This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: Sally_Wilkins Surnames: Dunbar Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.dunbar/1176.1.1.4.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Mary - not really a "fraud" although you may feel defrauded - the point is that in Scotland (as in many places, in fact) when people began to use surnames (generally in the late 17th and early 18th century - about the same time as the Great Migration) many of them used the name of their location as their surname. Other common sources of surnames were occupations (Baker, Wainwright) and parents' forenames (Anderson, McNeil). Even in the liege line, the name is often ultimately a reference to a place. This doesn't even consider the people who took the name of a patron (or an owner), or the people who were randomly assigned surnames by local registrars or immigration agents. So if Robert was from Dunbar, or was taken prisoner at the Battle of Dunbar, that was a perfectly legitimate surname for him to use - and he may not have had a surname at all until he was required to use one in the Mass Bay Colony - many people did not. Fraud implies a deliberate attempt to mislead, generally for some benefit, and that does not apply in this situation. Incidentally my great-great-aunt's genealogy notes from the 1890s cite the Ninian-Robert connection - I have no idea whether she got it from Melzar or whether he and she had a similar source. I do note that Rev. Melzar Dunbar did say, on page 16 in his book, "it is probable, though not certain, that Robert Dunbar was a son of Ninian Dunbar." Lots of people since have cited it as fact . . . but as we have learned since, that was a different Robert. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.