Karen (McWhorter) Wilhelm
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Karen (McWhorter) Wilhelm

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Signed 25 May 2012 | 25,813 contributions | 907 thank-yous | 1,163 connections
Karen Wilhelm formerly McWhorter
Ancestors ancestors
Sister of [private sister (1950s - unknown)]
[children unknown]
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Profile last modified | Created 24 Mar 2012
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Biography

My name is Karen McWhorter Wilhelm. Some time in the 1960s, my father's uncle, William Edwin McWhorter, sent him a diagram of the McWhorter family tree going back to John McWhorter, a Revolutionary War soldier. Duplicates of the diagram went to my grandfather, John Robert McWhorter, and to other family members. This gave me a mild interest in the family history and a certain amount of pride to have been descended from a Revolutionary War veteran.

How did we get to be McWhorters?

The origin of the name McWhorter (or any of its spelling variants) is said to be MacChruitter, the profession of cruiteir, or harper. In 1346, King David II is said to have granted a charter of the land of Dalelachane in the earldom of Carrick to Patrick, son of the late Michael, harper of Carrick (Patricio filio quondam Michaelis Cithariste de Carryk). In 1385 Duncan M’Churteer, son and heir of the late Patick M’Churteer, alienated to Sir Thomas Kenedy, lord of Dalmortoun, the whole land of Dalelachane (Laing, 40, 69).[1]

Discovering the pointy-headed guy Sir James Hunter Blair, 3rd Baronet, now laird of Blairquhan (pronounced blare-whon),castle, says the original tower keep was built by the McWhirters in 1346. It was enlarged in 1573, but had fallen into ruins by the time the Hunter Blairs came into possession of it. The present building was built between 1820 and 1824 by Blair. The kitchen courtyard of the 19th century house incorporates decorative stonework from the 16th century building. Among the beautiful ancient bas-relief sculptures is a little pointy-headed guy with his lute -- the chruitter. (See image at right.)

Why would King David award a large estate to a musician? In the Anglo-Norman times of King David II, The King's Harper was a privileged artist who sang and played in the privy chamber. Other entertainers worked under the supervision of the King’s Harper, usually performing for the lower echelons of the household.[2]

Sources

  1. Dr. George F. Black, “The Surnames of Scotland,” 1946.
  2. Henry George Farmer, “A History of Music in Scotland.”



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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Karen by comparing test results with other carriers of her ancestors' mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Karen:

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Karen, I have a couple of generations of Casey County McWhorters that I will be entering, I have nothing that absolutely connects with yours, but imagine they do somehow. This is just a heads-up in case I accidently duplicate someone.
posted by Christine Henderson

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