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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Buteshire => Topic started by: Rakiura John on Wednesday 01 February 23 07:52 GMT (UK)
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Hi
Does anyone know whether Crawford and McGraffan are variations of the same surname, and used interchangeably in Kilmory (c1770's)?
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I wouldn't have thought it. The name McGraffan does not appear in Black's "Surnames of Scotland". Looking at the OPR indexes on ScotlandsPeople, the name seems to be confined to the island of Arran, with a couple of instances in Ardrossan and Stevenston on the Ayrshire coast across from Arran.
The name Crawford comes from a place-name in Lanarkshire.
What makes you wonder if they are the same?
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FreeREG has 91 entries for the surname Crawford c 1772-1801 in Kilmory.
+ 2 for McGraffan;
Kathrine MCGRAFFAN
John ROBISON Marriage 1724
Alexr MCGRAFFAN Bapt 28 Jul 1777
+ using soundex option several entries 1701-1779 eg under MCGRAFAN/MCGRAFFEN/MCGRAFFON etc.
Trish :)
(from Hamilton NZ)
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This is from Wikipedia and there are similar references elsewhere.
“The surname Crawford corresponds to the Scottish Gaelic MacCreamhain and the Irish de Cráfort, Mac Crábhagáin, and Mac Raith.”
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Black is more academically rigorous than Wikipedia! He says that Crawford and variants are of territorial orgin from the place in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire.
MacCreamhain is a Gaelic patronymic, i.e. "son of Creamhain" which would sound more like MacCreaven, 'mh' being pronounced like 'v'.
Does Wikipedia give any sort of source for its statement?
I doubt that there is any historically proven connection between Crawford and McGraffan, but that doesn't mean that they could not have been used as if there were. There are plenty of examples of unconnected names that have come to be used interchangeably - Janet/Jessie and Donald/Daniel being the most obvious. Why not Crawford/McGraffan?
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I only quoted it as a possibility. :)
I was thinking of Irish really with ‘ea’ as ‘a’ sound and as you say ‘mh’ as ‘v’ so perhaps it could have a similar pronunciation to ‘McGraffan’.
Here is the Wikipedia reference for the source
“Mark, C (2003). The Gaelic-English Dictionary. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-27706-6.”
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Have to have a look at that dictionary and see where the statement comes from. It looks inherently unlikely that a surname of territorial origin and a patronymic would be from the same source, but you never know.
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GR2. My query was initiated by the case of Catherine McNeil - FamilySearch Ref KHNK-BRF
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GR2. My query was initiated by the case of Catherine McNeil - FamilySearch Ref KHNK-BRF
I see it says Isabel Crawford or McGraffan. In Scotland women are always referred to by their maiden names in legal documents and in the OPRs. If they are married, their married surname can be added in the format "or xxxxx". So Isabel Crawford is her maiden name, and being married to Mr McGraffan, she is officially Isabel Crawford or McGraffan.
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Have to have a look at that dictionary and see where the statement comes from. It looks inherently unlikely that a surname of territorial origin and a patronymic would be from the same source, but you never know.
I am sure you are correct. It looked interesting though. ;)
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GR2. Thanks. However Isobel's spouse was Donald McNeil, not a McGraffan. The FS Tree currently has her surname as "Crawford or McGraffan" only because that's what I changed it to yesterday - to reflect my conclusion that Isobel Crawford and Isobel McGraffan are the same person.
Although it always possible Isobel had a prior marriage to a McGraffan, I discounted that because the birth record for Isobel's first child has Isobel's surname as "Crawford" and it would be unlikely for her surname to then revert back to a surname obtained thru a prior marriage for the next two children then back Crawford for the remaining six children. Much more likely that Isobel's maiden name is Crawford sometimes pronounced locally as McGraffan. Hence my query to Bute experts wondering whether Crawford and McGraffan are the same surname.
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All very intriguing.
It is certainly true that Isabel's previous married name, if any, would not have appeared in the baptism records of any of her children by a second marriage.
I can find one child, Catherine, baptised 1775 to Donald McNeil and Isabel McGraffan, and seven, baptised between 1773 and 1796, to Donald MacNeil and Isabel Crawford.
Have you looked at all the original baptisms to see if they record Donald's occupation and/or the couple's residence and/or the names of any witnesses?
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Have to have a look at that dictionary and see where the statement comes from. It looks inherently unlikely that a surname of territorial origin and a patronymic would be from the same source, but you never know.
I am sure you are correct. It looked interesting though. ;)
It does indeed.
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Forfarian, yes forking out for birth records would be the next logical step, but in this instance I haven't got any personal interest so I'll leave it at that.
It's the matter of that Catherine (mother recorded as McGraffan) which raised the query. She appears in Census as sister of Robert, he being one of the kids who has his mother recorded as Crawford; and the SP Death Index has her 1858 Death with "mother's maiden name Crawford". Which all points to McGraffan being synonymous with Crawford in this instance.
regards
John
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Yes, it does all look very credible.
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Could just be that the session clerk wasn't sure of her surname on that one occasion. He would write up the register at home after the event.
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My gggrandmother was variously referred to in the OPRs and civil registration documents as "Barron", "Scott" and also as "Barron or Scott". On her death cert her father is listed as David Barron who was indeed the husband of Isabella's mother however he died in 1818 and she was b. 1828. I can't find a baptism for her but have concluded that probably her biological father was a Scott.
Maybe something similar with your Isabel?
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My gggrandmother was variously referred to in the OPRs and civil registration documents as "Barron", "Scott" and also as "Barron or Scott". On her death cert her father is listed as David Barron who was indeed the husband of Isabella's mother however he died in 1818 and she was b. 1828. I can't find a baptism for her but have concluded that probably her biological father was a Scott.
Maybe something similar with your Isabel?
Do you know from the censuses which parish she was born in? It might be that the minutes of the kirk session could throw a light on her birth. What was her mother's name?
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My gggrandmother was variously referred to in the OPRs and civil registration documents as "Barron", "Scott" and also as "Barron or Scott". On her death cert her father is listed as David Barron who was indeed the husband of Isabella's mother however he died in 1818 and she was b. 1828. I can't find a baptism for her but have concluded that probably her biological father was a Scott.
Maybe something similar with your Isabel?
It's obvious whoever registered her death assumed her father to have been David Barron.
However, she was correctly named as Barron as it was her mother's legal surname.
What was the maiden name of her mother which is another surname she would/could/should have been known by, being as she was born illegitimately.
Annie
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Yes I know her birth parish and no there's nothing in the Kirk Sessions nor was she baptised under Scott, Barron or Bisset (her mother's maiden name). Also no record of her or her mother being married at any time to a Scott.
Oh, just realised I had forgotten to mention that my gggrandmother's first name was Isabella though I'm sure you have all worked that out!
Just putting it out there that the OP's Isabel Crawford or McGraffan may also be due to a similar circumstance.
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In case someone else is looking at this in the future, I'll set out what I have (which by the way is all set out on the FamilySearch tree which I referenced earlier in this thread):
1772 Kilmory Kirk Session Minutes:
January 23rd, DANIEL McNEIL in Kildonnen and his spouse ISBEL CRAUFORD rebuked for antenuptial fornification
1773 Bap of dau Mary, to Daniel McNeal & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
1775 Bap of dau Cathrine, to Donald McNeil & Isabel McGRAFFAN, in Kilmory
1778 Bap of dau Mary, to Donald McNeil & NcGRAFFAN, in Kilmory
1780 Bap of son William, to "Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD his wife in Dippin" [per actual Record], in Kilmory
1784 Bap of son Allan, to Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
1787 Bap of son Robert, to Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
1790 Bap of dau Janet, to Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
1792 Bap of dau Janet, to Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
1796 Bap of son Donald, to Donald MacNeil & Isabel CRAWFORD, in Kilmory
(So there were actually two children recorded with mother as McGraffan - so not just a one-off error)
1841 Census at Dipping, Kilmory, Bute:
ROBT McNiel, 50, Farmer, born Bute [son Robert b1787]
CATHARINE McNiel, 65, born Bute [dau Catherine b1775]
Janet McNiel, 10, born Bute [dau of son Allan b1784]
1851 Census at Dipping, Kilmory, Bute:
ROBERT McNiel, head, 63 [c1788], single, Pauper Formerly Farmer, born Dipping, Bute [son Robert b1787]
CATHERINE McNiel, sister, 75 [c1776], single, Pauper, born Kildonnan, Bute [dau Catherine b1775]
[Their birth places tying in with the parents initially being in Kildonnan (per 1772 Kirk Session rebuke) and then being in Dipping (per son William's 1780 bap)]
1858 SP Death Index: ROBERT McNeil, age 70 [c1788], mother's maiden name Crawford, in Kilmory, Bute
1858 SP Death Index: CATHERINE McNiel, age 82 [c1776], mother's maiden name Crawford, in Kilmory, Bute
Cheers
John
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As a quick ancilliary exercise I looked at 1750-1800 Bute marriages for any McGraffans and found two:
1765 Donald McGRAFAN & Elspa Lamont, in Kilmory
1766 Donald McGRAFAN & Janet Curry, in Kilmory
Kilmory has births to:
Donald McGRAFFAN (no mother named) in 1775 and 1778
Donald McGRAFFAN & Janet Currie in 1779 [Birth Record has them "in Clachog]
Daniel CRAUFORD (no mother named) in 1771 and 1772
Donald CRAWFORD & Janet Curry in 1782 and 1786
(Found no marriages for another couple named Donald Crawford & Janet Curry/Currie)
This perhaps supports the proposition that McGraffan is a localised Gaelic rendition of Crawford.
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And here's another apparent instance in Kilmory:
1764 Marriage of William McIyre & Jean McGRAFAN
Births to them:
1767 to William McTyre & Jean McGRAFAN
1777 to William McTyre & Jean McGRAFFAN
1779 to William McTyre & Jean McGRAFFAN
1783 to William MacIntyre & Jean CRAWFORD
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Yes I saw those much earlier, see my reply 1 Feb :)