FAMILY HISTORY
Jane asked me when I was visiting her mother the other day if I had a copy of the family history. My mother, the historian in the family, took it upon herself many years ago to research the Lauderdale genealogy, then mailed copies to all who were interested in this huge family of ours. What she came up with was pretty interesting.
First of all, our branch of the family dates directly back to James Lauderdale of Sumner County who was the brother of Major William Lauderdale. The members of this family were close friends of Andrew Jackson, whose plantation was across the river from theirs. It was William who built many forts across the South in his skirmishes with the Native Americans. The most famous one bears his name in South Florida. James Lauderdale was killed just prior to the War of 1812 in New Orleans in a battle with the British.
But to go back even further, these two brothers were descendents of the Earl of Lauderdale in Scotland. They landed first in Virginia and then moved into Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. All three states have counties bearing the Lauderdale name. This branch of the family can be traced back to 1067, when the title was first bestowed, and moreover, the earldom exists to this day.
I have always been interested in Scottish history, and recently read a series of books about the Highlanders and their many battles with the English. The Highlanders eventually lost their battles and wars and many of them were forced to come to America where they settled in the mountains of North Carolina. The Earl of Lauderdale was a lowlander, however, and chose the winning side. Thus, the title and family castle still exist today in Lauder, Scotland. The family name is Maitland.
The family still resides in Thirlestane Castle (see photo) which is open to the public for tours. That would be great fun to visit it; maybe we could get a glimpse of our cousins!
Jane asked me when I was visiting her mother the other day if I had a copy of the family history. My mother, the historian in the family, took it upon herself many years ago to research the Lauderdale genealogy, then mailed copies to all who were interested in this huge family of ours. What she came up with was pretty interesting.
First of all, our branch of the family dates directly back to James Lauderdale of Sumner County who was the brother of Major William Lauderdale. The members of this family were close friends of Andrew Jackson, whose plantation was across the river from theirs. It was William who built many forts across the South in his skirmishes with the Native Americans. The most famous one bears his name in South Florida. James Lauderdale was killed just prior to the War of 1812 in New Orleans in a battle with the British.
But to go back even further, these two brothers were descendents of the Earl of Lauderdale in Scotland. They landed first in Virginia and then moved into Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. All three states have counties bearing the Lauderdale name. This branch of the family can be traced back to 1067, when the title was first bestowed, and moreover, the earldom exists to this day.
I have always been interested in Scottish history, and recently read a series of books about the Highlanders and their many battles with the English. The Highlanders eventually lost their battles and wars and many of them were forced to come to America where they settled in the mountains of North Carolina. The Earl of Lauderdale was a lowlander, however, and chose the winning side. Thus, the title and family castle still exist today in Lauder, Scotland. The family name is Maitland.
The family still resides in Thirlestane Castle (see photo) which is open to the public for tours. That would be great fun to visit it; maybe we could get a glimpse of our cousins!
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