C & J Hinricks wrote: >... >Cow may also be Gow. I have the CD of MI.s for St Peters >old churchyard in Peterhead and the headstone for John Allan and Mary Ann >Gow has been transcribed as Cow. May have been the way the sun was shining >on the day or just the way the G had been formed. > > "C" and "G" can be certainly be confused in older or worn inscriptions, but unless you have independent evidence that this is a mistranscription, COW is statistically much more likely than GOW. The 1851 Census for Peterhead shows 26 individuals called COW, but just 5 called GOW, while present-day phone-books of NE Scotland still show COW/COWE outnumbering GOW by about 3 to 1. Gavin Bell

Gavin said C" and "G" can be certainly be confused in older or worn inscriptions, but unless you have independent evidence that this is a mistranscription, COW is statistically much more likely than GOW. The 1851 Census for Peterhead shows 26 individuals called COW, but just 5 called GOW, while present-day phone-books of NE Scotland still show COW/COWE outnumbering GOW by about 3 to 1. Thanks for that Gavin. Made me go back and look at what I have in case I was seeing what I expected rather than what was written there. However I do have a copy of the page in the Register of birth Longside b June 29 1849 date of baptism Oct 16 1849. The surname is given as Scott or GOW father Charles GOW Peterhead, mother Jane Scott in Mintlaw. Lucky for me on this occasion the handwriting is very easy to read. Mary Ann Gow was the name used on her marriage and death certs. and also on the birth registrations of all her children. Once again thanks for the reminder to check and double check. Janet