Esslemont & Barclay Family

The name Esslemont originates in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with the Esslemont Estate, village and castle all being in a very small area of Aberdeenshire near Ellon, to the north of Aberdeen.

 Although too small to be a Clan in it’s own right, Esslemont is a Sept of the Gordon clan, which in days gone by was the clan ruling the lands of Aberdeen, Deeside and Strathbogie which includes the area of Esslemont village. The Gordons are one of the great families of the north east of Scotland although the family were almost certainly of Anglo Norman decent, moving from Berwickshire in the Borders to Aberdeenshire.  The wild boar’s head appears on the Gordon arms because, legend says, the first Gordon saved a Scottish king from an attacking boar. The Gordon (Gordan in Gaelic) motto is “Bydand” – (Translated as either “Remaining” or “Abiding”) Each sept of the clan had it’s own tartan, of course, and the Esslemont of Gordon tartan is shown below. Click Here To follow my Esslemont and Barclay ancestry

 Research has shown that over time the members of the sept moved out from Esslemont village to the east coast of Aberdeenshire and also the north coast in Banffshire and Aberdeenshire. Even today the greatest concentration of Esslemonts in the world is in these two counties.

In the last two centuries with the highland clearances and greater mobility, Esslemonts have spread worldwide. The depression of the 30’s caused many a Scot to emigrate for the new world. This affected my ancestors no less than anybody else’s with Australia, Canada and the United States being the chosen destinations.

I have been able to trace my family back to the parishes of Keith, where my father comes from, Auchterless where I still have living relatives, Turriff, Monquhitter and King Edward.

My Great Grandfather, James Esslemont married Helen Barclay in 1863 in the parish of Auchterless in Aberdeenshire. I know less about the Barclay side of my Family having spent less time researching it. The Barclays came to Gloucestershire from France during the Norman Conquest. Originally, their name was spelt 'de Berchelai', which may be the Anglo-Saxon spelling of 'beau' (beautiful) and 'lee' (meadow or field).  Further more, there was a preponderance of the first names Roger and Ralph among the early Gloucester settlers. Some of the families moved to the North-East of Scotland. Their lands were in Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire. The family motto is “Aut Agere Aut Mori” (Translated as “either to do or to die”) The tartan here is the Hunting Barclay.

The Barclays were a more central Aberdeenshire clan, with it being a common name in the parish where My Great-Grandparents met and were married.

Click Here To follow my Esslemont and Barclay ancestry