Good evening Jacquie 19th C Scot's female "given names" are always a problem because of local usage/dialect . What's used in Sutherland is not necessarily the same for East Lothian I sought advice from NRH many years ago when first came across this problem with my own Newhaven family. They advised below for a local usage rule of thumb Minnie used with/for Mary, Mamie, May, Marion: Did not have a "christened" Minnie in my family but many were " known as " Don't forget too that right up into my lifetime in Newhaven the name "Mearn" was used for Marion. As a young lad I had two Auntie Mearn who were christened Marion . Honestly do not think you will ever get , even from so called professional genealogists, a definitive answer due to , as I said above, local usage.. My advice from experience to "go for it " but do try and check from other documents Good luck ! Regards John John D. Stevenson Trinity Research Services, Edinburgh Scottish Maritime History Research Est 1989 johndee.ships@btinternet.com > I'm hoping that the experience of those on this list will help me with a > name problem. My 3rd > great-grandfather, James Bell was married to Marion Campbell. I have found > an entry in the OPR > regarding James Bell, Royal Artillery Driver and Minnie Campbell giving up > their names for marriage > on 21 May 1812. I've been in contact with two professional researchers and > one says that in his > experience Minnie was not a nickname for Marion while the other indicates > that Minnie was a common > pet name for Marion. The first researcher indicated Minnie was most common > as a nickname for > forenames ending with "ina" and he felt strongly that the couple in the > aforementioned 1812 > marriage were not the parents of my 2nd great-grandmother, Elizabeth while > the second researcher > seems to have found information in James Bell's military service which > matches some of the > information I have on my James (I haven't seen it yet but that was the > implication in an email I > received from the researcher). So my question is, could Minnie and Marion > be the same person. What > do you think? > > > > Jacquie > > Winnipeg, MB > > Canada > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SCT-EDINBURGH-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you so much for all the responses. I haven't found birth/baptism information for my Marion yet and she apparently died between 1841 and 1851 in Edinburgh so no death registration. The 1841 census indicates that she wasn't born in Midlothian and was between 46-50 years old. Whether James Bell and Minnie Campbell are the same people as James Bell and Marion Campbell, I have evidence which shows connections between them (but nothing definitive yet), such as: 1. The OPR entry indicates Minnie Campbell's father was James Campbell of Dunbar - if my James and Marion followed naming tradition, their second son being named James matches with the name of Minnie's father. 2. The reference that James Campbell was from Dunbar - James and Marion Bell's eldest child (that I know of) was born in Dunbar in 1819. 3. James Bell was serving a Leith fort when he married Minnie Campbell - from about 1823 to his death in 1870, James Bell lived in Leith (more specifically listed as Water of Leith on a number of census and his death registration). 4. The occupation of James Bell listed on the muster rolls apparently matches the occupation I have for my James Bell (a gardener). Thanks again everyone. Jacquie Winnipeg, MB Canada -----Original Message----- From: sct-edinburgh-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:sct-edinburgh-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of John Stevenson Sent: November 19, 2008 5:32 PM To: sct-edinburgh@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SCT-EDINBURGH] What's in a name - Marion Good evening Jacquie 19th C Scot's female "given names" are always a problem because of local usage/dialect . What's used in Sutherland is not necessarily the same for East Lothian I sought advice from NRH many years ago when first came across this problem with my own Newhaven family. They advised below for a local usage rule of thumb Minnie used with/for Mary, Mamie, May, Marion: Good luck ! Regards John John D. Stevenson Trinity Research Services, Edinburgh Scottish Maritime History Research Est 1989 johndee.ships@btinternet.com