Today is, of course, Tartan Day -- with the concomitant Gathering of the Blogs.

As noted two days ago, I am a descendant of Thomas Tupper, one of the founders of Sandwich, Mass. Since the 1600s, Tuppers have been all over North America, on both sides of the US-Canadian border. Sir Charles Tupper, the Canadian PM in 1896, was a cousin.

How distant a cousin Sir Charles might have been, I really don't know. As recently as 1995 a comprehensive geneology of the Tupper family was published, in which all the known descendants of Thomas Tupper are listed. Next time I visit Mom I'll have to look up the bloodlines and figure it all out. My Dad was heavily involved in the geneological society, so I figure the Emerson ties to the Tupper family aren't too tenuous.

The family has had arms for centuries, and was granted a tartan by Queen Victoria:

As soon as Dr. Atkins' work is complete and I settle on a size, I might just have to have a kilt made.

[Obviously, my surname isn't Tupper. Family legend has it that several generations ago, sometime in the 1800s, a name-changing ancestor headed west and took his wife's last name after an incident related to what might be politely described as the "disputed ownership of a horse." I suspect that's not quite the truth, but it makes a good story. I'll have to look into that a bit further.]

[And yes, Ralph Waldo was apparently a relation, too. Probably a cousin or uncle of some sort.]

Posted by Russ at 02:34 PM, April 6, 2004 in Bloggery