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Clan Adair (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Adair

Clan Crest: A man’s head, couped and blooded

Clan Motto: Loyal Au Mort (Loyal unto Death)

Region: Lowlands

Clan Chief: None, armigerous family

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Clan Adair History

The name Adair originated in Renfrewshire when Thomas Edzear obtained a charter from Robert I for the lands of Kildonan in the Rynes of Galloway.

Thomas' ancestors were most likely descended from Edgar son of Duvenald, a leader at the Battle of the Standard. The name 'Edzear' appears in a 1625 charter in which both forms of the name (Adair and Edzear) are used.

Richard dictus Edger was also given land in Dumfries by Robert I.

The surname Adair is most commonly found in Renfrewshire today.

Clan Adair Places & People

Adair Locations

The Dunskey Castle

Built around 1510 by the Adairs of Kinhilt, who also owned the Castle of St John in Stranraer. In the 17th century, the castle was expanded.

Adair Individuals

Mr. John Adair (9 January 1757 – 19 May 1840)

John Adair was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician who was born in South Carolina to Scottish immigrants.

Adair enlisted in the South Carolina colonial militia at the start of the American Revolutionary War and was twice captured by the British. After the war, he entered politics, becoming the 8th Governor of Kentucky and representing the state in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Gilbert Adair is an Englishman (1944 – 2011)

Gilbert Adair was a novelist, poet, film critic, and journalist from Scotland. best known for her translation of Georges Perec's novel A Void, which does not contain the letter e. This resulted in him receiving the Scott Moncrieff Translation Prize. Love and Death on Long Island and The Dreamers, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, are two films based on his novels.

He was born in Kilmarnock but spent most of his life in Paris. Alice Through the Needle's Eye and Peter Pan and the Only Children were two of his works. He won the Author's Club First Novel Award in 1988 for his novel The Holy Innocents, and he also wrote The Sunday Times' "Scrutiny" column from 1992 to 1996.

Adair died of a brain haemorrhage 13 months after suffering a stroke that rendered him blind.

Adair, James Makittrick (1728–1802)

He was the youngest son of James Makittrick and was born in Inverness and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He is well-known for his compassionate treatment of slaves and the poor.

He began his military career, later becoming a surgeon's mate on the Porcupine as it sailed to the Leeward Islands, after which he moved to Antigua to study medicine. During his time there, he became aware of the plight of slaves on plantations.

Despite not being an abolitionist, he became concerned about the poor living conditions of slaves on the island and was well-known and respected among the slave population.

During a trip to America, he made friends with Benjamin Franklin.

While on another extended stay in the West Indies, he changed his name to Adair to ensure his safety.

Mr. John Adair (c. 1655-1722)

John Adair was a Scottish mapmaker and surveyor who was honored by the Royal Society in 1688 for the quality of his maps.

The Privy Council commissioned Adair, a "mathematician and skilful mechanic" at the time, to survey the regions of Scotland in 1683. Three acts of tonnage were passed in 1686, 1695, and 1705 to raise funds for his work, but financial difficulties persisted, affecting his work greatly. Few of Adair's maps were engraved during his lifetime, and sadly, the majority of his map manuscripts were destroyed in a fire in 1811.

Clan Adair Tartans

Adair Tartan does not exist. They wear the Maxwell tartans as a sept of Clan Maxwell. In the Old and Rare range, there is also a Maxwell muted.

Maxwell Contemporary

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Maxwell's Hunt

Clan Adair Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Adair Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

A man's head, bloodied and couped

Coats of Arms of Clan Adair

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.