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THANK YOU ALL!!!!! That was a good couple of hours work and I am delighted!
I will continue to search to find the CARR connection.
Keep me in mind if you are looking in that area?
Also, if anyone has any thoughts on WHY they might have used three names? Maybe someone out there has come across something similar before?
Carole

Jeanette
The number of PettiGrews that are coming up, that fit for a variety of reasons; suggests that you were definitely right the first time. It seems as if this lot were not only casual about which name they used but also careless spellers. ... Not unusual in those days but that curious IGI entry suggests that either they were cleverer than we suppose or the clerk who made the original entry was having a laugh?
Thanks for your input.
Must get back to searching for the reason for 'Carr'
Carole

Sarah Pettiegrew - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female
Birth: About 1798 Of, Kirkmichael, Ayr, Scotland
Death: 06 AUG 1835

Bit more to be getting on with:-

James Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Marriage: 09 FEB 1819
Spouse: Sarah Pettiegrew

James Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Birth: 1792 Of Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland
Death: 05 DEC 1850 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

That is absolutely fantastic!! It has to be right on names alone!!
Mother Sarah and big sister Margaret - the names of his twin daughters.
Henry and his own name; given to two of his sons.
Christopher may have come from his wife's side.

I think that resolves origin and reason for Murdoch and Petticrew/Pettigrew but it still doesn't explain why they did it?
Plus I still need to find the reason for the Carr name, they were so fond of using?

Thank you so much. It would have taken me weeks.
Carole

You may already have this but here we are anyway:-

Birth/Christening, 1809 - 1849, Ayr, Scotland, British Isles
Father: James Murdoch, Mother: Sarah Pettiegrew

Margaret Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 06 FEB 1820 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

Agnes Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 13 FEB 1821 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

Henry Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 04 JUN 1824 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

William Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 26 FEB 1826 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

Robert Murdoch - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Birth: 10 AUG 1829 Berbeth, Stair, Ayr, Scotland

Catherine

Oh dear
I thought we had cracked it?
Petticrew and Kennedy doesn't help at all.
Maybe Pettigrew was a mis-spelling of Petticrew? It makes much more sense.
After all, if they can spell it Petigrue, they can vary the 'c' and 'g'.

Catherine
It has to be Sarah and Margaret and Petticrew? A family of jokers do you think???
Carole

Hi Carole

M is for Male, Stair is area of birth

Yes Choirman
That is the Petticrew Census record I have, 1891 has the family (Carr) together, minus Sarah who was married and widowed to suicide, and remarried by then. It was quite a dramatic decade for the family!
Carole

apologies, checked again - I had searched PettiGrew

01/10/1830 PETTICREW ROBERT WILLIAM PETTICREW/ELIZABETH KENNEDY FR434 M St Quivox /AYR 612/001 0020 0103 VIEW

2 14/01/1830 PETTICREW ROBERT JOHN PETTICREW/ELIZABETH GREGG FR538 M Tarbolton /AYR 619/ 0030 0063

Came across this that looks interesting:-

Sarah Petigrue - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 03 JAN 1862
Gender: Female Christening: 24 JAN 1862 St Bede, Jarrow, Durham, England

Father: Roberti Petigrue
Mother: Joanna Petigrue

Margarita Anna Petigrue - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 03 JAN 1862
Gender: Female Christening: 24 JAN 1862 St Bede, Jarrow, Durham, England

Father: Roberti Petigrue
Mother: Joanna Petigrue

Definitely a step in the right direction!! This suggests that Murdoch was the original name and Petticrew was Robert's mother's maiden name. That accounts for Murdoch and Petticrew but why Carr? Unless it was his wife's maiden name?
It is still unusual to interchange though, isn't it? I would have thought it illegal?
Sorry, no idea when he married but presumably pre 1862?
I have not made any inroads into Scottish Records. I'm a bit vague about the regions of Scotland, apart from anything else. Yes, I know Shame on me! What is ' M Stair'?
Carole

1871 England Census
Name: Margaret Petticrew
Age: 9
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1862
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: Robert
Mother's Name: Jane
Gender: Female
Where born: Scotland, Durham, England
Civil Parish: Lanchester
Ecclesiastical parish: Lanchester
County/Island: Durham
Registration district: Durham
Sub registration district: Lanchester
Household Members: Name Age
Christopher Petticrew 4
Henry Petticrew 1
Jane Petticrew 44
Margaret Petticrew 9
Robert Petticrew 40
Robert Petticrew 7
Sarah Petticrew 9
Source Citation: Class: RG10; Piece: 4959; Folio: 168; Page: 38

found this birth

25/08/1829

MURDOCH ROBERT

parents
JAMES MURDOCH/SARAH PETTIGREW FR195 M Stair /AYR 614/ 0020 0051


do you know where & when Robert married?



can't find any births in Ayrshre for either Robert Carr or Robert Petticrew 1829 -1833

Yes. That is what I have. ... and yes sorry about the date. ... I'll change it.
Now in 1871, they called themselves Petticrew. They lived at Maiden Law, between Lanchester and Annfield Plain. The whole family are there.
In 1882 Sarah married at Bearpark, Durham. She married Richard Johnson of Durham and she called herself Murdoch on the marriage cert. Her father was present .. also Murdoch: plus Margaret Murdoch was a witness.
Carole

Margaret and Sarah were both born in 1862 not 1882 ?

Is this them in 1881 ?

Name: Robert Carr
Age: 50
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1831
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Jane
Gender: Male
Where born: Scotland

Civil Parish: Willington
County/Island: Durham
Country: England

Street address: 6 Hutton Terrace
Condition as to marriage: Married
Education:

Employment status:

View Image
Occupation: Coke Drawer

Registration district: Durham
Sub registration district: St Oswald
ED, institution, or vessel: 49
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Christopher Carr 14
Henry Carr 11
Jane Carr 52
Margaret Carr 19
Robert Carr 50
Robert Carr 17
Sarah Carr 19

From Ayrshire, Robert Carr, or Murdoch, or Petticrew.. but which? Robert was my 2x great grandfather, born about 1831.
His wife was Jane, from Haddingtonshire, Scotland.
They relocated to Durham pre 1862. Their daughters, Sarah and Margaret were born in Jarrow in 1862.
After that they lived in Lanchester, Annfield Plain And Willington.
In successive censuses they used DIFFERENT SURNAMES ... Petticrew, Carr and Murdoch, favouring Carr! .... but they seemed to favour Murdoch on other official documents like marriage and death certificates.
It is so ODD that I would really love to discover WHY???????
I don't think it can have been for criminal reasons??? ... one son became a Durham policeman and the youngest son was Mayor of Durham in 1929. He used the Murdoch surname .. Henry Murdoch.
If anybody out there can throw any light on this strange situation I would be really, really grateful!!
To go back further I need to know which the Birth name was?
Carole