The Official Oliphant Clan & Family Association

02/08/2026

The Gathering 2026 is a wrap! But I spy with my little eye...a bunch of Oliphants!

Broomhall House near Dunfermline, Scotland, is home to the Lords El...

31/07/2026

On 20 March 1326 at Scone in Perthshire, King Robert the Bruce gave letters patent granting to Sir William Oliphant of Aberdalgie the lands of 'Uthirtyre' (Auchtertyre) for the feudal service of three archers in the king's army.

The document was witnessed by a who's who of the Bruce's court: William de Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews; Bernard of Kilwinning, Abbot of Arbroath; Duncan, Earl of Fife; Maol Iosa, Earl of Strathearn; Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland; and Sir Gilbert de la Haye, Lord High Constable.

Nearly 700 years later, the document--only 11 lines of script-- was sold by Christie's at auction in London for £5,000, smashing the £1,000-1,500 estimate. One hopes that its purchaser can be found and at some point Clan Oliphant can reacquire this important document.

23/07/2026

Bon Voyage...and Fàilte gu Alba to all those arriving in Scotland this week for the Gathering of Clan Oliphant which begins on July 26th. Take lots of photos!

17/07/2026

Oliphant in the News: California & New Mexico

Two Oliphant icons passed on the same day this week. Monday, July 13th saw California developer, ex-mayor, and philanthropist Richard "Dick" Oliphant and Pat Oliphant, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist both bid us farewell, both reaching their 90s. See the first comment links for more info on each ⬇️⬇️⬇️.

Dick Oliphant, originally from Iowa, was of the DELMARVA line, sharing his ancestors William Oliphant & Betsy Gordy with many others here.

Pat Oliphant, born in Adelaide, Australia, was of the Olifent-Smith line from Kent, UK. He was a nephew of the famous nuclear physicist Sir Mark Oliphant.

03/07/2026

As we celebrate 250 years of the United States, it is a good time to post about an important Oliphant artifact. In 1787 Dr. David Olyphant was inducted into the Society of the Cincinnati, a hereditary fraternal society formed in 1783 to commemorate military officers who had served in the American War for Independence. Dr. Olyphant was one such officer, having received his commission as Director-General of the Southern Hospitals on July 4th, 1776, the duties of which he discharged until the surrender of Charleston when he became a prisoner of war.

Today the Society of the Cincinnati is 243 years old and is the oldest patriotic organization in the nation. It was founded by General Henry Knox from Boston who was the nation's first Secretary of War under President George Washington. Washington himself served as the Society's first President while Knox was Secretary. Both are signatories to Dr. Olyphant's induction certificate which Clan Oliphant acquired at auction in 2024.

We like to say that Dr. Olyphant was George Washington's biggest fan. Our evidence? His only surviving son was named David Washington Cincinnatus Olyphant. The doctor was born at Pitheavlis Castle in Perth, Scotland in 1720. He was a Jacobite, supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie's claim, and took an active part in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Afterwards, his life in danger, he escaped to Charleston, SC.

He moved to Newport, RI in 1785 due to his failing health. In the same year, he married Nancy Ann Vernon (wife #3), a granddaughter of the state's governor. At age 69, he became father to the only son to survive him, the aforementioned David. Dr. Olyphant died in 1805 at 85.

We've been trying to find a temporary but longish-term home for this document until Clan Oliphant has its own museum. We've been turned down by Mount Vernon. But Anderson House, the Washington, DC HQ for the Society of the Cincinnati, has not replied to us. So, that's not a 'no' ?!

Our goal is to create an Oliphant Tour in Washington, DC, taking in important Oliphant items throughout the nation's capital, including at the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and other important locations.

Happy 4th!

02/07/2026

Get to know our Oliphant Science Awards Ambassadors!

Yesha has been involved in the Oliphant Science Awards for many years, both as a participant and now as an OSA Ambassador. Her journey highlights how the Awards can help students build confidence, develop new skills and pursue their passion for science.

Learn more about Yesha and her OSA journey 🔗https://bit.ly/4b1OVZs

01/07/2026

While we are thinking about Oliphants in popular culture such as literature, what about when literature inspires art which references Oliphant?

Painted around 1350, this image is a famous French illuminated manuscript miniature depicting a cavalry charge of armored medieval knights. It may be from the historical manuscript "Histoire d'Outremer "(History of the Overseas Lands). However, it has also been suggested that this image depicts a scene from "L'histoire du Saint Graal" (The History of the Holy Grail), which serves as a prequel to the Arthurian adventures, detailing the early history of the Holy Grail and how it was brought to Britain.

What cannot be ignored, however, are the white crescents on the red background worn on the shield and the horse of the second knight. It is evocative of, if not a direct replication of, the white crescents and red background of the arms of Oliphant.

Formalized heraldry and the use of hereditary coats of arms did not exist during the initial Norman conquest of England in 1066. Instead, the system began to emerge approximately a century later, during the middle of the 12th century at the time of the Second Crusade.

At the time that this illuminated manuscript was painted, Sir Walter Oliphant was alive and married to Lady Elizabeth Bruce, Princess of Scotland-- and noble heraldry was coming into regular use.

Regardless of which manuscript spawned this image, it is preserved at the BnF - Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF Français 22495, folio 105).

30/06/2026

29/06/2026

All the authors with the name Oliphant aside, Oliphants have shown up as characters in novels *by others* for centuries. Dozens and dozens of times, and not just as ancillary characters; sometimes they were the lead. Isn't that interesting for a surname we still have to spell every. single. time?

Sir Walter Scott was most likely the first to popularize characters named Oliphant (or Olifant, Olifaunt, etc.) with Basil Olifant in 1816's "The Tale of Old Mortality" and Nigel Olifaunt's starring role in 1822's "The Fortunes of Nigel". After all, Scott was one of the most widely read authors in Europe, especially his "Waverly novels" published from 1814 to 1831. Initially, however, they were published anonymously. How very Jane Austen of him.

Before W. James, Esquire's 1857 "Charles Oliphant: A Novel in Three Volumes"; before John Holme Burrows' "Jabez Oliphant: or, The Modern Prince. A novel in three volumes." (1870); and before Gail Honeyman's 2017 single volume smash "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine", Sir Walter Scott gave an Oliphant the starring role.

With which real life Oliphants did Scott make acquaintance? Surely he must have done. His birth in Edinburgh, his schooling in Kelso, his historical novels set in so many Oliphant hot spots: Perthshire; Scottish Borders; Cumberland, England; London, etc.

One wonders whether the museum at Abbotsford The Home of Sir Walter Scott near Selkirk has any correspondence with Oliphants. Another item for the "Research To Do" list!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fortunes_of_Nigel