I have a long line of Crothers (earliest date 1762) in Cornwall. Family story is that it was originally Scottish, but no facts to support same. The family lived in Cornwall for over 100 years, during that time often (at least a quarter of the entries) in the records the name was written as Crowthers. I found Crowthers and/or MacCrowthers as septs of the Clan MacGregor, which was persecuted in Scotland. I'm trying to find out if this Crothers family was originally a Crowthers that had to leave Scotland outright or via the Border area between Scotland and England (there were many Crowthers in that area, especially in Yorkshire). The earliest record I have is for the marriage of John Crothers to Elizabeth Puckinghorn in Devon in 1762. It is noted he is of the HMS Drake. Interesting fact, but hardly conducive to locating his birthplace, which is still unknown. I have not been able to locate a Crothers in Cornwall, related or not, before that date. John and Elizabeth raised their families in the Redruth/Illogan area of Cornwall, and that was where their descendants lived for over a century (my g-grandmother Eliza Crothers emigrated to the US in 1897). Any and all help would be appreciated. Kathy