Hi Janet and Mary I don't know the answer to your question about Gaelic speakers, Janet, but I do know that Gavin once pointed out that the inability to write didn't necessarily indicate the inability to read. In the period before say 1900, the main reading matter for the lower classes would have been a bible and recognising the words handed down from the pulpit would have been easier than trying to write without considerable instruction. In the case of Mary's g.g.grandmother, it is really quite possible that she couldn't write but that didn't prevent her teaching the kids their Biblical stories and local folklore. The term 'Hedgerow school' suggests that the teaching could have been mainly how to recognise useful plants and edible animals, probably stressing the 'God's gift' aspects! Just a thought!! Ray Ray Hennessy www.whatsinaname.net On 2 September 2013 19:38, Janet <[email protected]> wrote: > On another Rootsweb List to which I am subscribed we have been having a > discussion about > education which moved to people needing to put a cross because they could > not write their > name for the purposes of official record. It seems that it was not > necessarily because a > person could not read or write but that the requirement was to write a > name in English, > rather than Gaelic and some could not write their name in English. > Could the historians amongst us tell us more about it? We know that not > every person had > an education sufficient to enable them to read or write but the incidence > where language > was the reason is of interest. I think we need to know rather than draw > the wrong > conclusions. > > > Janet > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >