>From one Dave M to another. The recent discussion on mis-spelling of names has been very good and I quite like Dave M's reasoning. Further to the issue, I will add a little bit which may be of interest. My (long lost) family, the McDonalds of Leek were led by John, his brothers Allan of Collachie and Alexander of Aberchalder to Canada in 1793 aboard the Pearl. They are mentioned extensively in the various histories and virtually all refer to them, not by their names but by their farm or origin. Hence John McDonald of Leek is known as "Leek" and his son's as , ie. Leeks Ranald or Ranald, son of Leek. They refer to Aberchalder who I assume was Alexander senior and Collachie who I assume was Allan. I think our problem today, is that we think in terms of todays social structures and try to interpret details 2 or 3 hundred years old in this sense. On amother tack, can someone tell me what is meant by the term "with issue" when referring to a family, ie. John and Mary McDonald with issue! David Australia