McCain's links to Scottish king shot down by experts

UK Guardian ^ | March 20 2008 | Paul Lewis

[Aristotelian]

Of all the claims in support of John McCain's bid for the White House, perhaps none is quite as grand as this. As he arrived in London today, the publishers of his new book insisted the Republican senator's family was descended from the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce.

For a veteran war hero staking his presidential campaign on military credentials, an ancestral link to a warrior who overcame the English to reclaim Scottish independence in 1314 has obvious appeal. But according to experts, the story may be no more than that.

Asked by the Guardian to investigate McCain's past, genealogists and medieval historians described the link to Robert the Bruce as "wonderful fiction" and "baloney".

[Aristotelian]

[Dahoser]

For a veteran war hero staking his presidential campaign on military credentials, an ancestral link to a warrior who overcame the English to reclaim Scottish independence in 1314 has obvious appeal.

To whom, Arlen Spector?

[Ben Bolt]

If the lead traitor ever had a pair of balls he has long , long lost them .

Durie also found other inaccuracies in extracts from the McCain memoir.

How suprised am I ?

[BluH2o]

Robert the Bruce was "an absolute scoundrel".
"He changed sides five times and would have ended up making Scotland a vassal nation to the English if Edward I had supported his claim to the throne.

Sounds like a McCain to me ...

[Ben Bolt]

’ Ya killin me -) Good job ...

[Eva]

Errors in genealogy are very common. Much of the research depends on the memory of the oldest members of a family. I’m no McCain fan, but this is a little silly.

[Young Werther]

Geez, Louise! How many times does McCain have to be shot down!

[BluH2o]

’ Ya killin me -) Good job ...

Like shootin' fish in a barrel.

[calcowgirl]

Durie added that despite his romantic reputation, Robert the Bruce was "an absolute scoundrel". "He changed sides five times and would have ended up making Scotland a vassal nation to the English if Edward I had supported his claim to the throne. The first thing he did after taking power was destroy Stirling castle and he was a self-serving, vainglorious opportunist who was determined to be king at any cost."

I dunno... I think they are related.

[decimon]

Maybe it was Bruce the Robert.

[plain talk]

well here is one way he might be able to find out - DNA project.

http://www.brucefamily.com/gene.htm

[saganite]

Who cares about who your relatives were 400 years ago? What a pile of crap.

[plain talk]

sratch that last post. I believe DNA tests work only work on paternal lines and not if it passes through a female (McCain’s great-aunt or whoever it was).

[epow]

My genealogy research turned up an English ancestor who immigrated to the Jamestown settlement in 1611, would that make me a good President?

Probably not, since he returned to his wife and young son in England 2 or 4 years later, depending on which records you read, and left no trace of what became of them after that.

[MamaB]

I have been into genealogy since about 1998 and if I could have a nickel for every mistake I have found, I would be wealthy. There are records out there that someone with a very good imagination put together. It is very easy to spot them if you do a little more research. Someone can start with someone famous and try to find some kind of link to their ancestors. It does not have to be real. The same thing is true of people trying to become members of the DAR. That is why they started requiring proof which I do not want to take the time to do. I know it and that is enough.

[calex59]

I think every descendant of scot ancestry hears that they are related to Robert Bruce. My mother and Uncles used to tell us all that we were related to the Bruce, but I seriously doubt that. I am sure some of the scots who migrated here to escape English prosecution(some of the hardest fighters during the revolutionary war, BTW)were related but you would have to dig into your family tree deeply in order to find out. I think it was a point of honor for descendants of scot families to claim this relationship,but we can't all be related to him!

[E. Cartman]

Of all the claims in support of John McCain's bid for the White House, perhaps none is quite as grand as this. As he arrived in London today, the publishers of his new book insisted the Republican senator's family was descended from the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce.

Hell. He claims to be a conservative, so why shouldn't he claim to be descended from Robert the Bruce?

[muawiyah]

There are some very practical reasons to know who your ancestors were ~ even 400 years ago ~ hereditary disorders.

[saganite]

Well, if switching sides for personal advantage was a Robert the Bruce trait then I would say we have a genetic match with McCain.

[muawiyah]

The greater number of most folk's Scottish ancestors didn't exactly "migrate here", nor was it to "escape English persecution". Rather, they were "transported here" and that was, in fact, evidence of "English persecution".

Back in 1700-10 the Brits hauled Scots off to America like so many cattle.

That trip was not considered a vacation.

There's holy ground generally unappreciated down at Smuggler's Creek in Alexandria VA. That's where the boats pulled up and Scots patriots transported in chains were tossed off to fend for themselves.

Many of them started the long-march to Alexander County in the Carolinas at this point ~ naked, cold, with no resources, and barefoot ~ a trail of tears.

Scots didn't travel in style to America until the Brits recruited them during the American Revolution to serve as tory militia in South Carolina (See: "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson)