>>> From: "William Innes" <w.innes@sympatico.ca> >>> I just found out recently that my ancestor Margaret Innes b: 1818 in >>> Sluggan, Banff married Alexander McPherson on the 12 Nov.1835. >>> They lived in Slateford, Banff until her death on the 24 March 1841. >>> To my knowledge they had two children: >>> a) William McPherson b: 9 Oct.1836 in Slateford >>> b) Isabella McPherson b: 19 Apr.1840 in Slateford. >>> Would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have additional >>> information >>> on this family. > Are you sure of these locations? There is a Sluggan in Invernessshire, > down > by Carrbridge, which is Macpherson clan territory. That's the only one I > know. I didn't find a Slateford in Banff, either. I have a lot of > Macpherson > information but knowing the correct location would help a lot. Both these locations were in the parish of Inveravon, Banffshire. They are listed in the 1841 census. This is a good example of why the parish name is always of critical importance in finding places, because the same names can crop up in several different parishes. There are, for example, Slatefords in Edinburgh, East Lothian, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, and as Laura says, the only Sluggan on modern maps is the one near Carrbridge (though there is a Sluggans, with an 's', on the isle of Skye). It also shows the need to make sure that one always takes care to distinguish the town/village from its surrounding parish and county, if it happens to be the county town. For example Banff (or, for that matter, Elgin, or Inverness, or Stirling, or Ayr, or Forfar, or Dumfries etc etc) can refer to the town, the parish or the county, depending on context. This is why I always make sure to say " ... the town of Banff ..." or " ... the parish of Banff ... " or " ... the county of Banff ... " to make it quite clear what I am referring to. There is an alternative, namely Banffshire, which refers explicitly to the county. Confusion can be avoided by always using Moray, never Elgin, for that county, and Angus, never Forfar, for that. HTH Anne