Michael said > Most people were illiterate, and even those who could speak a little English, didn't have our modern education I must take him to task over this. Scotland was/is one of the most/best educated countries and was at the forefront of education especially at the time when the Censuses were taken. The problem with inconsistency of spelling rests not with the literacy of the population but with the language itself. There was no real need to regularise spelling (of names) until formal (Goverment) record-keeping was established. When recording their name the person taking the record would ask the name and effectively write it down phonetically. Really it is not until the 20th Century that we became fanatical about regularised spelling; and even more so in the 21st. By the way for Eh? would be said 'gabh mo leisgeul' excuse/pardon me. The Gaels were nothing if not polite. Regards Les Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Les "eh?" was just me being a tad humourous :) I agree with virtually all you say, but how many "x" (mark) have we seen as substitute for a signature < in 1872 Scotland moved to a system like that in England of state-sponsored largely free schools, run by local school boards. Overall administration was in the hands of the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department in London. Education was now compulsory from five to thirteen and many new board schools were built > Michael www.mullfamilies.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: <leshorn@ythanonich.freeserve.co.uk> To: <sct-isleofmull@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 5:35 PM Subject: Re: [SCT-ISLEOFMULL] Name sounding...Re: Gillies Michael said > Most people were illiterate, and even those who could speak a little > English, didn't have our modern education I must take him to task over this. Scotland was/is one of the most/best educated countries and was at the forefront of education especially at the time when the Censuses were taken. The problem with inconsistency of spelling rests not with the literacy of the population but with the language itself. There was no real need to regularise spelling (of names) until formal (Goverment) record-keeping was established. When recording their name the person taking the record would ask the name and effectively write it down phonetically. Really it is not until the 20th Century that we became fanatical about regularised spelling; and even more so in the 21st. By the way for Eh? would be said 'gabh mo leisgeul' excuse/pardon me. The Gaels were nothing if not polite. Regards Les Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-ISLEOFMULL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

hmmmm - I wonder how many "X" marks we'd see today if English were outlawed and our names went to old Gaelic? ----- Original Message ----- From: "MF" <mf@mullfamilies.plus.com> To: <leshorn@ythanonich.freeserve.co.uk>; <sct-isleofmull@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 12:57 PM Subject: Re: [SCT-ISLEOFMULL] Name sounding...Re: Gillies Les "eh?" was just me being a tad humourous :) I agree with virtually all you say, but how many "x" (mark) have we seen as substitute for a signature < in 1872 Scotland moved to a system like that in England of state-sponsored largely free schools, run by local school boards. Overall administration was in the hands of the Scotch (later Scottish) Education Department in London. Education was now compulsory from five to thirteen and many new board schools were built > Michael www.mullfamilies.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: <leshorn@ythanonich.freeserve.co.uk> To: <sct-isleofmull@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 5:35 PM Subject: Re: [SCT-ISLEOFMULL] Name sounding...Re: Gillies Michael said > Most people were illiterate, and even those who could speak a little > English, didn't have our modern education I must take him to task over this. Scotland was/is one of the most/best educated countries and was at the forefront of education especially at the time when the Censuses were taken. The problem with inconsistency of spelling rests not with the literacy of the population but with the language itself. There was no real need to regularise spelling (of names) until formal (Goverment) record-keeping was established. When recording their name the person taking the record would ask the name and effectively write it down phonetically. Really it is not until the 20th Century that we became fanatical about regularised spelling; and even more so in the 21st. By the way for Eh? would be said 'gabh mo leisgeul' excuse/pardon me. The Gaels were nothing if not polite. Regards Les Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-ISLEOFMULL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-ISLEOFMULL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.3392 / Virus Database: 3222/6628 - Release Date: 09/01/13

Hi A number of years ago I went to and OGS lecture where it was explained that the X did not necessarily mean the person could not write. However, I have since forgotten what the reason was. The lecturer was Fawne Stratford-Devai who is well known and an expert on many subjects......so I took her word for it. Now if I could just find my notes...... Elaine Robinson

Michael, I think the cross in the box was sociological. It would take someone to survey and prove it. I am saying its down to family circumstances, ability, and all the other reasons for illiteracy and not just education alone. Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "MF" <mf@mullfamilies.plus.com> To: <leshorn@ythanonich.freeserve.co.uk>; <sct-isleofmull@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 5:57 PM Subject: Re: [SCT-ISLEOFMULL] Name sounding...Re: Gillies Les "eh?" was just me being a tad humourous :) I agree with virtually all you say, but how many "x" (mark) have we seen as substitute for a signature