The Clan Watson Society
Our Mission
Our mission is to create a clan society that is the familial home for Watsons the world over. The society will be all inclusive, and will welcome not just those that were born or married into the Watson family, but also anyone with an interest in the history of the Watson name and its variants and in today’s global Watson community.
The word "clan" is used to refer to the society, and throughout this site, in recognition of the Scottish origins of a large number of the world's Watsons. It is by no means intended to limit membership of the society or its interests to those with Scottish connections; indeed, we'd love to see stories of Watson communities around the world and to research and collect information on some of the diverse groups and their origins!
The mission will be supported by our three strategic pillars – Community, Sustainability and Research – and by our shared values of Kinship, Integrity and Tradition. The values will shape the way we as individuals and as a society conduct ourselves and will provide a firm foundation to everything we do as we build our community. More details of the strategic pillars and the values are given in the sections below.
Clan Watson Society Mission, Strategic Pillars and Values
Our Strategic Pillars
Our strategic pillars support our mission, and consist of tasks and activities that we will conduct as we work towards making it a reality.
Community
To us, this is the most important of the strategic pillars. The primary aim of the society is to foster a sense of community amongst the global family of Watsons and those with an interest in the name. Without this sense of community, the mission will fail - simple! By building a sense of community we can create a collaborative environment in which we achieve the society's goals together, rather than acting as a limited number of individuals with parallel and competing interests. As we grow in number, we would like to build on this sense of community by, for example, sending society representatives to the bigger clan gatherings and maybe even running our own events.
Sustainability
Our aim is to build a lasting community that stands strong through the test of time. To do this, the community needs to be built on a shared set of values and to have an agreed set of aims. A community is at its strongest when everybody feels a part of it and feels that they are able to contribute and that their contributions will be valued. We welcome reasoned input and dialogue from all, and would love members to contribute ideas for the website, new research themes, new events and engagements, and anything else that comes to mind!
If we all have a say in how this community is built, if we all feel a part of it, and if we all feel that it will serve our needs for the long term, we can build a sustainable community that will last the ages. If you wish to contribute, or would just like to send in some ideas or feedback, please don't hesitate to let us know!
Research
The aim of this pillar is to build a knowledge base of all things Watson, starting with their history and relationships with other name groups, researching the spread of the name, and documenting some notable events and persons associated with the Watson name through time. Our research will cover everything from documented history through to urban myths and legends, and it will be important to differentiate and ensure that any research is backed up by credible sources before being presented as fact. Legends are, of course, a critical part of the history of any family-based kin group and their importance will certainly not be overlooked!
This whole thing started with me wanting to research my own Watson heritage. The more I uncovered, the more I wanted to find out - not just about my own Watson ancestors, but all things Watson related! If you feel the same, this society is definitely for you. I cannot possibly hope to research everything to do with all Watsons that have ever lived. I have added a few suggested research themes on the history page, but if you would like to see other themes explored, or you are engaging in your own research, please drop me a line through the Contact Page and we can pool resources and results. I'd love to see Watson-related research around the world posted up here, appropriately referenced and credited, of course! I firmly believe that there is great value in understanding where you have come from, and I know that many people like the sense of history, kinship and belonging that comes from researching their own particular family history.
Our Values
Our values are the foundation of everything we do. They define the way in which we interact with others and the way in which we conduct ourselves as we engage in clan-related activities, and they provide a yardstick against which we can hold ourselves accountable. The values are introduced below, together with guidance as to their meaning and how we can apply them. It is important to stress that our values reflect the way that we as a clan conduct ourselves today; we must be very mindful when conducting our research that the values of a society change and what is considered acceptable or unacceptable today may not have always been considered as such. We should ensure that research is fact based, although respectful opinion and debate is always welcomed, and we must be mindful that people alive today cannot be held accountable for the actions of people that lived many generations earlier.
Kinship
The clan is a family, and Kinship is what binds us together. Kinship is where we set aside our differences and focus on what unites us. We respect everyone's background, everyone's beliefs and traditions and everyone's point of view. Where we differ in our opinions or our approach to certain situations, we deal with those differences from a position of mutual understanding. We work together to achieve our common goals, contributing where we are able and welcoming the contributions of others where we can't. We extend the hand of friendship to all with similar values who approach us, regardless of their clan or other affiliation.
Integrity
We will always conduct ourselves with Integrity. We will be honest and forthright, but respectful, in our dealings with others. When we conduct research or state facts, we will be diligent and make it clear when our statements are based on unvalidated sources. We will not take credit for the work of others nor seek individual glory at the expense of the society. Our behaviour will always reflect well on the society and will not bring it or anyone associated with it into disrepute.
Tradition
The Scottish clan system and most other kin-based societies are built on centuries of tradition, and the society will recognise and respect this and will conduct its activities in a manner that is in keeping with those traditions. Tradition does not, however, mean being stuck in the past, and to truly flourish, the Society must keep an eye to the future and look to embrace new societal developments as appropriate. Tradition will act as a bedrock, providing stability to the society as it develops its ways of operating, with systemic change carefully reviewed before implementation.
Footnote
The above Mission, Strategic Pillars and Values are those proposed at the very beginning of the society and are by no means set in stone. We welcome feedback on how they are working, whether they are appropriate and remain so, and where they could be tweaked or improved, so please feel free to send us your feedback!