Variations of the Orcutt and Urquhart Names include: de Hurchard, de Urcharde, de Urquhartt, Harchard, Orchar, Orchard, Orchoden, Orcutt, Orquart, Urchar, Urchard, Urquhard, Urquhart, Urquhartt, Urxohart, Wrghward, Wruhurt
William Orcutt married Mary Martha Lane on January 24, 1663/4. William was the first male Orcutt in America. His sister Susannah Orcutt Edson was the first Orcutt in America.
William Orcutt Tree
(sometimes spelled Urxohart or Urrohart)
This tree is accessible only to immediate family through password protection.
Written by a descendant of William Orcutt, MASSACRE: Daughter of War offers a rare glimpse into the fragility of life for our ancestors.
"I don't know when I have been so deeply moved, to the core of my being, page after page, sentence after sentence, phrase after phrase... Pervading the page-turner is the finest job I have ever seen to treat with fairness and credibility the viewpoints (including religious) of both the Native American Indians and the English settlers -- remarkable! There are lessons for our time in this."
Remarkable in its scope and breadth, this document covers the following names and variations in spelling: Urquhart, Orcutt, Urchard, Urchar, Orchar, Orquart, Urquhartt, Urquhard, Harchard, Wrghward, Wruhurt, de Hurchard, de Urcharde. There is an interesting relation to the name Edson which is very much intertwined with Orcutt/Urquhart history. There were eleven Orcutt – Edson marriages up to 1799. This begins in the Reformation era. "History of the Orcutt Name From Antiquity" covers briefly the ancient names: Conacher (or Ochonachan), Edson, Forbes, MacKay, Nomoster (or Nomaster), and Ochonochan. This document has been "safely deposited in a number of genealogical libraries such as Library of Congress, Boston Public Library, Connecticut State Library, New England Historic Genealogical Society, etc." It is wonderful and surprising to read so much about one's own family history.
Our Thanks To Frederic Scott Orcutt, Sr.
Caveat
Bob Urquhart, the Clan Sennachie, has said that much of the Urquhart history contained in F.S. Orcutt, Sr., and Sir Thomas Urquhart's work is legend: the origin of the Forbes, MacKay, and Urquhart families, for instance. Also I believe that the connexion between Maud Bruce and Robert the Bruce has recently come into doubt.
Also, it is no longer taken as fact that Orcutts are descended from the Urquhart Clan. There are some who say that this old family legend has been proven false by a DNA test. Others question the testing methods.
For more on this subject, see the "Who Are The Orcutts?" section below.
Clan Urquhart claims Orcutts as their own, but are we really?
Joel Orcutt's test results done by FamilyTree exclude any link at least to the Urquhart ancestor used in the test.
Joel took a SECOND DNA test, which also came back NEGATIVE for a connection to the same ancestor. This latter test was done by Oxford University but was not done through the Clan's program.
Perhaps I am simply stubborn and sentimental, but I can not yet reject what my family believed their origin to be.
My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Orcutts did carry the Urquhart name. Judy Orcutt Holy presented the idea that our ancestors may have lived Clan Urquhart territory. It was not at all uncommon to take the name of the clan in whose domain one lived.
So, while there may be no blood link to the chief's line, which is what DNA testing excludes or includes, Orcutts may indeed be Urquharts.
Joel Orcutt, however, has done extensive research into a new theory on another origin of the Orcutt name: Aucotte. His position on the debate is stated below, and here is a link to Joel Orcutt's own site: Our Orcutt Family
