The MURISON family name.

[Chris Duff]

My grandfather, John Murison (1871-1944), was able to trace his ancestry back to his namesake, John Murison (c1690-c1765), whose name appears in 1732 as the holder of the tack or lease of the croft of Crossford on the lands of Alexander Garden, the Laird of Troup.  Many of his descendents remained in the Troup, Gamrie, Alvah and Itlaw area of Banffshire for the next 200 years and many lie buried in the Kirkyards of Alvah and Gamrie.

I would be interested to hear whether any Murisons from this line are still in the area.  Has anyone researched the Banffshire Murison name, its origins and where the Murisons came from before settling in Banffshire?  One interesting aspect of this family name is that the spelling has been consistent for 300 years.

[Ticker]

Hi Chris

Sorry we haven't been able to help you so far on this one. 

Have you made any progress,  or do you have any further details that could help someone to find what you are looking for?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes 

Ticker

[amcquaid]

Hi there, While researching my family tree this morning, I came across your note on this site ..... My great, great grandfather second wife's mother's name was Margaret Murison born 29 Apr 1786 in Cruden....Her husband's name was James Davidson born in 1782......Unfortunately, I have no other information about the Murison family......If Margaret is one of your ancestors, I'd appreciate receiving any information that you might be able and willing to provide about her parents, etc.

Thanks!

[Chris Duff]

Hi amcquaid,

I don't think we can make a connection.  Almost without exception, my Murisons hung around Aberlour, Alvah, Banff, Boyndie, Fordyce, Gamrie and Mortlach - in northern Banffshire.  There's a whole bunch of Murisons around Aberdour in Aberdeenshire to which my lot may have spread - I haven't investigated them yet.  There are Murisons in New Pitsligo as well, and I suspect Murisons abound in the rest of Aberdeenshire.  Have you tried the IGIs on the LDS site?

Keep up the good work everyone; we need to get to the bottom of all those Murisons out there!

Chris

[bramwellanne]

Hi Chris
Can you tell me if your surname Murison could of changed to Morison at any time.
I decend from James Morison b abt 1735 in Gamrie Banff. I have been unable to trace Jame,s parents. I do have his wife and children ect but cannot trace him back.

Anne

[Chris Duff]

Good question, Ann!  Murison/Morison/Morrison could all be interchangeable.  In the 1600s to 1800s names were put in the various registers of the day by clerks of dubious education, and often they were written as pronounced by the person giving the information.  Say the name Muirison.  That could easily become Murison or Morison or Morrison.  Spellings of names have no meanings at all and are almost wholly dependent on the choices of spellings by early registrars, estate clerks and the like.  It is quite common to find different generations of the same family using different spellings.  Which brings us back to your question about Murison and Morison!

The Morrison name in the Western Isles is a church name, taken from the Gaelic for a follower or servant of St. Mary, and anywhere that there was a church dedicated to Mary there could be a family of Morrisons.  As we know, this name is very common around Aberdeenshire and north-east Scotland.  Here we go again - Morrison/Morison/Murison.

My Murisons were in the parish of Gamrie, Banffshire in the late 1600s and remained around Alvah and the northern part of the county until the 1800s, maybe later.  Interestingly, just down the road from them are the Morisons of Bognie, a very old family.  I have often wondered whether there is a connection between them and my lot - Morison/Murison?  You never know!  I would be interested in hearing other views on this.

Chris Duff

[Chris Duff]

Ok Anne, now let's get serious.  (Sorry, I missed the 'e' in my previous message).  I have a James Murison (1727-1803) in my tree whose wife's name I don't know.  As far as I know, they had three children, Margaret, James and Jean.  James (1776-1833) married Ann Waddell and had nine children. 

This first James (born 1727) was the son of John Murison (c1690-c1760) and had siblings William, Helen, Andrew, Francis, Peter and George.  It is believed John married twice, because the names of his first five children follow the family tradition, but the last two, Peter and George, do not.  Peter and George could well be named after the tradition of his second wife's family name.

John was a crofter on the lands of the Laird of Troup in the parish of Gamrie.  James, his son, was a merchant at Troup.  He died in 1803 and is buried in Gamrie Old Kirkyard (St. John's). His son, James, was a Sheffiff's officer for Gamrie and he, too, was buried in the Old Kirkyard.  The rest of my Murisons hung around this area and many are buried in the old and new parts of Alvah Kirkyard.

Anne, if any of these names strike a chord with you, then maybe a Murison/Morison link could be on the cards and be worth investigating.

Chris

[bramwellanne]

Hi Chris
Thanks for your mail. I am sure somewhere down the line we will find a link as almost all of my Morrisons were born in Gamrie. However at this moment in time all I know is my first James Morrison was born in Banff abt 1735 m Margeret Brebner in abt 1760 and had at least 8 children between 1761 and 1777
Childrens names were James b 1761, John b 1762, George b abt 1764, Jean b abt 1768, Peter b abt 1770, Elspet b abt 1772, William b abt 1774, Thomas b abt 1777.
It is from John b 1762 that is my direct link.
I am aware that all of the above children were born in Gamrie Banff and that John d 1839 at cross slacks croft in Gamrie.
I do have a fair bit of information from there on in down to today but my biggest stumbling block is I cannot find anything at all about my first James b 1735. It is as if he just appeared from out of space.
I do remember my father once mentioning the Black Isles which I think is in Ross and Cromoty in the highlands but I cannot follow this without something more concrete. So brick wall it is unless??
Regards Anne

[LindsaySiam]

Hello Chris and Anne,

Have a look at the Morrison DNA Project and the Group from Banff.

http://home.mindspring.com/~efholcombe/index_files/Page1667.htm

regards,

Lindsay Morrison