Looking for John Gray born 28 MAR 1864. I have seen birth listed as Keith, Banff and Grange, Banff. Is the difference simply a choice by person recording?
Probably, arising from a misunderstanding of the registration system and the local geography.
Grange and Keith are two separate parishes next door to one another in the county of Banff. In 1864 registration districts were based on the pre-existing parishes. Therefore if a person was born in Grange, (s)he was, by definition,
not born in Keith.
Also, since about 1970 births, marriage and deaths in Grange are now usually registered in Keith, as there is no longer a Registrar in Grange.
However since the 20th century the
postal address of a place in Grange is Grange, Keith, Banffshire. This does not mean that Grange is
in Keith, merely that post for addresses in Grange is sent to Keith for distribution.
Banff is another separate parish again, also in the county of Banff, also known as Banffshire. It isn't actually incorrect to say 'Grange, Banff' or 'Keith, Banff', but for the avoidance of possible confusion I think it is preferable to say 'Banffshire' (or 'County of Banff') if referring to the county and reserve 'Banff' for the parish/town of Banff.
('Banff County' and 'Banffshire County' are
always incorrect, as are 'County Banff' and 'County Banffshire')
