> Thanks to everyone who has joined this discussion on the 'CLARK' spellings. > All records of my family appear to also follow the change from CLERK to CLARK > around the early 1800's. > I realize that spellings change over time. Anyone have any ideas about what > could have prompted this change from CLERK to CLARK? Perhaps greater influence > from the English? > I would imagine that the pronunciation wouldn't have changed between the > different spellings? (Are they both pronounced the same by a native of > Scotland?). Anyone doing scotish family history needs to have a talent for "fuzzy spelling". Since the records were made by the Minister or Parish Clerk, who tended to write precisely what they thought the spelling should be, many family names are subject to abrupt changes of spelling when either the Minister or Parish Clerk changed. I actually have one baptismal record where the family name is spelled 3 ways in the single entry (Baldie for the father, Baldy in the margin, Bawdie for the grandfather). Researchers should also understand that there is no such thing as a "general purpose" scottish accent and you can somtimes see the effect of this in changing spelling with migration. For example, the NE of Scotland has a very distinctive accent. One of my lines from this area spelled their name Kemlo/Kemloe when there. A couple of individuals moved south (just to Angus) where two different Ministers recorded them as Kemley/Kemlie. Those who went west seem to have lost their K in favour of a G, ending with Gemlo. However, since Ministers and Schoolmasters (often the Parish Clerk) tended to move around the country, how they heard (and thus spelled) names being said to them can't really be predicted. Lesley Robertson ******************************************************************** Dr Lesley A. Robertson CBiol FIBiol Kluyver Laboratory for Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628BC, Delft,The Netherlands tel 31 15 2782421; fax 31 15 2782355; email L.A.Robertson@stm.tudelft.nl.