Can McIntyre or McTaggart become McIntaggart?

NormanE · Post by **NormanE** » Tue May 19, 2009 4:09 pm

I am struggling with a family tree where the maternal side references change from McIntyre to McTaggart and then McinTaggart. I am prepared to accept there is a literacy possibility or the Enumerator or Registrar's hearing was impaired.
Are there any historical reasons for this variation in name?
Any advice would be most welcome
Regards
NormanE

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue May 19, 2009 5:59 pm

Hi Norman
Are you seeing these variations on copies of original documents or in transcriptions? Roughly what dates? Where in Scotland? What type of documents?

Best wishes
Lesley

NormanE · Post by **NormanE** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:07 pm

LesleyB wrote:Hi Norman
Are you seeing these variations on copies of original documents or in transcriptions? Roughly what dates? Where in Scotland? What type of documents?

Best wishes
Lesley

Mostly from Scotlands People documents 1856 to1870 in Fife area
NormanE

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue May 19, 2009 7:34 pm

Hi Norman

If you say those two surnames with a Fife accent, they can sound very similar. Perhaps the confusion was in what the registrar thought he heard?

Best wishes
Lesley

killearnan · Post by **killearnan** » Tue May 19, 2009 7:56 pm

Without knowing anything more about where you've seen the name variations, I'd say it is quite possible.

Of course, my willingness to believe that it's possible is based on bits of my experience......

For example, I once spent months

looking for a woman whose maiden name in her marriage record was Little. Brick wall

or so it seemed. Really struggled to place her in the local family with that name

Almost a year later, I was looking at a deed for another family and find her listed by her married name. Turns out she belonged with a family concentrated a couple towns away and her father's last name was Small

Likely culprit: absented minded minister?