Genealogical Dilema

[DreadGod]

Hi,

My ancestors were Alexander Munro (a carpenter) and wife Barbara Mackay, who eldest son was James Munro, born 1796 in the parish of Farr, Sutherland.

I then come accross another Alexander Munro (also a carpenter), whose wife is also Barbara Mackay, whose son is also called James Munro but was born in 1791 in the parish of Durness, Sutherland.

Now you will note the coincidences of the three names being the same as well as the father's trade being a carpenter. I have always assumed that these were two different couples just with matching details. BUT I had this theory that they were the same couple who had their first son James in 1791 in Durness parish, who could have died young and then five years later in 1796 they had moved to the parish of Farr (only a few miles to the east) where they had another son called James.

Am I just going crazy and these are blatently two different couples ? or could they be the same pair ? Any thoughts or comments ?

[Lachlan09]

They were alien clones, disguised in human form to live among us. At that time they were new at this taking-over--Planet Earth thing and they forgot to destroy the human originals.

[tig]

its a classic case of identity theft to aid benefit fraud


happens all the time

[Duthill]

DG ,

It could be that your great great great etc. grandad was a traveling carpenter who lead a double life , with a wife in every town , and to keep himself from tripping up , kept things simple with the same names

or

The naming system that confuses many who start out in family research has come into play .
It goes something like this ;

The 1st son named after the father's father.

The 2nd son named after the mother's father.

The 3rd son named after the father .

The 1st daughter named after the mother's mother.

The 2nd daughter named after the father's mother.

The 3rd daughter named after the mother .

Subsequent children named after other relatives , a local identity , a visiting stranger etc.

This system could lead to the confusing situation of kids running about the area , who had the same name ,fore and aft .
Many folks had nick-names based on a physical attribute as a result of this setup , to avoid confusion.
Red Rob , Wee Jimmy , Alister Mor , Black Peter and the like .

Not surprisingly , a lot of double-ups came into the marriage state as well.

As a result , the likely hood of multiple Donalds marrying Janets and having sons named Angus and daughters called Margaret , all in the same generation , all distantly related , all in the same area , was on the cards .
And the cards often fell that way

[Lachlan09]

Originally Posted by Duthill

DG ,

It could be that your great great great etc. grandad was a traveling carpenter who lead a double life , with a wife in every town , and to keep himself from tripping up , kept things simple with the same names

or

The naming system that confuses many who start out in family research has come into play .
It goes something like this ;

The 1st son named after the father's father.

The 2nd son named after the mother's father.

The 3rd son named after the father .

The 1st daughter named after the mother's mother.

The 2nd daughter named after the father's mother.

The 3rd daughter named after the mother .

Subsequent children named after other relatives , a local identity , a visiting stranger etc.

This system could lead to the confusing situation of kids running about the area , who had the same name ,fore and aft .
Many folks had nick-names based on a physical attribute as a result of this setup , to avoid confusion.
Red Rob , Wee Jimmy , Alister Mor , Black Peter and the like .

Not surprisingly , a lot of double-ups came into the marriage state as well.

As a result , the likely hood of multiple Donalds marrying Janets and having sons named Angus and daughters called Margaret , all in the same generation , all distantly related , all in the same area , was on the cards .
And the cards often fell that way

Dut

I prefer your first one, makes loads of sense to me !

[DreadGod]

Hmm..... I was hoping for some more serious respones.

Still unless the James Munro born 1791 died young then there would be no reason for them to have another son called James in 1796. Still children dieing in infancy was a common thing in those days.

The other thing is that two different genealogists have come up with different ancestrys for the two wives both named Barbara Mackay. This further backs up the theory that were completely different couples. Interestingly both can be connected up to the chiefs of Clan Mackay but through different branches. I just hope that they are right.

[Lianachan]

It could be a coincidence. You're in darkest MacKay country there, and Munros aren't especially rare. Neither are any of the first names.

Also, although it's possible for people in the Durness and Farr parishes (both of which I know very well) to be "only a few miles" apart, it's also possible for them to be 50, 60 or more by road A considerable distance in those days.