Surname help, please

[Rach]

Here is my puzzle of the week!
When each child was christened the mother's surname was written differently each time. Has anyone any ideas as to what the surname could be?
1. Mackow
2. Mackowres
3. Mccows
4. Mccoos
I can't find a marriage for Isobel [whatever] and James Mackenzie to see if that would help. Their first child was born Liberton, Midlothian in 1757. The only marriage around that time was James Mackenzie was to an Isobella Bell but they had their own family in Edinburgh Parish so that rules them out.
Rae

[emanday]

Ooh! Bit of a dilema, that one.

Got any more any other info including dates for those children?

[StewL]

Hello Rae
I assume this is the children you found:
Sarah Mackenzie b 15 Nov 1767 Liberton (Mackow)
Jean Mackenzie b 7 Apr 1765 Liberton (Mackowres?)
Jean McKenzie b 20 Mar 1763 Liberton (McCoos)
James McKenzie b 13 Dec 1763 Liberton (McCows).

As you would have noticed even the husbands surname spelling changes over a period. You must remember however, that back then spelling of names was a low priority in life, and often they were illiterate and wouldn't have spotted the difference anyway.
I think this is a situation where you may struggle to find what the correct spelling of Isobels maiden name was, if there even was a correct way of spelling it.
Some of my lot from Midlothian had a variety of spellings for just one surname
Good luck in your searching

[AndrewP]

Hi Rae,

On searching the Liberton births (baptisms) and marriages (banns) on the online IGI for a 20 year span around the period of the children you have found shows no others of any of the surnames attributed to the mother. The nearest is one McCall, but is that near enough - who knows.

All the best,

AndrewP

[Currie]

Hello Rae,

If you look at the Free Surname Search on SP and what’s on the IGI there’s virtually nothing there for any of those names suggesting it was just how something else sounded to whoever wrote it down.

If you try just the surname in “All Resources” on the Family Search site, all regions, there’s nothing extra for Mackowres, McCows or McCoos but for Mackow there’s a whole lot offered from all over. Many Mackow’s from Eastern Europe, but for Scottish sounding names there are McKay, McCue, McKee, Mackay, Mackey, McKie, McCaw, Mackie, McKae, McCoy, Macoy and others.

There’s a more flexible IGI search available here where you can search by Parish but it looks as though that isn’t going to help in your situation. http://www.originsnetwork.com/scotsorig ... rchBC.aspx

Record keeping in Liberton is supposed to have been okay but they may have married in a Parish where it was quite the opposite.

Alan

[SarahND]

The nearest is one McCall, but is that near enough - who knows.

Very near indeed! [all] >> [ow] or [o] happens all the time in language change over time or between standard and other dialect versions. In fact, one of my linguistics professors (a Scot!) did this all the time in his normal pronunciation. I think you have found it, Andrew

Cheers,
Sarah

[Rach]

Thank you very much everyone for your replies.
Yes, StewL, you found the family, thanks, but as you say it will be a struggle to get anywhere with those. I might try to see if any child lived a long life and died after 1855.
The other day I sat here trying to think what the surnames might sound like in different dialects but came up with a whole host. [Luckily there was no-one else in the house otherwise they would have thought I had become even battier than ever!] Likewise I tried S.P Wills search putting in the different spellings and using soundex but that came up with so many I gave up!
McCall is probably the closest but don't think I am going to get any futher with Isobel unless some sort of miracle occurs - and they do happen sometimes.
Thank you for trying.
Rae