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Name change for Janet Sweenie to Janet Swan MM3Y-XX2

Patpami@polka.co.za
[email protected] ✭
August 5, 2022 edited August 8, 2022 in Family Tree

Please help me to understand why my great grandmother's surname, which appears as Sweenie on my grandparents marriage certificate, but according to Family Search info, is actually Swan? Family Search profile MM3Y-XX2 Janet Swan. How can a surname change? It seems that the info tallies with what I have, but how can I be sure? I don't have much info on her, which would make things much easier. This name change happened with another ancestor of mine, and I took a chance and changed her name from Margaret Scott to Scolick, and it turned out to be right! I'm really stuck with this, and I would love to know more about this branch of the family. Your help would really be appreciated. Thank you so much.

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Answers

  • Áine Ní Donnghaile
    Áine Ní Donnghaile ✭✭✭✭✭
    August 5, 2022

    @[email protected]

    Looking at the various records for the family of Duncan McInnes and his wife, Janet, I see that the surname is most often transcribed as Swan.

    The marriage of Duncan and Janet in 1867 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XY3B-12K

    The births/baptisms of their children:

    Daniel in 1868 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:MBDB-7GN

    Francis in 1869 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:MBN8-58P

    Duncan in 1871 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:MBDB-739

    John in 1873 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:MBDB-Q7S

    Margaret in 1874 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQ4Y-M9V

    Since I cannot see the images of the records online, it's not possible to be positive, but I would lean toward Swan being the usual spelling.

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  • jlwestra
    jlwestra mod
    August 5, 2022

    @[email protected]

    You entered Duncan McInnes Deceased G6SL-PKQ into Family Tree (FT) in Feb 2022 with spouse Janet Sweenie and child Margaret, born 1875. There are no dates or sources for either of the parents. The other Duncan, Duncan Mcinnes Deceased MM3Y-XXW, has been in the FT data base since before 2012.  He is married to Janet Swan, and there are dates and sources, for his marriage in 1867. You have already declared these two Duncans as not a match, so you might also consider that the Janet Sweenie, and the Janet Swan are also not a match, and are two different people. You speak of a marriage certificate for your great grandparents. We can't see that certificate listed as a source in FT, but if you made it a source, that might clear up some of the problems with these people. If you have that certificate, it might show the ages of the bride and groom, and the date of the marriage, and perhaps other bits of information. If the date on that marriage certificate is different than the date of marriage listed in FT for the one Duncan, 1867, then you would know for sure that there are two different couples here, and the surnames Sweenie and Swan are not just an error in recording. There are enough sources available for these families that you should be able to straighten them out.

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