Any Barron with Penrose as a middle name is likely to come from the Altyre Estate in the Parish of Rafford, Morayshire. Sir Alexander Penrose Cumming Gordon, who was Laird of this Estate from 1776 until his death in 1806, was generally known as "Penrose". The name Penrose comes from the Cumming family properties of that name in Cornwall, in the far south-west corner of England, which had come into the possession of Sir Alexander's father by marriage, so it is not a Scots name and therefore unlikely to have been given to a James Barron from anywhere else other than Altyre. Penrose was born in Cornwall and did not move to Scotland until shortly before he inherited the lairdship from his Great-Uncle in 1776. I can find only one James Barron born in Rafford in the time frame likely to be your James Barron; James Barron, son of Alexander Barron and Margaret Barron, born in Lochnavando on the Altyre Estate, baptized 28th April 1767. However there is no evidence that he had Penrose as a middle name. Regards, Alastair MacDonald

> I can find only one > James Barron born in Rafford in the time frame likely to be > your James Barron; James Barron, son of Alexander Barron and > Margaret Barron, born in Lochnavando on the Altyre Estate, > baptized 28th April 1767.  However there is no evidence > that he had Penrose as a middle name. There are plenty of people who acquired a middle name after their baptism or their birth registration. I have also seen somewhere a suggestion that the church only regarded the first given name as the baptismal name and would disregard any addiotional names (can anyone verify that?) so the fact that the middle name is missing from the baptism doesn't mean it cannot be the right James Barron. Anne