« Reply #31 on: Thursday 05 January 12 20:39 GMT (UK) »
Why is it unlikely to be a foreign name? Given that we now know Bouaty exists as a name, surely that's what it is?
It still could be a foreign name, but I was referring to the post about the current instances of it being on the subcontinent. Given the era, its unlikely to have its origin there.
Also given the era, the chances of a mis-spelling are quite high, with or without an accent.
My Dowdeswell's had been in London for several generations, but there are some wacky variations of the spelling in the 1700's.
I am Australian, from all the lands I come (my ancestors, at least!)
Pine/Pyne, Dowdeswell, Kempster, Sando/Sandoe/Sandow, Nancarrow, Hounslow, Youatt, Richardson, Jarmyn, Oxlade, Coad, Kelsey, Crampton, Lindner, Pittaway, and too many others to name.
Devon, Dorset, Gloucs, Cornwall, Warwickshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire, Wilts, Germany, Sweden, and of course London, to name a few.