Panache Answers the "Big Kilt Questions"

[guardsman]

quite right on spellings, if you could read a hundred year ago that was quite somthing, normally the census man wrote your name,hence different spellings at different times(i.e. different census chap!!!)

[McElmurry]

quite right on spellings, if you could read a hundred year ago that was quite somthing, normally the census man wrote your name,hence different spellings at different times(i.e. different census chap!!!)

Looking at census forms it appears there was some effort over time to standardize the spelling of McElmurry in the USA during the period leading up to the US civil war. I have wondered if the census takers were given some guidance in such matters or if all the kin got together and agreed a spelling. I have seen similar trends with other names as well.