From Norman Knights to Highland Celts: Updating the Clinton Story

For years, many of us have kept Cousin Thelma Clinton Whittington’s "Red Book" close at hand. It’s been our North Star for Clinton family history, sparking a fire in many of us to document where we come from. But as any researcher knows, sometimes the deeper you dig, the more the ground shifts under your feet.

For a long time, we followed a trail that led back to an ancient Viking Kingdom in Finland and the Norman "de Clintons" of Warwickshire. It’s a grand story, but thanks to modern science and some detective work in the genealogy archives, I've discovered our roots are actually planted in a very different soil.

Thelma Clinton Whittington "Red Book" about the Clinton family

The Mystery of Captain James Clinton

In the words of our ancestor Captain James Clinton—from his 1833 Revolutionary War Pension application—James tells us he was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and later moved to the York District of South Carolina with his father.

While older books suggested his parents were John Clinton and Elizabeth Beecher (descendants of Lawrence Clinton of New England), the facts just don't align:

• The Paper Trail: John and Elizabeth never lived in Chester County and never left New York.

• The DNA Verdict: YDNA testing has officially debunked the connection. Lawrence Clinton’s descendants aren’t related to the Norman peerage Clintons, and more importantly, they aren’t related to us.

  
  

We Are "The Irish" (The Scots-Irish)

The Clinton family journey on the Great Wagon Road from Chester Co., Penna. to York District, S. Car.

To find our true people, we have to look at who was actually on the ground in Chester County in the 1750s. At that time, about 23% of Chester County was made up of immigrants from Ulster, Northern Ireland. These folks called themselves "Irish" (the term "Scots-Irish" didn't become popular until much later to distinguish them from the post-famine Catholic migrations).

James and his family followed the classic Scots-Irish path: landing in Pennsylvania, then moving down the Great Wagon Road into the Appalachias and for our Clinton family, the South Carolina Upcountry. During the Revolutionary War James served in the New Acquisition District Militia. These were the "Presbyterian Rebels"—hardy, independent people who formed the backbone of the resistance against the British in 1780.

The Genetic Truth: Our Ancient Celtic Roots

The ancient kingdom of Dál Riata or Dál Riada or Dalriada

Here is where it gets really exciting. By combining traditional genealogy with YDNA testing, we’ve found that our Clintons weren't Norman Conquerors at all.

Our Clinton YDNA carries a specific Celtic marker that arrived in the British Isles around 2500 BCE. That means our ancestors were there roughly 3,500 years before the Normans even showed up! Even better? A rare marker combination that originated between 1200 BCE and 200 CE, pinpoints our family to the Highlands of Scotland, Argyll, an area in the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, which bridged western Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What This Means for Us

So, we might not be Norman nobility, but our story is arguably much more rugged. We are part of an ancient Celtic lineage that survived the Romans, flourished in the Scottish Highlands, endured resettlement in Ulster, Northern Ireland and braved the Atlantic to settle the American frontier.

I like to think that if Cousin Thelma were here today, she’d be the first one grabbing a highlighter to update her notes. This doesn't change the love we have for our history; it just gives us a clearer, more authentic picture of the blood running through our veins.

Roots to Branches

Learn More

“Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files.” Digital images. National Archives. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54246327 : 2023. Path: James Clinton (S.C.), application S2437; citing Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, ca. 1800–ca. 1912; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773–2007; National Archives Microform Publication M804, roll 580; National Archives, Washington, D.C. You can view the original digitized image of Captain James Clinton's pension application at this link.

“Dál Riata.” Alchetron: The Free Social Encyclopedia. https://alchetron.com/D%C3%A1l-Riata : 2024.

Scottish History Society. “Dalriada.” The Scottish History Society. https://scottishhistorysociety.com/dalriada/ : 2024.

Whittington, Thelma Clinton. Our Family: Clinton, McKenny, Moxley, Neel, Towery, Towry, Crider. Evansville, Indiana: printed by Evansville Bindery, 1999. Many members of the Clinton family have a copy of this book.

Clinton, Howard C. The Clinton Lineage and Related Families. Orlando, Florida: H.C. Clinton, 1974. This book is not digitized, but if you can find a physical copy you can explore more about the Clinton's in America. There are many errors in this book and few citations. It is likely the original source for the error on the lineage of our ancestor, Captain James Clinton.