require info on alias

[anniemas]

I have found my 3g grandfathers marriage certif. which reads " John Campbell alias MacTavish, shoemaker in Avonmore", any idea why an alias would be listed??

[Montrose Budie]

I have found my 3g grandfathers marriage certif. which reads " John Campbell alias MacTavish, shoemaker in Avonmore", any idea why an alias would be listed??

Most probably because there were several John CAMPBELLs locally, and quite likely several with the occupation of shoemaker.

This is the Scottish equivalent of the Welsh designation, for example, of "Jones the Butcher".

mb

[SarahND]

Hello anniemas and
Could that place be Aviemore? I'm not finding an Avonmore anywhere. In addition to the reason MB has given, he could have been known by two names either because he was illegitimate, or that he took on the name of a step-father if his own father died when he was young. Who are his parents on the marriage certificate (if this was after 1854)? Do you have his birth record? What years are we talking about here?

All the best,
Sarah

[anniemas]

Thanks mb... thats rather what i suspected. Sarah... it could well be Aviemore, its on his marriage record which is quite smudgy... it is from 1822, so that is the timeline..... this particular John Campbell married Colina Fraser, and im attempting to search back a bit farther.... thanks for the replies.....

[anniemas]

oh and no Sarah I have not been able to find his birth record, which is what made me think the alias listed on the marriage record must be important...lol

[SarahND]

Hmmm. That makes it more difficult. It is less likely, although not impossible, that he lived past 1854 and so had his parents listed on his death certificate. The alias could well have been his mother's maiden surname, but it would be nice to know for sure! Too many John Campbells in the area...

All the best,
Sarah

[johnniegarve]

In the Highlands of the 18th cent, there was widespread adoption of surnames in place of a Gaelic partonymic. Surnames had been little used until that time. Many adopted the name of the landowner, the Laird of Grant's rental book was suddenly full of Grant's, same folk different label. Cameron's & Campbell's ditto.

johnnie

[johnniegarve]

Unable to edit the above, should read patronymic. This guy actually had three names, MacTavish, Campbell and his patronymic, the latter would be used by the folk who knew him. Campbell was for signing his name, if he could, and for the rent book.

[Currie]

My Welsh GGG Grandfather, William Jones, had an alias. It was 'Jesus'. His son Peter, my GGG Uncle, also had an alias, and it was 'Peter the Poet' (Pedr Fardd). My GG Uncle Morris, grandson of William Jones, had one as well, and his was 'Nicander'.

Aliases were important to the Welsh because of their very small surname pool. The aliases for the last two mentioned above probably should be called 'Bardic Names', but they served the same purpose.

With the Welsh patronymic system, which was still hanging around in shreds at the beginning of the 19th Century, the surname, based on the christian name of the father (i.e. son of), changed each generation. Some of my Great Grandfather's (b.1823) siblings had different surnames, some old Welsh system, some English system.

Alan

[GDub]

It wasn't uncommon for baptisms in Upper Speyside to be listed with aliases back then. I've come across an abundance of them even as far down the Spey as Aberlour. The reasons were little to do with legitimacy, but as "johnniegarve" states, were centred on the decline of the clan system. Many Gaelic names which dominated Upper Speyside were being replaced by lowland names. In some cases perhaps they were anglicized as they weren't very easy to pronounce correctly, but generally there seems to be no specific reason. Probably some family connection going back a bit! Examples I have found in Inveravon parish are:

McAndie alias Mitchell - A large portion of the family became Mitchell's while those who had moved away earlier retained the McAndie name
Grant alias McRobie - No obvious connection
McKenzie alias Kynach - Both names here are derivations of Kenneth

As far as I can tell, the use of aliases in this context seems to have begun shortly after Culloden and continued for probably another 50 years until surnames became more formalised. It may well have its roots in the persecution of the Highlanders after the rebellion. Just take the McGregors for example and all of the aliases they had to adopt when their Surname was outlawed. It may well have been prudent to have an alternative Surname to distance yourself from scions of the family who risked incurring government wrath!