Scottish Heritage

Frederick Gunn’s ancestors, the Gunn clan, hailed from the far northern reaches of Scotland and claim to have descended from the Norse Earls of Orkney, who centered around the Scottish city of Caithness. 

  • Jasper Gunn was the progenitor of the Gunn family in the new world. He sailed from Scotland aboard the ship Defence and arrived in Massachusetts in 1635. He and his wife were among the first settlers in Milford, Connecticut, and he was the first doctor there. His great-great-great grandson, Samuel Gunn III, moved to Washington, Connecticut, where his grandson, Frederick Gunn, was born in 1816. 

  • Mr. Gunn’s heritage is represented today in our formal dress, which includes the Gunn tartan, and the school’s athletic teams, the  Highlanders. 

  • The story of The Frederick Gunn School has been shared with the Clan Gunn Heritage Centre & Museum in Latheron, Scotland, which has been visited by several faculty members. The school maintains contact with the center, as well as the Clan Gunn Society of North America.

Gunn Clann Heritage Center in Scotland

Photo Credit: Natalie Waite, NRW Photographer, Scotland