This is but one page in the history of who I am and where I came from. I thought it fitting to dedicate the start of my story to my Forefather's because of the Surname that came through the millions of ancestors that we all have: Simple multiplication shows that we have 1,024 Moms and Dads ten generations back and a Staggering 1,048,576 twenty generations back, That is a lot of Moms and Dads! My mother, Nelda Nadine Davis Cargill, got me interested in genealogy many years ago with a Christmas present of a book with all the facts she had on me. I soon became intrigued with the thought of "Who am I" but after talking to my Father and a few Uncle's I gathered little in the way of my roots. This, plus the above fact of those countless ancestors, left me with the feeling that the surname Cargill was miniscule and meant little in the scope of things! I am a Knifemaker and have made knives for over 40 years. I specialize in folding or pocket knives. I have two distinct brands, Cargill for the one of a kind knives and Cripple Creek for my benchmade line. While attending a Knife Show in Cincinnati Ohio many years ago a fellow came by my table and showed me a Doctors Knife with the name Cargill on the blade. He told me that the knife was made in England about 1850, You can imagine how this sparked my interest. Who was this person, were we related, here I had information on another knifemaker from a bygone era with the same name as mine. (or rather me his). At that very moment I discovered that my Surname was very important to me, for it is the one thing that makes me who I am and it had survived centuries of assault from other surnames. Once again my interest turned into a quest in search of my ancestors and as the years went by I found other Cargill's that made cutlery. In fact I have documented many cutlers in my past, They made Medical instruments, Swords, Bayonets, Razors, Scissors and the earliest Cutler was a William (Bailie) Cargill who made "Pen Knyfes" in Perthshire Scotland c1690 and from that date to the late 1800's I found many references to Cargill Cutlers, a new name would surface about every 20-30 years. (Father, Brother, Son, Nephew?) They were listed in the towns of Perth, Cannongate, Edinburg and London. I even found one David Cargill who made Bayonets for a Rifle maker in Massachusetts during the American Revolution. All these Cutlers from my past kindled a spark, that would soon become a fire, that sent me on a journey that continues to this day. The number one contributing factor was when a gentleman from Maine called me and told me of two knives he had purchased at a Flea Market. The were fixed blades (non folding) and they both had the name Cargill deeply stamped in them. He had them dated by a noted Knife authority to London England c1760, Needless to say (it took almost 3 years) but I now own those two knives. Actually they were part of a Surgeons Medical Kit but the rest of the kit is missing. I believe that the kit was brought to the Colonies by a British Soldier (Surgeon) during the American Revolution and this kit never made it back to England. 300 years of family knifemaking history, what a story to be told. Maybe it was destiny or perhaps it was in my genes and a spark from an ancestors forge rekindled the urge in MY blood to continue this ancient family tradition. I was snagged, hook, line and sinker and there was no turning back, now I had to know "Who I Am"
I could only go back three generations on my fathers side, My Grandfather died in 1937, almost six years before I was born, and his father who died in 1931. There was simply no other information available from any family member period. The only lead came from my uncle Albert (or perhaps great uncle Ike) that we were Irish and came from North Carolina (we were all born in western Kentucky) and thus the quest began. I didn't know much about tracing your family history and ran into one brick wall after another and along about 1995 I had an opportunity to go to Scotland (remember the first cutlers were from there). Well first of all I didn't feel Irish, I didn't want to be Irish, Whenever I heard a set of Bagpipes playing the hair on my arms stood up, I had to be Scottish and I decided that Scotland was the place for me to learn all I needed to know about the Clan.
"Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself has said, "This is my own native land" Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, As home his footsteps he hath turn'd, From wandering on a foreign strand. --Sir Walter Scott
When I stepped off the plane in Glasgow I had the strangest sensation that I was home! I found the Village of Cargill, I found the Mains of Cargill on the River Tay. I saw Ben Neuven, I went to the Isle Of Skye and was perhaps one of the last to ride the ferry back to the mainland with the New Bridge in site to Kyle Lochalsh. I stayed in a Hotel in the heart of the Highlands at Inverness, and saw the movie Braveheart for the first time. I chased the elusive Loch Ness monster to no avail. I visited Perthshire, the homeland of my fathers, Perth where the first Cutler shows up, and then the icing on the cake, Edinburg. I had no idea of the meaning of the word OLD until I saw this city. In the colonies we think old as 200 years, there 1000 years is about right. I stepped on steps that were thousands of years old. When I saw the Castle of Edinburg, the statue of the Black Watch Highlander and the tribute to Sir William Wallace paled to the site of the building (Built in 800 AD) where Mary Queen of Scots was held. The Royal Treasure of Scotland with it's only three pieces of, The Crown, The Robe and the Claymore Sword is breathtaking. I learned a lot about myself on this trip and I knew that I was Scottish but most of all I learned that I wouldn't find ALL of my answers there! My trip there was one of the best experiences of my life and I will go back someday and if you ever have the chance to visit Scotland, do it, you won't regret it. The most interesting thing I discovered there was that the Cargill Clan had no known Tartan of its own, which is understandable because they were not recognized until the late 1800's, We are supposed to align ourselves with the Drummond Clan and it's Tartan. But I discovered three Family Crest's in Inverness for the Cargill's, the latest of which is shown here, and I can't help but think that there must have been a plaid for us as well. I left Scotland with some fond memories that I will treasure my whole life, and the desire to find my ancestors. Armed with the knowledge that we were indeed Scotsmen and a few leads I continued my quest here in the "colonies". I, once again, ran into several brick walls because I wanted to be one of Sir William Wallace's Highlander's. That was the wrong approach but finally I visited the New Genealogy Library in Frankfort KY and started hitting pay dirt. I found my Grandfather's death certificate which listed his father and mother, I found my Great Grandfather's death certificate which listed his father and mother. This was all vital information but I already knew their names. We have a family story of how an ancestor was hung for treason during the Civil War and after an exhaustive search thru the KY library archives I discovered that this person was my Great Great Grandfather! Whoala... I found our link to the past... I now had four generations whereas there were only three. I eventually discovered his father etc. etc. but met with another brick wall with one individual who decided to name his 1st born son after himself, so I wound up with two people with the same name. This took quite a bit of research before I discovered the truth. I found one piece of the puzzle in the Library in Chattanooga TN which startled me for it was like a message to me from my Great Great Great Grandfather way back in 1892. It was a newspaper clipping from a newspaper in Paducah KY about his 82nd birthday party in which it states that he was born in Lawrence (Laurens) South Carolina. (remember uncle Albert said North Carolina) This elderly kinsman left a clue for me to discover one hundred years later. Some people think that there is no life after death, I think that it goes on for all of our ancestors are still living in us.
This site built and maintained by Bob Cargill 11/01/00
