Sarah has a point, the given names were far more important than the surname. Surnames didn't come into vogue until fairly late in the game. Don -----Original Message----- From: Sarah Barker [mailto:Sarahbarker@sprintmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 6:09 PM To: MCMURRY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [McMurry] fw: a Barren Co, KY marriage Golly gee - as a McMurry born and bred, I consider THAT spelling to be the standard! The reality is that the folks back then didn't put as much emphasis on consistent spelling as we do today. They spelled their names however the spirit moved them at the moment - provided they were literate, of course. If they weren't literate, then it was up to whoever was doing the spelling for them. All of which, naturally, is part of what makes genealogy such a great game. FP4SALE@aol.com wrote: > > In the early years the spelling of mine were McMurry, in later years the > spelling was changed to McMurray. Maybe the census takers couldn't spell. I > consider the McMurray the standard way now. > > Just my opinion > Lisa > > ==== MCMURRY Mailing List ==== > Also post your McMURRY Queries at the following URL: > http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/m/c/MCMURRY/queries ______________________________