Mcdonald James of Aberlour

[FRUITSNUTS]

Have been looking a long time for James Mcdonald born 1809 or 1811 in Aberlour.  Found 2 O.P.R.s but don't know where to go from here?  Any suggestions?  James immigrated to Canada before 1830 but can't find passenger lists or any other information that would help me.  Also, when a marriage record says "Jean McKerron alias Grant" - does the alias mean that Grant was her maiden name and she was married before to a McKerron or does the word alias mean something else?  I am new at this and could really use some help.

[MonicaL]

Hi,

Is it a Scottish Old Parish Register entry for a marriage where you find "Jean McKerron alias Grant"? If so, it may imply that Jean (or Jane, a common variant) was illegitimate and went by the two surnames. In Scotland, women never 'lost' their maiden names and a widow remarrying would normally show under her maiden name, not previous married surname.

Do you have the names of James' children, particularly the early born? This sometimes can give clues as to possible names for grandparents of the children.

Monica 

[MonicaL]

A birth year for James of between 1809-11 seems too late  There is an OPR entry for the banns/ marriage given the name you mention of Jean McKerron:

James McDonald and Jean McKerron - 27 Sept 1821 in Aberlour.

Monica

Added: Just seen your other post here www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,506942.0.html - is it James McDonald and Jean or Margaret McKerron/Grant? Did your James go on to marry a Catherine? I'm confused now!

[FRUITSNUTS]

Thanks Monica for trying to help me - sometimes I confuse myself.  "My James" Mcdonald emmigrated to Canada sometime before 1835 and I am trying to find that link that would take me back to Scotland.  I know he was from Aberlour and according to Canada census records and his death cert he was born sometime between 1809 and 1811.  He married in Canada (Catherine), was a master carpenter and lived in one place his whole life.  When I looked at the O.P.R.s I found 2 possibilities; James baptised 1809 to John McDonald (blacksmith) and Jean McKerron alias Grant and James baptised 1811 parents James (no occupation) and Margaret McKerron alias Grant (again).  The "alias" threw me completely.  Given the names of "my James" children (see my other post) I am leaning toward James & Margaret as his parents but I have no idea where to go from here.  I have tried to find passenger lists for Canada, or some other way to find out if he left Aberlour - like cemetery records in Aberlour.  It's like trying to find a "negative" - if one of these "James" are in the census of Scotland or burial records then it isn't my James.  Make sense?  Any suggestions?

[MonicaL]

Mmmmm.... I have big doubts now about the two names being used (which can normally imply an illegitimate birth). I am seeing a few other references to people with the surname McKerron Grant in that period in Aberlour just from general google searches.

It might be a particular family line that went by this name of McKerron Grant. As an example on my line in Argyll, they were MacIsaac alias MacDonald and by the 1850/60s had moved completely to MacDonald as the family surname. I am wondering if something like that is going on here.

There is also the issue of 'T' names:

To-names or T-names meaning “other names” or nicknames, were prevalent particularly in the fishing communities of North East Scotland, but were also seen in the Borders and to a lesser extent in the West Highlands. In those areas where a relatively small number of surnames were in use, T-names were tacked on to the name to distinguish individuals with the same surname and forename.

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?560

I saw this site where someone has done a lot of research on the name McKerron in Aberlour http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~greyart/index.html  Just scroll down the page to the link to the McKerron family tree info. There is an email on the home page, I wonder if it is still active? Maybe worth checking to see whether you can arrive at an explanation at least on the issue of the names McKerron Grant given that it comes up as the possible name of James' mother.

Monica

[FRUITSNUTS]

Thank you - more to think about.
I sent an email to the address on the McKerron site - will see if I get a reply.  Also, checked the site you suggested about surnames and had a thought.  There was also a "location based surname", the family added on the name of the landowner from which they leased their land to the end of their own surname.  Charles Grant was the laird in this area during this time so probably owned most of the land.  Could it be that simple - that Margaret's name was McKerron and the alias is the last name of the land owner?  Will go back to ORPs and see if I can find a birth record for her with McKerron surname.

[Forfarian]

I've seen a few names in Speyside in the form <'x' alias 'y'>, and 'x' is almost always a Highland clan surname.  I am under the impression that in some cases these might go back to the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745/6, when many supporters of the Stewart cause are said to have changed their names to avoid the notice of the Hanoverian authorities who were trying to seek out and punish those whom they regarded as rebels. This (or these) MacDonald alias Grants just could be descendants of MacDonalds who had changed their name to Grant for a time, but were becoming more confident about using their real names. I have also noticed that when the <'x' alias 'y'> has been dropped, it is mostly 'x' which survives through later generations.

I don't think I have ever come across the <'x' alias 'y'> name being applied to someone who was illegitimate, or to a woman who had been married before. These have always been in the form <'x' or 'y'>.

I could, of course, be completely wrong, and I might find if I looked at more of them that the patterns are not as I have described. But at worst it's a possibility to bear in mind.

[FRUITSNUTS]

Forfarian - thanks for a new insight.  Just yesterday I head from another source that this "x alias y" might have had something to do with the Jacobite Rising - that Aberlour is close to Culloden so the people were a "wee bit nervous" and thus used a different name to escape the purge of the clans.  Perhaps by the time period I am researching they were getting more comfortable with using their original clan name.  Something to consider, thanks.