Who was SAotI ?

Josiah Jenkins

Steven (Lewis) Akins of that Ilk, Knight Commander of the Order of St. Andrew, Self-styled Clan Chief of the Akins

Over a period of almost a year spanning 2000 - 2001, Steven Akins posted in the soc.culture.scottish and alt.scottish.clans newsgroups, signing his posts as 'Akins of that Ilk'. It later transpired that he had indeed legally changed his name to Akins of that Ilk !

He claimed that his family originated from the Isle of Skye and that there was a 'Clan Akins' of which he had appointed himself Chief.

These 'facts' were disputed by several posters on s.c.s., one of whom went to the trouble of researching the claims which he had made. A link to his rebuttal is given below.

If matters had stayed that way, Mr Akins would probably have disappeared into the archives of Usenet without trace.

Things really came to a head when Akins, a resident of Jasper, Alabama, USA and self-styled Scotsman, whilst claiming that he displayed the traits, morals and values of a Scot, openly boasted, in posts to these newsgroups, of racism, theft and other actions which the majority of us found offensive, distasteful and demeaning.

Following the rejection of his title claim by the Lord Lyon and problems in his personal life, Steven disappeared from our screens and has only surfaced briefly a couple of times since.

The other page which is linked below is a collection of statements made by him on Usenet and which give an insight into the extremist opinions which he expressed on a regular basis.

Akins of That Ilk ?
A Rebuttal of the Akins Claim by a Scottish Researcher

Some Thoughts from a Clan Chief
Extracts from Usenet posts made by Steven Akins

NB. All these statements are genuine as a search on the Google Usenet archives will confirm.

Steven came to the attention of the Scottish public on Sunday, April 15th, 2001 when the Scottish Sunday Mail published the following article under the byline of Thomas Smith

THE ALABAM-POT - This American tried to plant a fake gravestone in Scotland to stake his claim as clan chief.

A crackpot American tried to 'plant' a fake gravestone in a Scots cemetery - to back up his claim to be a clan chief.

Steven L. Akins planned to mock up the bogus headstone at his home in Alabama, then have it smuggled into a graveyard to be photographed. Akins could then use it as 'proof' that his ancestors had lived in Scotland in the 1700s.

The 34-year-old, who has never set foot in Scotland, tried to recruit Glaswegian William Wallace to help him. He offered to ship the tombstone to Scotland for William to plant in a cemetery. But William, 45, yesterday dismissed the American who has lodged his claim to be the chief of the Akins clan with the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh, as 'crazy' and a complete fraud.

He said: 'He contacted me on the internet and asked if I would be willing to help him forge proof that his family were based in Lanarkshire in the 1700s. 'He suggested sending me a tombstone bearing his family name and crest and asked if I would find an abandoned cemetery where it could be photographed'. Akins hoped the photographic 'proof' would guarantee his clan chieftainship. William added: 'He changed his name to Steven L. Akins of that Ilk in a bid to sound more Scots and authentic. The man is crazy.'

Akins has set up his own internet site, featuring pictures of him in full Highland dress - complete with a bizarre raccoonskin sporran - alongside his wife, who he refers to as Lady Akins. The site also offers membership of the Clan Akins Society to all people with related names at a price of 15 US dollars a year. He claims to have documents which validate his claim and says an old picture of a Highland soldier is of his great-grandfather, the intriguingly-named Baron Dekalb Akins.

But, according to William, the 'ancient' documents were written by Akins himself and are covered in Tippex corrections. He said: 'Akins' wife contacted me as she was worried that what he was doing was illegal. She sent me one of the documents which Akins copied and submitted to the Lord Lyon. It was dated November 25, 1747, but it was covered in correction fluid and different colours of ink. It was obviously a fake, but the Lord Lyon would never be able to tell as he is only sent a photocopy.'

The Lord Lyon, Robin Blair, yesterday confirmed Akins had applied for the vacant clan chieftainship, but he refused to discuss the application further. Akins yesterday insisted his claim was genuine and he had documents to prove his great-grandfather lived near Glasgow in the 1600s. He added: 'We were very fortunate that we had various wills and documents that were helpful in establishing the line of descent. The reason behind my claim is basically a desire to maintain my family history and heritage.'

Akins denied knowing Wallace or plotting to send a tombstone to Scotland. He added: 'There is certainly a tombstone with the coat of arms on it, and I've sent pictures of it, of course. I don't know if it's going to be necessary to submit the actual thing. Hopefully, it won't come to that.'