Now I'm not nearly as Scottish as my good friend and colleague John Ivison. While I was born in Montreal, both my grandfathers — John Cedric Leith Akin and John “Jack” Lang — arrived in Canada as wee babes from old Stony. John C.L. Akin is my paternal grandfather and through him, I assume, my father and his children inherit their clan affiliation.
Now all along I thought 'Akin' was merely part of Clan Gordon but today I ran across a business in Scotland — House of Tartan — that suggests that 'Akins' has its own tartan. Indeed, we've got not one but two — and they're both mighty sharp, if you ask me.
And I'm even more chuffed to note that 'Akins Red Family Tartan”(pictured on the left) was designed by a Canadian – Steven L. Akins of Alberta. Beauty, eh?
Perhaps you should double-check your information on the tartans. If this is the same Steven Akins who was denounced for fraud in trying to establish himself as chief of the clan, he is also not Canadian, but a native of Alabama in the U.S. He registered one Akins tartan before being defamed. I am also an Akins descendant, from Georgia, U.S.
The Akins clan has quite a long and illustrious history in the annals of the Scottish contribution to Canada's history and development:
James Cox Aikins, born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1823. Educated at Victoria College in Cobourg, he served as a member of the Canadian Assembly from 1854 to 1861. Twice elected as Secretary of State, he framed the Public Land Act of 1872 and organized the Dominion Lands Bureau, which was instrumental in the settling of western Canada. In 1882 he was elected as the 4th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, serving in that office until 1888, and later served in the Senate from 1896 until his death in 1904.
Sir James Albert Manning Aikins, the son of James Cox Aikins, was born in Grahamsville, Ontario, in 1851. Educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, he began his career as an attorney and in 1879 was appointed Counsel for the Department of Justice. He held the title of Honary Bursar at the University of Manitoba from 1887 to 1916, and served as the first president of the Canadian Bar Association from 1914-1929. He received a Knighthood in 1914 and from 1916 to 1926 he served as the 9th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.
Thomas Beamish Akins, lawyer, historian, archivist, and bibliophile was born on 1 Feb. 1809 in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, the only child of Thomas Akins (Akin), merchant, and Margaret Ott Beamish. After training for the law in the office of his cousin Beamish Murdoch, he was called to the Nova Scotia bar on 3 May 1831. Most accounts state that Akins had a lucrative practice, mainly as a solicitor. The income from this practice and most likely a fairly substantial inheritance soon made him independently wealthy, allowing him to retire at an early age and devote himself to archival and bibliophilic pursuits.
While Akins was articling in Murdoch’s office, he and his cousin assisted Thomas Chandler Haliburton in the research for An historical and statistical account of Nova-Scotia (Halifax, 1829). Akins also joined, possibly as a founding member, The Club, which gathered regularly in the late 1820s at the office of Joseph Howe’s newspaper for cakes, ale, and literary discussions. Through his mother’s family Akins could trace his ancestry to the first settlers of Halifax, and he was a founder and president of the Old Nova Scotia Society, which was formed some time before 1838. All its members claimed descent from the first Haligonians, and their self-appointed task was to ensure that the anniversary of the city’s founding should never be forgotten. It was natural, therefore, that when the Halifax Mechanics’ Institute offered a silver medal for the best essay on early Halifax, Akins should enter the competition. The only entry was his “Essay on the early history of Halifax,” which was awarded the silver medal in 1839 and first published eight years later. Throughout his life he continued to correct and add to the essay, and in 1895 the Nova Scotia Historical Society published as the eighth volume of its Collections the version he had left at his death on 6 May 1891 in Halifax.
I wouldnt take Stephen Lewis Akins's word on anything. I'm sure that he designed the tartan and crest after he dreamed up Clan Akins. He had a nice website, a picture of him flying the colors all decked out in tartan, tam and such. Soon after I discovered the website, Clan Akins was denounced by Lord Lyon, King of Arms, to be bogus. Pathetic.
As an officer of arms to the court of Lord Lyon, I should like to point out in regard to the case of Steven Akins of that Ilk, that no official determination has ever been made by Lyon Court respecting his status as chief of the name and arms of Akins. The only ruling made in regard to Akins was that at the time he applied to Lyon Court for confirmation that the arms born by him were “ancient arms” predating the 1672 establishment of Lyon Register; he was unable to establish sufficent evidence of the use of the arms in question in Scotland before 1672, and thus Lord Lyon Robin Blair was unable to grant a confirmation of the status of ancient arms in Akins' case.
This decision itself has no bearing on the status of Akins as the chief representative of the name, nor does it reflect on the appropriateness of any of the various Akins tartans, clan crest, or other insignia pertaining to the name of Akins.
Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw BT QC
Rothesay Herald