Genealogies and Family History
Here is where the real interest lies; after the basic facts of births marriages deaths have been collected and census records scoured the there are the deeper records of wills, testaments and land records etc.
Indeed this is the aspect of the site I'll be concentrating on – building up the background information.
The early Aberdeen Duns, who were perhaps the ancestors of the Duns of Bristol, provide some of the most interesting research tasks.
Whereas the Border Duns simply seem to appear and their origins have long fascinated me- though they appear early in the records of the Scottish Parliament.
The Fife family, amongst the earliest, spread abroad mainly to Australia but really world wide.
The Stirlingshire Duns spread to Canada and the United States, though my own branch barely moved 60 miles in 400 years!
Aberdeen
Dr. William Dun
Captain with Marquis of Montrose
Borders
AustraliaBristolDun/Dunn Scotland US Canada
compiled by the late Dorothy Ann Brehm
Tree from.
Fife Stirling
Note that ancestry.co.uk has several trees for this family none of which are completely accurate.
1st Fife Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) 13th Battery Stirling.
List of longservice etc.
John Dunn, master of the Sophia of Greenock a letter of Marque or "privateer". They came as Strangers - Loftus Dun
Early Dun and related families in UK and Australia
Valentine - Fettercairn.Heraldry
Heraldry in Scotland is a branch of the Law and governed by the Court of the Lord Lyon
Those interested in Scottish heraldry will find much useful information in the Heraldry society of Scotland.
The early examples are taken from :-
An Ordinary of Arms: contained in the Public Register of all Arms and Bearings in Scotland – Sir John Balfour Paul ~ Lord Lyon King of Arms
Gules a sword in pale-ways proper between three padlocks argent.
Dun of Tarrtie Aberdeenshire (1672-7)
Gules a sword in pale-ways proper between three padlocks argent, a mullet for difference.
Charles Dun, Aberdeen (1672-7)
Gules a sword erected in pale proper between three square padlocks argent and two buckles in fess or. – in this the two buckles in fez
Dunn of Tannochside -Lanarkshire(1771)
Gules a sword in pale proper on its point a crescent argent between three square padlocks or.
John Dun, Perth (1803)
Gules a sword in pale proper hilted and pommeled or. Between three fetterlocks of the last.
Ian Dun, Angus (1983
Gules a sword in pale argent proper hilted and pommeled or between three fetterlocks of the last. A canton voided of the second.
Michael Dun, Broughty-Ferry (1983)
Gules a sword in pale proper hilted and pommeled or. Between three fetterlocks of the last. A canton voided argent and azure chequy.
Michael Dun, Broughty-Ferry (2017)
With modern grants or matriculations of arms it’s possible to register your genealogy and the evidence submitted has to stand up to legal scrutiny. However the genealogy will be restricted to a direct descent or simply there won’t be any branches.
The last three examples provide a very rare if not unique case.
Here the son was adopted so carried what is called a “canton voided” which means a stranger in blood –in that he wasn’t of the blood line.
However later his origin was traced and his blood line was that of Stewart so the canton now carried the Stewart chequy of azure and white.