Surname spelling

[Colin Moretti]

McQuoin and MacQuoin - can I be sure that they are the same family?

I have two signatures in a marriage register where two people who I have been assuming were related have used different spellings of the surname. It's slightly complicated by the fact that one was signing his own marriage entry while the other was witness to the previous marriage on the same day. As it's a very unusual surname for the place and time and both had children in the area (Westminster) over the same period it seems very likely that they were brothers but I would have expected them to use the same spelling.

Your views would be appreciated.

Thanks

Colin

[Peter Goodey]

McQuoin and MacQuoin - can I be sure that they are the same family?

You don't mention a date! Assuming 'genealogical times', I would have said that there was no doubt that the surnames are the same. Whether or not they were brothers, is something you'll no doubt determine when you have found more evidence.

[Wirral]

Another possibility is that the McQuoin who signed as a witness was a "professional witness" such as a church clerk who regularly acted as witness at marriages. Look either side of the marriages to see if he turns up again. It won't help with resolving whether they were related, but might lead to further info.

[Colin Moretti]

Thanks for the comments, I really should have learned by now to put in all the information.
You don't mention a date! Assuming 'genealogical times', I would have said that there was no doubt that the surnames are the same. Whether or not they were brothers, is something you'll no doubt determine when you have found more evidence.1810, St James, Westminster.


Another possibility is that the McQuoin who signed as a witness was a "professional witness" such as a church clerk who regularly acted as witness at marriages. Look either side of the marriages to see if he turns up again.Unlikely, as the one who was the witness (Philip McQuoin) was a devout Catholic; he later (April 1814) married in a Catholic chapel (the Bavarian Chapel) as well as at St James' church. All his children were baptised Catholics (Bavarian Chapel again) and he had 2 sons who became Catholic priests and 2 daughters who became Superior of a convent, one in the Isle of Man and the other in Australia. The register page image I have is not very good but I can't see another McQuoin signature in a dozen or so subsequent marriages. James, whose marriage raised the query, also had children baptised in the Bavarian Chapel. Both Philip and James had a fluent signature, they don't look like the signatures of people who could not read or write properly.

The search for evidence of a family relationship continues....

Thanks

Colin