I have been trying to trace details of Samuel Cutcheon, who was married to my 2nd great aunt, Levinia Banton. There are several changes between using Cutcheon and McCutcheon, as well as places of birth changing from Scotland to Ireland. I wondered if anyone else had encountered similar changes, and if there was any reason that these might be conscious changes by the individuals? Here are the details I have so far:
March 25, 1868: marriage of James Banton (my 2x great grandfather) to Martha Windus in Manchester. Witnesses are Livinia and Samuel CUTCHEON. Both use signatures rather than marks. Livinia (also spelt Levinia and Lavinia) is James Banton's sister.
Sure enough, I have found Samuel CUTCHEON marries Lavinia Banton in Hull, June 1859.
1861 census: Newton Heath, Lancs. Samuel is a stone mason, gives birth place as Scotland, uses name CUTCHEON.
1871 census: Newton Heath, Lancs. Samuel is stone mason, gives birth place as Glasgow, uses name McCUTCHEON (having signed his name CUTCHEON on marriage certificate in 1868).
1881 census: Clee with Weelsby, Lincolnshire (both McCutcheon and Banton have connections with this area). Samuel still stone mason, gives birth place as IRELAND, uses name CUTCHEON.
Tracing the family back:
1841 census: Wigtownshire, Scotland. McCUTCHEON family listed: Thomas and Jane with children William, Samuel, Thomas, Jane and Charles. Transcript says Samuel born in IRELAND.
1851 census: Grimsby, Lincolnshire. McCUTCHEON family listed: Mother Jane and children William, Samuel and Thomas all born in IRELAND, Jane and Charles in SCOTLAND (plus Mary born in Lincs). William is a stone mason, and Samuel is mason's labourer.
Throughout the name McCUTCHEON is used.
ALSO: the same Jane McCutcheon (Samuel's mother) appears in the 1871 census, Clee in Lincolnshire, birthplace SCOTLAND (having given IRELAND in 1851).
In 1881, again in Clee, Jane gives birthplace as SCOTLAND
In 1891 in Clee, the birthplace is given as Grimsby (surely an error or a lie!)
I understand that mistakes and changes like this are often found in these records, but I wondered if anyone knew of any specific social or political reasons at this time why families might drop the Mc from a name (as with Samuel) or change a birth from Ireland to Scotland?
Anyone encountered similar changes? Or am I looking into this too deeply?? Apologies for the length of this post!