The Family.

The Wallace family tree has been speculated on for centuries. Historians have argued as to Sir William Wallace's heritage and some have even settled with the statement "It's a mystery!".

There are no less than six branches of the Clan Wallace, of which Sir William Wallace came from possibly the most famous - Wallace of Elerslie (or Elderslie to give the name its modern version).

• Wallace of Cairnhill
• Wallace of Cessnock
• Wallace of Cragie
• Wallace of Kelly
• and Wallace of Riccarton

Wallensis, in Latin, means a Briton of Strathclyde, which until 1018 remained a seperate kingdom. Around 1170 Richard Wallensis aquired the land of Riccarton (Richard's town - Wallace of Riccarton), in Ayrshire and it is the claim of lands and the spreading of a family that creates different branches.

The more land a family lays claim to, the more powerful that family is. Scotland's history is all about families and the wars between them, but Scotland has always been at it's strongest, in historic terms, when families unite to fend off a common foe, and the family name of Wallace is synonymous with this fact.

These are all the family branches and it would be to trace each of them back to just one beginning, however we are talking about Sir William Wallace so our attentions will be directed toward the Elderslie branch of which he was born into.

The White letter "E" on the map shows where Ayrshire is and the town of Elerslie (to give it it's old name) excisted in Kilmarnock until 1946. There is rather a lot of confusion when figuring out his exact roots, as Elderslie is also a town in Renfrewshire, both at some point in history have used the names Elderslie and Elerslie, and since only one of the towns now exist, some like to claim one over the other. To put the record straight, and to refer to historic accounts of the time, Elerslie in Kilmarnock is the true place of origin.

Nomatter how significant this point is, it is small fact in comparison with the accomplishments of Sir William Wallace.

---

There may be different regions which the family name covers but as a family all related from some past connection, close or distant, their tartans and their family motto apply to them all - Pro Libertate - which in English means - For Freedom.

Three tartans are associated with the family of Wallace, but as to which one Sir William Wallace would have worn, we'll leave that to your imagination.

Wallace - Wallace (green) - Wallace (blue).

There is a wealth of information regarding the history of the Wallace family, and the more that you learn, the more you realise the importance of the Scottish family. William Wallace never produced off spring (according to most historiens - see "William Wallace - Robin Hood?"), and so with the death of his father when fighting the English when William was a teenager, then with the death of William himself, the Wallace name was continued by cousins - distant cousins and so on.

Sir William Wallace of Elerslie, defied the odds and united the other families of Scotland, whether nobles or peasants, to protect their homes and protect their freedom. One man took a family motto of Pro Libertate and gave it to a nation - For Freedom.