Question - How do you spot a fake Scotsman, when he has a Scottish forename, a Scottish surname, and he feels such a great affinity with Scotland, to such an extent, that he's prepared to sing The Flower Of Scotland at the Scotland V's Estonia football match? Easy, it's impersonator and comic Alistair McGowan on "Who Do You Think You Are?", last night! I love this programme, not simply bacuase I'm an amateur genealogist myself, but because it's simply amazing how little poeple know about their own ancestry. Family secrets, lies and myths abound, I should know, I've covered a few of my own family's in this very blog.
So, the outcome of the programme, for those who might not have been able to see it, or have no idea who Alistair McGowan is, goes as follows:
Alistair McGowan is a well known impersonator on UK television, famous for impersonating David Beckham and such likes. "Who Do You Think You Are?" helps celebrities trace their family roots often with many surprises and shocks, not unlike this episode. McGowan was always under the impression that he was of Scots descent, although his mother was English and his father was born in India (to English parents, he claimed). McGowan, on his father's death in 2003 discovered upon his father's birth certificate, the words "Caste: Anglo-English". This sowed seeds of doubt in McGowan concerning a possible Indian heritage.
McGowan embarks on a journey of discovery to find out the truth. It turns out that he has Indian blood and what's more, when he reaches Allahabad, the place is literally crawling with McGowans. The family had been in India since at least 1760 and his ancestors had inter-married regularly with local women. The final upshot of his research came with the crushing blow that the earliest McGowan in India, John McGowan, had in fact came from Ireland. There was a sense of inevitability about it really. The BBC claimed that that was the end of the journey, no Scots ancestry at all.
I however remain unconvinced, because unlike the BBC, I know a little bit of history. While it's possible that the McGowan's were indeed distinctly Irish, there's as much possibility that they were originally from Scotland. The Plantation of Ulster, saw hordes of Scottish Protestant families transplanted from Scotland to Northern Ireland in the early 1600's. It's quite possible that the McGowans were among these settlers. Certainly, areas of Dumfries, Ayrshire and Lanark, where many of the Scots were brought to Ulster from, were home to McGowans. Perhaps the BBC could at least have given Alistair McGowan a small straw to grasp in his quest for Scots ancestry. It's not over yet! There are no dead ends in family history research, just obstacles which need to be overcome!
