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« on: Sunday 27 March 22 13:43 BST (UK) »
Good morning,
I'm hoping that some light can be shed on a question of mine. I have an indirect ancestor James McMurchy (b. 1831 in Southend (or Campbeltown) Argyll, Scotland) to his mother Margaret McShenoig who was not married to his father (Donald McMurchy). In an obituary for James, it said he moved with his parents to Canada at aged 2 (in 1833). Now, I know that James' father Donald McMurchy didn't move because he went on to marry and have other children in Southend after 1832 and he died in Southend in 1836. So, Margaret McShenoig obviously married (or partnered) with someone else and moved to Canada. James' obituary also indicated that he moved with his parents to the USA at age 16 and that he has a sister in Joliet, Illinois (no name was given). So, how is it possible that James went by his surname (birth surname) for all the records that I can find in the USA (I can't find any records in Canada)? James apparently stayed with his mother but never seemed to go by his stepfather's surname even though he would have been a baby when the stepfather came into his life.
Thanks.