CHAPTER 77
The Tracy Family History
Wallace clan???

    The Wallaces are a mighty clan. Their descendants are proud of their Wallace heritage. Here is a photo of our cousins Ben and Shirley Wallace of Champaign, Illinois. (Ben is sitting with Shirley standing.) After Ben’s death in the 1990s, his wife took the three children on an "All Wallace tour" of Scotland.
    You will notice that the table is draped with our Wallace tartan. For every clan had its own distinct pattern and color scheme as a badge of identification. Today, one can find books on virtually any Scottish clan, which will tell the clan's rich history, usually included are illustrations of the clan tartan.
    But Alas...
    Some historians say that, technically, the Wallaces never were a clan. Their argument is that there were 35 chiefs who bore the names that include not just Wallace, but also Wallis, Walls, and variations thereof. Thus, there never was a single family line. Apparently, there never was a patriarchal descent, just a bunch of Wallaces scattered about.
    I prefer to look at it this way: We are a clan, in our hearts.

Furthermore...
    In 1815, the Highland Society of London contacted many of the clan chieftains trying to verify each clan's own tartan.        Many of the chieftains hadn't the foggiest idea. It seems that they wore whatever they darn well pleased.
    In the 1840s was published the definitive book of clan tartans, Vestiarum Scoticum. This has been the basis for what is used today to find one's clan tartan. This book gives the descriptions of 75 different patterns and the clans to which they belonged. The book was produced by two brothers. When challenged to verify their research they were unable to do so. It seems that their research was made up.

100 years ago we were still Presbyterians...
    “That...Woods...the Wallaces...and the McDowells...it is probably true that more of the descendants of the families named above can still be found in the Presbyterian fold than in any other denomination of Christians.” – Reverend Neander Woods, 1905
    Our cousins are naturally curious as to the religion of our people today. It would appear that of the more than 600 different denominations of Christian Churches in the United States today, we find our cousins represented in most all of them. The most represented are the Baptist. The least represented are the Catholics, Episcopalians...and Presbyterians.

    In Lexington, Virginia, today (2003) there are the following people: Wallace (20); Woods (4); Campbell (21); McCormack (1); Houston (2); McClung, the most beautiful woman in Virginia (9). Our people are still there.

    No matter what our people were called by others, or by themselves: Ulster-Scots, Scotch-Irish, Presbyterian Irish, or Irish, they always considered themselves to be Scots.

My family history web site has 79 chapters. If you would like to know more about the other chapters then go to my
Home Page    www.thetracyfamilyhistory.net 

                                                                                                Next Chapter