Malcolm
On my dad's side, my family connects to Clan Malcolm, a smaller Scottish Highland clan whose seat is Duntrune
Castle, one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Scotland. One ancestor, Zachary MacCallum, was known
as a skilled swordsman and was killed from behind with a scythe during a 1647 battle after cutting down seven
enemies.
Another Malcolm served as a naval commander on St Helena and was responsible for guarding Napoleon Bonaparte
during his exile. The clan's association with the Poltalloch lands also links to the early development of the
West Highland White Terrier. Their motto is In ardua tendit — ‘He aims at difficult things.
Benporath
My mum's side of the family has the surname Benporath, which is incredibly rare — only a few dozen people
worldwide have it today. Because of how the name appears in old European records, it's likely our ancestors were
part of the Sephardic Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal, who were forced out of Iberia in 1492 under the
Alhambra Decree (a law that expelled all Jews who didn't convert).
After that expulsion, families with similar names show up in Italy and Austria, which matches what researchers
know about where Sephardic refugees resettled across the Mediterranean and Europe.
There's also a family story that one of my great-great-grandfathers was sent to Australia for privateering, and
interestingly there are Benporaths recorded in Australia from the 1800s to early 1900s - so the timeline fits.
From there, the trail gets blurry, but at some point the family moved to South Africa.
Mackenzie
Through my partner I'm also connected to the Mackenzie whānau - originally part of Clan Mackenzie, one of the
big Scottish Highland clans known for their dramatic history and their connection to Eilean Donan Castle. Their
motto is Luceo Non Uro - ‘I shine, not burn.’ Our branch of the family actually became Mackenzie instead of
MacKenzie because her grandfather (or great-grandfather) didn't want to pay extra to have the capital 'K'
printed in the phone book, so the whole family name changed to save money.
