcome into Clan Urquhart all people of Scottish descent bearing the name Cromarty who wish to be counted as members of Clan Urquhart and to give the Clan and its Chief the loyalty and support of true clansmen. By this act, THE CHIEF OF CLAN URQUHART RECOGNIZES CROMARTY AS A SEPT OF CLAN URQUHART, granting its members all the powers, privileges, and honours customarily held by loyal clansmen of Clan Urquhart.

In testimony whereof, We here place our signature in the City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana, United States of America, this fifteenth day of March in the year Two Thousand.