Quote:
Originally Posted by ScotSites
Anyway, back to the subject of tracing your tree and using differnt spellings of names... while doing my own research I found a Margrat MacKinzie, but couldn't find any further info on her (other than one of her sons, my g-g-g grandfather) was born in 1787. However, further searching turned up a Margaret MacKenzie (or MacKennie) who turned out to be the same person... that also led me to the fact that the spelling of her husband's (and therefore also her son's) surname was also listed slightly differently to my own! This is further proof to yourself BallantineNorth that you SHOULD check ALL possible spellings of Ballantine... hopefully with the same results I achieved (ie your family tree traced further back than you'd previously managed!)
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Also, the whole 'tracing a surname' can be a bit misleading depending on how far you go back, especially if an ancestor was a Gaelic speaker. Fixed surnames weren't a custom until relatively recently compared to other cultures (ie Lowland Scots). Before that they had patronymic surnames. The clan system was also complicated by oaths of manrent and allegiance, so not all clan members were necessarily related by blood.
(I think some people out there are cashing in on the notion of genealogy if you ask me.)
Good explanation here about Lowlander names, if anyone's interested. The author also mentions the 'spelling' issue.
Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names