Can sks help me with the name MC LOUN ? It would appear that it is quite rare. It is accurate because her husband used it in his Will - " Mrs Helen McLoun".She was born circa 1795 and registered in Banff. Perhaps it is spelled McLaun/McLean From what I have been able to ascertain she came from Gamrie. Her fathers name was Robert McLoun and he was a tailor. Her mother was Annie Wallace ( I haven't even started on this name yet!!) This information came from Helen's death certificate. She married Thomas Newton in Glasgow in 1822. I have tried scotlandspeople but at this stage have had no luck. Any help would be appreciated. Katherine O'Regan New Zealand. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/166 - Release Date: 10/11/2005

Katherine O'Regan wrote: > Can sks help me with the name MC LOUN ? It would appear > that it is quite rare. > It is accurate because her husband used it in his Will - "Mrs > Helen McLoun". She was born circa 1795 and registered in > Banff. Perhaps it is spelled McLaun/McLean. ___________________________________________ Hi Katherine The spelling of names was very idiosyncratic well into the early 20th century. The occurrence in a Will does not mean it will be spelt the same in othe official documents. Most ordinary folk didn't write in the time you are talking about and spelling was at the whim of the scribe, be it the Minister, his clerk, the Dominie or an Advocate [lawyer]. I haven't looked at Surnames yet - and probably won't live long enough - but in trawling through records of Forenames I have found re-spellings within a short entry in an OPR and three or four variants in Wills. You have to be imaginative. Try soundex on your searches. I have found the following in the Oxford book of Surnames: McCloun, McLune, McLoon, McLung, McClung, McClone, McClune McLoun isn't in the book!! Nor McLaun so even the Oxford scholarship it isn't exhaustive. You could also try these: McLeod, Macleod, McCloud. Have fun! [fun?] Best of luck Ray Hennessy The Forenames website address is: www.whatsinaname.net