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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Lanarkshire => Topic started by: SandraD on Monday 25 March 13 15:51 GMT (UK)

Title: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: SandraD on Monday 25 March 13 15:51 GMT (UK)
Has anyone else out there tried to trace back from the above two (my 3x grandparents) and found that the name GOLDIE, rather than Golder, seems to be the only option? I've searched and searched and can only assume that the surname has been recorded incorrectly on the various documents shown on ScotlandsPeople. I definitely know that Marion Golder (one of their children) was my great great grandmother and my father inherited the surname as his firstname. I'm stuck!!
Title: Re: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: JMStrachan on Monday 25 March 13 17:01 GMT (UK)
Surnames evolved over time, and there wasn't a particularly consistent way of spelling them until well into the 1800s. Also, when people couldn't read or write they couldn't tell the church clerk how to spell their name so the clerk would just write down what he believed he heard. So when searching in the OPRs you do need to quite flexible about how a name might have been spelt.
Title: Re: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: MonicaL on Monday 25 March 13 18:42 GMT (UK)
Just to re-inforce what has been said. The Old Parish Register entries show the surname as: GOLDER, GOOLDER and GOLDIER.

Bear in mind also that first name variants also come into play too  ::) Jean and Jane are standard first name variants with people swapping around either name, see www.whatsinaname.net/female-names/Jean.html

Monica  :)
Title: Re: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: SandraD on Tuesday 26 March 13 08:51 GMT (UK)
Thank you both for your help. I did wonder if the lack of reading skills could have had some bearing on the matter. I do try to 'prove' that I have the right person and have contacted someone through Ancestry but they got stuck in the same place as me!! I'll certainly try 'Jane' Shearer as I have her Birth Record (Jean) showing her father's name. I'll report back any success.
Title: Re: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: JMStrachan on Tuesday 26 March 13 10:29 GMT (UK)
Yes, in Scotland Jane, Jean and Jeannie were interchangeable, and as I've found out, so were Janet and Jessie. And sometimes a Jean or Jane gets listed as Janet.

Don't discount Goldie records, though. Goldie was a fairly common name in Scotland so someone called Golder could well have ended up being listed as Goldie.
Title: Re: George Golder (1780- ) and Jean Shearer (1779- )
Post by: SandraD on Tuesday 26 March 13 12:00 GMT (UK)
That's encouraging, thank you. I've just heard from Scotlands People that the transcription error I reported (Goldie / Golder) has been confirmed and will be adjusted. They've even refunded some credits. I've also found a proven common link with an area in Glasgow called Glassford. That might help.  ;)