Deciphering parts of this parich record

[techguy46]

The record is for a Barbara Hay father is James Hay mother is Margaret Love or Lowe, I tried the links with the old characters. Then i remembered something about the letter "V" not in use for a long time and "U" used instead. But I cannot read what this Margaret's last name is on this 1720's document

[horselydown86]

Welcome to Rootschat.

I read both surnames - that of Margaret on the first line and of Barbara amongst the witnesses - as Love.

The v at this time (and before) has a much higher left arm, and can be confused with a b.

But with a v, the high arm curves backwards, to the left, as here.

Contrast with the middle b in Barbara.

We also have a common form of w (for the time) in the word Newton (first line).  So it's not a w.

[horselydown86]

Then i remembered something about the letter "V" not in use for a long time and "U" used instead.

It's not quite that straightforward.

In the sixteenth, seventeenth and into the eighteenth centuries* v and u were used interchangeably. 

There was a characteristic v form, but it was sometimes used for u (mostly at the beginning of words).

There was a characteristic u form, but it was sometimes used for v and sometimes for n.

To confuse matters further, the same writer might use both of the forms in all of these ways within the same document, the same line or even within a couple of words.

*  And to some extent before 1500.

[McGroger]

Welcome from me, too, techguy.

Both Scotland’s People and Familysearch transcribe it as LOVE both in your (1721) christening as well as the christenings of other children to these parents in 1719 and 1724. Curiously I can’t see a SP entry for a fourth child in 1727 (transcribed by Familysearch as LOWE). Familysearch also shows a submitted tree (part sourced/part not) giving some ancestry of both James and Margaret as well as an unsourced 1718 marriage. Added: the tree gives Margaret's name as the probably dubious LOWE.

Peter

[techguy46]

Hopefully I pressed the correct buttons to give a reply.  The name Love would as stated would give the names of three siblings, while the name of the fourth the one I am following is given as Lowe in the SP site. Margaret Lowe as it was deciphered for SP and other sites , her father appears as Low no "e". Looking at the state of actual documents I have seen and from what has been explained about the U and V . I am leaning towards just a misreading of the documents somewhere and then having the person listed with the wrong spelling in both SP and LDS site. Of course the other take on this is that it is two different families. Maybe I will see if I can find another document to see if I can link this all together.
So thank you to both of you

[techguy46]

Maybe you could be kind enough to see what the last names of this Margaret is and her father looks like James ....  mother Margaret Suyrland  the rest seems hard to read.  Also  is there a place name on the document