BETT/BEAT surname.....

Looking for Scottish Ancestors

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clare
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:34 pm
Location: Stirlingshire

BETT/BEAT surname.....

Post by clare » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:04 pm

Hi there,

Is anyone else researching the name BETT or BEAT in the Fife area? I have been trying to trace my BETT ancestors in the area, but have just recently discovered that in some of the records they seem to have been transcribed as BEAT. Before I go and spend a fortune on SP trying to trace them forwards, I was wondering if this 'misspelling' was an isolated incident or if BETT and BEAT were pretty much interchangeable for the family? (I have this issue with another branch of my family that seem to change between Chambers and Chalmers!)

All help/thoughts appreciated Smiley

Cheers,
Clare
Searching for:
ELLIOT, CROZIER, HAY, COWAN - Roxburghshire
CHAMBERS, WESTMACOTT - Glasgow
BETT - Kinrosshire
And many, many more...
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joette
Global Moderator
Posts: 1974
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:13 pm
Location: Clydebank

Post by joette » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:11 pm

I think this is a pretty much universal problem with surnames.
Remember that not everybody was literate,used their names much in a written way compared with all the officialdom we have to deal with today.Couple that with an accent & or an illegible hand & you can see where these problems arise.
Names were also anglisiced & then you have the Clan system which leaves me with a headache trying to understand.Then you have Wars,disputes which may again bring a changing of the name.
Researching:SCOTT,Taylor,Young,VEITCH LINLEY,MIDLOTHIAN
WADDELL,ROSS,TORRANCE,GOVAN/DALMUIR/Clackmanannshire
CARR/LEITCH-Scotland,Ireland(County Donegal)
LINLEY/VEITCH-SASK.Canada
ALSO BROWN,MCKIMMIE,MCDOWALL,FRASER.
Greer/Grier,Jenkins/Jankins
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AnneM
Global Moderator
Posts: 1587
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:51 pm
Location: Aberdeenshire

Post by AnneM » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:50 pm

Hi

Don't forget to try Beats as well.

Looking for a friend I found the name Machland transcribed as Machlan and more recently Macklin. In fact on one record fairly well into the C20 it appeared as Mauchline. The date was past the time you would normally expect to find that level of variation.

Anne
Anne
Researching M(a)cKenzie, McCammond, McLachlan, Kerr, Assur, Renton, Redpath, Ferguson, Shedden, Also Oswald, Le/assels/Lascelles, Bonning just for starters
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nellymahog
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:15 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: BETT/BEAT surname.....

Post by nellymahog » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:55 am

clare wrote:Hi there,

Is anyone else researching the name BETT or BEAT in the Fife area? I have been trying to trace my BETT ancestors in the area, but have just recently discovered that in some of the records they seem to have been transcribed as BEAT. Before I go and spend a fortune on SP trying to trace them forwards, I was wondering if this 'misspelling' was an isolated incident or if BETT and BEAT were pretty much interchangeable for the family? (I have this issue with another branch of my family that seem to change between Chambers and Chalmers!)

All help/thoughts appreciated Smiley

Cheers,
Clare
Hi Clare

My experience has been the interchangeable Bett and Betts. My Betts seem to have been mainly in the Edinburgh area. I hadn't come across the BEAT name. I'll check it out.

Cheers,
Helen
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paddyscar
Site Admin
Posts: 2418
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:56 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Post by paddyscar » Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:38 pm

Hi Helen and welcome to TalkingScot [scotland-flag]

Glad to have you on board and that Clare's query has provided an additional spelling for Bett/Betts. We hope it is a good alternative that will provide some new leads for you.

Again, welcome and come back often!

Frances
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SarahND
Site Admin
Posts: 5647
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:47 am
Location: France

Post by SarahND » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:08 pm

Hi Clare,
I have an Elizabeth Beat born about 1771 in Claverhouse, Dundee, Forfarshire who married Peter Gillies in Mains & Strathmartine, Angus in 1793.I have found her records also as Bett, Pett and Bate :shock:
Best of luck!
Sarah
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Russell
Posts: 2559
Joined: Sat Dec 24, 2005 5:59 pm
Location: Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire

Post by Russell » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:50 pm

Hi Clare

Although I have no Beats in my family line, the area around Kilrenny/Cellardyke and Anstruther have loads of them.
Variations on the name are Beat/Beatt/Beath/Beathe.
Bett appears to have virtually no variants and only comes up about 100 times.
Prior to 1855 there are about 600 deaths in Fife recorded under the Beatt variants. A lot of them appeared to be from amonngst the fishing community with concentrations in Leslie, Kennoway (mainly 1700's), Balingry, Dysart, Kinglassie, Ceres,Kirkaldy (mostly spelt Beath[e]), Strathmiglo.
Fife records are particularly good so if you track the death of an ancestor down prior to 1855, give me a name and approximate date to have a look.

Russell
Working on: Oman, Brock, Miller/Millar, in Caithness.
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny
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nellymahog
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:15 am
Location: New Zealand

Post by nellymahog » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:17 am

paddyscar wrote:Hi Helen and welcome to TalkingScot [scotland-flag]

Glad to have you on board and that Clare's query has provided an additional spelling for Bett/Betts. We hope it is a good alternative that will provide some new leads for you.

Again, welcome and come back often!

Frances
Thanks for the wonderful welcome, Frances. Great to be here. Great site.

Cheers
Helen
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