Can anyone help me with further information on my gggggreat grandmother. The information I have on her is that she was born before 1753 in Drainie Lossiemouth and died in May 1839 in Drainie Lossiemouth. She marrried Alexander White on the 14th December 1780. I have been trying to trace her parents ... with no success so far. Thanks
Hi Kirsty. Thanks for your help. I had already found the gravestone and information found on the tombstone at Kinnedar. It is Isabellas parents I am having problems finding information on. I will have a look at Christian McCarter. Once again. Thank you
Thanks Monica. I think that is where its getting confusing. But how on earth will I be able to trace the McCarter/McArthur family when the spelling changes over the years? I had this problem with my gg grandparents on my fathers side. Their name was Fair... suddenly couldnt find anyone else ... but then discovered over the generations the spelling had been changed to Fair... the original spelling had been Phair. Mind blowing stuff this searching for your relatives. Onwards and upwards... as they say
When researching names in general, first name or surnames, you have to be quite open to spelling variations. Spellings were very fluid in those days.
When searching on IGI at www.familysearch.org, it does provide some spelling variations in the results (but this is not 100% of the options that may be available). Scotlands People is much more rigid on its search parameters and whilst the wildcard of '*' is useful, you need to know what other names to try before searching.
It can be useful to google for spelling variations on surnames to see what other options may be available. This site is also good for first name variants www.whatsinaname.net