Almost all Tarver researchers say that we all descended from William Tarver who came from England or Wales sometime around 1650. They are probably right, but our family tradition that has been passed down through the generations says that we came from Scotland. That probably is right too.

If you look up Tarver in most name dictionarys, you will find that it is a Pictish name and probably originated in Aberdeenshire Scotland. One source says that the first known instance of it was in Aberdeenshire in the Ninth century. It was associated with the village of Tarves in the parish of Buchan.

So what is a Pictish? They were an ancient tribe that lived in the Northeastern part of Scotland. Not much is known about the Pictish except what was written by the Romans and Irish. The name Pictish was probably given to them by the Romans because of their habit of body painting or tattooing. They were continually at war with the Romans. They lost many battles, and won some, but the Romans were never able to subdue them.

The Pictish had their own language, customs, and culture. They left many large carved stones and stone towers. They were known for their fine artwork. They were short,thin and dark, while the Scots were tall and fair.