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Clan Dewar (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Dewar

Clan Crest: Issuant from a crest coronet Or of four (three visible) strawberry leaves, a dexter arm vambraced, brandishing a sword Proper, hilted and pommelled Or

Clan Motto: Quis Non Pro Patria (Why would we not do it for our country?)

Origin of Name: Midlothian, or 'Deoireach' in Gaelic, means 'pilgrim'.

Historic Seat: Vogrie House, Midlothian

Clan Chief: Michael Kenneth O’Malley Dewar Of That Ilk And Vogrie

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Dewar Clan History

The Dewars are thought to have first settled in an area south-east of Edinburgh. Legend has it that they were given the lands in exchange for killing a wolf that was terrorizing the area.

A variant of the name derives from the Gaelic 'Deoireach,' which means 'pilgrim'. The Dewar Coigerachs were one of five Highland families with the name. They were the traditional keepers of St Fillan's staff, a Celtic saint who died in AD 777. On Robert the Bruce's command, this famous holy relic was carried with the Scots army at Bannockburn (shown above). Despite changing hands several times over the centuries, the relic was eventually tracked down and is now housed at the Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.

The infamous Ragman's Roll included the first recorded use of the Dewar surname, with Thomas and Piers de Deware both swearing allegiance to Edward I. William Dewar was later granted a charter of lands in 1474. Dewars were also mentioned in Stirling around 1483. The Dewar of Cambuskenneth branch grew from this one. In 1710, John, son of Patrick Dewar of Cambuskenneth, was fined £50.95 for causing 'blood and riot'.

William Dewar of that ilk sold his Dewar lands and relocated to Carrington. The current chiefs are descended from this family.

The Dewars were wealthy merchants who bought the barony and estate of Vogrie in 1719. Postmaster General of Leith and Edinburgh was David Dewar of Vogrie. The Vogrie estates were extremely productive, with a thriving coal mine and Scotland's first gunpowder mill located there in the mid-nineteenth century.

Alexander, the sixth Laird, built the Vogrie Mansion House. Although the estate has shrunk from 2,000 to around 250 acres, the house still stands, and the estates are now open to the public as Vogrie Country Park.

Vogrie House, Midlothian, former Dewar family residence

The name Dewar is synonymous with whisky, thanks in large part to John Dewar's efforts. He was born in 1856 and transformed business and industry before being made Baron Forteviot of Dupplin in 1917.

Lord Lyon recognized the current chief in 1990.

Dewar Places & People

Clan Dewar Individuals

Sir James Dewar (1842-1923)

Scottish physicist and chemist. He was the youngest of six boys, and he lost his parents when he was 15 years old. He was born in Kincardine-on-Forth and attended Dollar Academy before graduating from the University of Edinburgh. He later became a professor at Cambridge University in 1875 and a member of the Royal Institution in 1877. For more than 25 years, he worked on spectroscopy and developed a chemical formula for benzene. In 1891, he discovered a method for producing industrial quantities of liquid oxygen. To study low temperature gas phenomena, he invented an insulating bottle, the Dewar flask, which is still named after him. In 1898, he also used this bottle to transport liquid gases such as hydrogen. In 1905, he discovered that cold charcoal could generate a vacuum. This technique was extremely useful for atomic physics experiments. He is credited with developing the vacuum flask.

Together with Sir Frederick Augustus Abel, he invented the smokeless explosive cordite. In 1823, he died in London.

Sir Thomas Dewar (1864-1930)

British whisky distiller who built their family label, Dewars, into an international success with his brother John Dewar. They blended their whisky to make it more appealing to the international palate, and Sir Thomas exhibited exceptional marketing skills, traveling the world to find new markets and promote his product, utilizing romantic images of Scotland and tartan in his advertising.

He was made a peer as Lord Dewar, but he never married.

Donald Campbell Dewar (1937-2000)

Scottish politician and the country's first First Minister following devolution in 1999. Dewar was born on August 21, 1937, in Glasgow, to very elderly parents. He attended Glasgow Academy before going on to the University of Glasgow, where he earned both an LLB and an MA. Through the debating society, he met his close friend John Smith, who would later become the leader of the British Labour Party. He was also President of the Glasgow University Union and a member of the Glasgow University Labour Club while at university.

Donald Dewar was a member of the Labour Party at both the Scottish and UK levels before being elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster at the age of 28 to represent the marginal constituency of Aberdeen South in the 1966 general election. In 1967, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Education Secretary Anthony Crosland, with whom Dewar later admitted he never really clicked. He held that position until 1969, but Roy Jenkins proposed him for the position of Minister of State in April 1968. However, nothing came of it.

Following the death of Labour MP William Small, Donald Dewar was re-elected to Westminster as the Member of Parliament for Glasgow Garscadden in a by-election in 1978. He quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a member of the Shadow Cabinet in 1984. John Smith appointed him Shadow Social Security Secretary in 1992. Tony Blair appointed Dewar as Chief Whip for the Labour Party in 1995, and when the Labour Party was declared the majority party in the 1997 election, he was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.

Dewar was in a position that the late John Smith would never have imagined possible at this point. He was able to begin the devolution process and worked tirelessly on the Scotland Act, which became known as Smith's "unfinished business." When ratified, Scotland would have its first Parliament in nearly 300 years.

Dewar was returned as the Member for Glasgow Anniesland in the first elections for the new Scottish parliament in 1999, and was later elected First Minister for the governing Scottish Labour Party/Liberal Democrat coalition.

The strain of establishing the new Parliament would begin to take its toll on Dewar, who underwent major open heart surgery in May 2000. Three months later, he was re-elected as Prime Minister. On October 10, that year, he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage caused by the anticoagulant medication he was taking following the surgery. He died a day later, at the age of 63, in Edinburgh's Western General Hospital. His funeral was held at Glasgow Cathedral, amid scenes of mourning unseen in Scotland's largest city for a politician. His ashes were scattered at Lochgilphead after he was cremated.

Donald Dewar has been dubbed the "Father of the Nation" for his work in the Scottish Parliament.

Dewar, James (1942-2002).

Bassist and vocalist for Robin Trower and Stone The Crows from Scotland. Dewar's career began in the early 1960s with Lulu and the Luvvers and culminated with the Robin Trower Band, a British rock power trio.

Dewar established himself as one of the greatest white soul singers, performing in front of sold-out stadiums and concert halls across the United States during the 1970s classic rock era. His style is deep, gritty, and resonant, influenced by Ray Charles and Otis Redding. His voice, like that of fellow Brits Paul Rodgers and Frankie Miller, was particularly suited to blues and soul-inspired material.

Dewar Tartans

There is no registered Dewar tartan; however, because the Clan is a sept of Buchanan, those with the Dewar surname may wear any of the Buchanan tartans.

Buchanan Historic

Buchanan Contemporary

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Buchanan Tracking

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Buchanan Old Settlement

Weathered Buchanan Old Sett

Dewar Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Dewar Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Issuant from a coronet crest Or of four (three visible) strawberry leaves, a dexter arm vambraced, brandishing a sword Proper, hilted and pommelled Or

Clan Dewar Coat of Arms

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). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.