Cathcart One-Name Study

(Click on picture to enlarge) Robert B Cathcart

Cathcart
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Cathcart One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Historical occurrences
Frequency of the name
Distribution of the name
Data
Contact Details

About the Cathcart One-Name Study

It was April, 1985 when, during a visit to Wagga Wagga in the Riverina District of southern New South Wales, Australia, I took my father to the nearby town of Henty and asked him how to get to the farm where he was raised. While we walked around the farmhouse and outbuildings I asked my father what his grandfather's given name was. He did not know and told me that none of the family ever talked about him. My father thought he must have been a convict. (No, there was never a Cathcart transported to Australia as a convict.) A week later I was following a trail of Cathcart throughout the state of Victoria and, because I did not know which were connected and which not, I recorded all I found - that was how the Cathcart One-Name study was started.

Variants

Kathcart, Keithcart (rare and found only in the US), Kithcart.

Origin of the surname

Cathcart is a locality surname. It originated on the White Cart (River) in the area now known as Cathcart about four miles south of Glasgow. The first known recording occurred in 1178 when Ranulfus de Ketkert (also as Rainald, and later (c1200) as Reginaldus de Cathekert) witnessed charters.

Historical occurrences

Sir Alan Cathcart de Cathcart, born in Scotland c1280 was, according to Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, the 'first from whom connected descent can be proven'. He was an adherant of Robert the Bruce and one of the few to be named in Barbour's epic poem 'The Bruce'. His grandson, also named Alan, was highly esteemed by Robert III and witnessed a charter by that King at Dundonald in 1404. It was this Alan's son, yet another Alan, who became the 1st Baron Cathcart of Scotland. He was a hostage to King Henry VI of England who released him in 1451 and gave him safe conduct back to Scotland.

William Schaw Cathcart, son of Charles Schaw Cathcart (9th Baron), was representative peer for Scotland and a frequent companion of King George III of England who elevated him to be the 1st Earl Cathcart in 1814. The 7th Earl Cathcart, Charles, succeeded his father in 1999.

Another of the many military men was Sir George Cathcart, a son of the 1st Earl, who was killed at the Battle of Inkerman, Crimea in 1854 whilst in command of a separate, but simultaneous, action to the famed Charge of the Light Brigade.

Rev'd William Cathcart, born Londonderry, Ireland in 1825 spent some time in Yorkshire, England then migrated to Connecticut, USA about 1852 and on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before 1859. He died there in 1908. He will be found as a highly respected theologian and historian in many US reference sources. His brother, Alexander Steele Cathcart, migrated to Victoria, Australia about 1860 and became an innkeeper in the eastern highland goldfields. He died at his Red Lion Hotel in central Melbourne in 1910.

Frequency of the name

World wide frequency of the Cathcart name varies considerably. The USA has the greatest number (see Distribution) followed by Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It seldom occurs anywhere else but in Scotland, where it originated, Ireland, where it is declining, and England.

Distribution of the name

Cathcart and variants in the USA.

1880 Census of the USA found 1,158 Cathcart and 118 Kithcart. Other variations did not occur. Of these 1,276 the distribution showing state code, number of occurrences and percentage of the total was as follows:

CA 19 1.38%; FL 16 1.16%; GA 18 1.31%; IL 61 4.43%; IN 56 4.07&; IA 66 4.8%; KS 42 3.05%; KT 21 1.53%; LA 14 1.02%; MD 64 4.65%; MA 54 3.92%; MI 43 3.13%; MN 22 1.6%; MS 43 3.13%; MO 24 1.74%; NE 31 2.25%; NJ 84 6.1%; NY 60 4.36%; OH 137 9.96%; PA 180 13.08%; SC 140 10.17%; TN 67 4.87%; TX 14 1.02%;

Other states * 100 7.27%.

AL, AK, CO, CT, Dak Terr, DE, DC, ID, NV, NH, NC, OR, VT, WA and WI each had less than 1% of the total number. States not shown had no representation.

1930 Census found 2,847 Cathcart, Kithcart and Kathcart. The distribution showing state code, number of occurences and percentage of the total was as follows:

(Ca = Cathcart; Ki = Kithcart; Ka = Kathcart. The very rare Keithcart variation did not occur in this census.)

AL - Ca 13, 0.46%: AK - Ca 1, 0.04%: AZ - Ca 2, 0.07%: AR - Ca 35, 1.23%: CA - Ca 191, Ki 4, 6.85%: CO - Ca 46, Ki 1, 1.65%: CT - Ca 34, 1.19%: DE - Ca 39, 1.37%: FL - Ca 41, Ki 6, 1.65%: GA - Ca 31, 1.09%: HI - Ca 22, 0.77%: ID - Ca 11, 0.39%: IL - Ca 155, Ki 6, Ka 3, 5.76%: IN - Ca 109, Ki 12, 4.25%: IA - Ca 71, Ki 28, 3.48%: KS - Ca 70, Ki 7, 2.7%: KY - Ca 45, 1.58%: LA - Ca 27, 0.95%: ME - Ca 4, 0.14%: MD - Ca 50, 1.76%: MA - Ca 69, 2.42%: MI - Ca 69, Ki 3, 2.53%: MN - Ca 26, 0.91%: MS - 25, 0.88%: MO - Ca 65, Ki 22, Ka 8, 3.34%: MT - Ca 3, 0.11%: NE - Ca 20, Ki 18, Ka 7, 1.58%: NV - Ca 8, 0.28%: NH - Ca 6, 0.21%: NJ - Ca 139. Ki 37, 6.18%: NY - Ca 184, Ki 21, 7.2%: NC - Ca 52, Ki 6, 2.04%: ND - Ca 4, 0.14%: OH - Ca 87, Ki 19, 3.72%: OK - Ca 25, Ki 5, 1.05%: OR - Ca 25, 0.88%: PA - Ca 219, Ki 33, 8.85%: RI - Ca 6, 0.21%: SC - Ca 256, Ki 4, 9.13%: TN - Ca 91, Ki 6, 3.41%: TX - Ca 118, Ka 9, 4.46%: UT - Ca 5, 0.18%: VA - Ca 8, 0.28%: WA - Ca 35, Ki 6, 1.44%: WI - Ca 5, Ki 1, 0.21%: WV - Ca 3, 0.11%: WY - Ca 24, Ki 1, 0.88%:

Total 2,847.

Based on 1990 Telephone Directories* New Jersey, South Carolina and Wyoming had about 1 per 1,000. Hawaii, Nevada and Oregon about 1 per 1,250. Arkansas, California, Colorado and New Hampshire had about 1 per 2,500. Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington had about 1 per 5,000 and the remaining states had about 0 to 1 per 10,000.

(*Based on Hamrick Software - US Surname Distribution Maps.)

My present project is concentrated on entering all Cathcart and variations of USA Census records from 1790 to 1930 at 10 year intervals. Updates will be added to this section when complete but viewers are reminded not to hold their breath while they wait.

1881 Census of England and Canada will be next.

Data

Data on almost 15,000 people consists of the usual vital records gleaned from many sources and much has been gained from newspapers in Victoria, and 'The Times' in England, from as early as 1800. Much has also been gained from many correspondents in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr Robert B Cathcart
11 Bushman Court,
Pomona,
Queensland
4568
Australia
E-mail:

This page last updated 25 February 2008.