Clan Carruthers: Legal in the U.S.A.

As a Society, and as many will be aware, we have been concentrating for over 12 years on taking the official path to have a Chief recognised through the Lord Lyon in Scotland. This has been achieved and we now have our first Chief in 210 years.

Of course, this did not mean that we had taken our eyes off the ball regarding other matters, but in order to build a strong house that will last, a solid foundation had to be put in place. This is what the confirmation of a legally recognised Chief gave us.

One such action was the completion of the setting up of the official Clan Carruthers Society – United States of America (CCS-USA), a regional branch of Clan Carruthers Society International. Although in existance since 2017, in order to fully achieve this the law of the land in which it exists had to be followed. So unlike some other countries to include Scotland, the process of incorporation was a must.  We therefore lit the touch paper to the next phase, and we offer our sincerest thanks to Bill, Steven and Dana for successfully driving this forward. We are therefore very pleased to announce that CCS-USA has gained the legal statutes of Incorporation.

The CCS-USA is registered through Garner, Wake County, North Carolina as of November 21st, 2019.  There will be no address change nor name change, we remain who and what we are for the benefit of the whole clan and more importantly, a non commercial enterprise.

The Incorporation document was signed by the Secretary of State of the State of North Carolina on the 21st November 2019. This makes CCS-USA a legally constituted, non-profit organisation for the whole of the United States of America 501(c)(3) Inc, and membership is open to all Carruthers and derivations of the name.

As a regional branch of CCSI, the Clan badge and tartan of the Society will be used by CCS-USA. The badge is made up of the crest of the Chief : a seraphim volent Proper (always portrayed with a face) encircled by a belt and buckle, on which is engraved the Chiefs motto, Promptus et Fidelis. The official Clan tartan is registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans STR 11700 and will also be used. This is in a large part to show uniformity and lesser so, to better differentiate ourselves from those with a commercial agenda.

Both our Chief, Dr Peter Carruthers of Holmains and the CCSI Convenor, Dr George Carruthers, FSA Scot, send their congratulations to all those concerned.

In a message from Dana Caruthers Norton, the Official Clan Commissioner for the United States of America:

It has been a long time coming, not withstanding all the hard work and time put forth by both sides of the pond.   But we have to make a special mention to Dr. George Carruthers of Scotland, our Clan Convenor. This is for all the hard work and effort he has put in to get us to where we are today and without him, none of this would have happened. However, that day is here and we are so very proud to make this long awaited announcement as an officially recognized clan through the Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Our Society was the brainchild of Dr. George Carruthers FSA Scot, who started bringing the family together on the Facebook page ‘Clan Carruthers’ in 2007. He structured its foundations, initially around the excellent family genealogical works by the Reverend Arthur Stanley Carruthers FSA Scot and the Scottish historian Mr R C Reid (circa 1932) but in the final stages, utilising infirmation from the Holmains Papers. This included the prenuptial agreement of John Carruthers 12th of Holmains (1762), which acted as part proof for the confirmation of our Chief.

As a Society, we have over the years gathered the support of Carruthers from all over the world and this eventually led to the Society’s official formation in January 2017. I was lucky enough to be included in that from the beginning and to able to assist George in his planning and success. The Society’s initial purpose was in the main to support the recognition, through the matriculation of our Chiefly Arms, of a Chief of our Clan and Riding Family, by the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. The Lyon is the only person, on behalf of the British Crown, to have the legal authority to confirm a Scottish Clan Chief by allowing them, after careful consideration of all the facts, to bear the Arms of the Chiefly line, in our case the Arms of Carruthers of Holmains. 

The rest as they say is history because as of the 19th of August 2019, Dr Simon Peter Carruthers of Holmains was confirmed by the Lord Lyon, as hereditary Chief of the Name and Arms of Carruthers. It was through this process that the Clan moved from armigerous status (without Chief) and after 210 years, to proudly being recognised as a clan in its own right. This took us, as a group, a total of 12 years and 8 months to achieve.

We are therefore very happy to announce that the Clan Carruthers Society International (CCSI) is officially recognized by the Chief of the Clan as the only organisation representing the worldwide Carruthers family and through them Clan Carruthers Society-United States of America (CCSI). Also we have just been informed that our Chief has accepted the hereditary position of Honorary President of Clan Carruthers Society International and again through them, we share in that honour. It is therefore through the auspices of the CCSI and our Chief that we function and they have our full support.

The Officers and Board Members of CCS – United States of America, are:

Therefore, looking at the future, we have many events and projects lined up and we will make further announcements on each one in due course. However, our main initiative is to bring all Carruthers in the United States of America together under the banner of our Chief and our Society, to celebrate the pride we have in our Name as a Clan, but also as Border Reivers of the Middle March of Scotland.

Clan Carruthers Society-United States of America, along with Clan Carruthers Society International have been in constant partnership and dialogue, in the goal of bringing this clan and family together. 

One of our current projects, which remains dear to my heart, is our Clan Genealogy Research Group. This has been specifically set up to ensure that our clan genealogy database is accurate and proofed. We are sadly aware of the poor genealogical research out there, but we wish to offer a more honest and robust foundation for all those who are interested in progressing their own Carruthers family tree. 

We have therefore come a long way since 2007, and in fact since the Carruthers and Reid genealogical research of 1932.  But we are excited by our role and looking towards the future and working for and with the clan and family here in the US. There are many projects and events planned and we will fullfill them to the best of our ability, again for the benifit of the many, not simply the few in our role as the only official representatives of Clan Carruthers Society International, and our Chief, here in the United States of America.

As a Riding family or Grayne, we have lived, loved, fought and died in the border lands in and around the debatable lands of the Anglo-Scottish Border since well before the Norman Invasion. Our Name comes from Brythonic times and the area of the Fort (Caer) of Ruthers, near Lockerbie, Annandale in Dumfrieshire, southwest Scotland.  We have been strongly linked and associated with the lands we are named after for over 1500 years and we will , as a Society, continue to celebrate and respect our Clan roots with dignity and honor. 

Carruthers have been Lairds, Reivers, Barons, Knights, Chancellors, Generals, Advisors to the Scottish Crown, Rustlers, Land Owners, Film Makers, Explorers, Authors, Academics, Law makers, Covenanters, Jacobites, Bankers, Reivers, Sons and Daughters of the Republic, Retainers of the Knights Templars and Merchants and Officers of both the East India Company and the Raj for over three hundred years and many more. Our family now covers all corners of the earth, but we remain united in the pride we have in our Scottish ancestry, heritage, history, culture and the pride we have in being a Carruthers.

We therefore invite you all to join us in celebration of our achievements and to walk with us with pride, as we take our name and clan forward on a solid foundation, for future generations to come.  

Please support us, as we have supported you these many years, by joining the Society and assist us to continue doing what we do best, supporting you, our name and our Chief for many years to come.

Further information on who we are and for membership applications of the Society please visit the Society website listed below:

https://clancarrutherssociety.org/

Promptus et Fidelis

Dana Carruthers Norton,

CCSI Clan Commissioner-United States of America.