www.clanlivingstone.info

I am collecting Death Records from ScotlandsPeople for our database and would like to know all the different names for MacLea prior to 1745 that might show up in the database.

I have MacLea and McLea of course but looking for the variations pre name change.

Thank you,

Hi David,
I am not sure what death records are available before 1745 regarding Scottish macleas and those of other and earlier spelling variations but worth at try seeing what is there.
If you can find death records for that period before 1745 and thereafter for Macleas and Mcleas, you might also want to look for Mclay,Maclay, McClay. These are the spelling that I most familiar with in the Scottish census records and in contact with those who spell their names like this of Scottish origin. Going farther back circa 1750 and prior to that McOnlea and before that McDunlea,McDunlsleeve, McDunslief I have seen. I was in contact with a Dunlevy who had done considerable research on the name and it looks their ancestors were connected to the Dunlevys of Ireland, not apparently connected to the highland Macleas.

Mcaulay,McCauley or Cauley are not to my understanding connected to highland Clan Maclea or any other of the Maclea family groups in Scotland. Mcaulay claim an alternative origin to our Macleas and McCauleys and Cauleys seem to be of Irish origin and the later census records seem to indicate Ireland as their origins.

regards,

Donald

I agree that Maclay and similar names should be a priority. To Donald's list, I would add "Macleay" (with the Y) to capture the northern Macleays, who seem to favor that spelling.

I also agree with Donald that though there are McCauleys who might be misplaced/spelled McLeas, these must be a minority. For example, I have McCollys/McCauleys that match my DNA at a distant level, but these are clearly exceptions based on everything we've seen in the Project. I would not grab those records unless you have extra credits to use. The more eccentric alternate spellings of Livingston (Leviston, Liviston, Levingston, Andrew's spellings, etc., etc.) would be more important, I think.

Kyle=

Hi David and Kyle,

Yes forgot Macleay, Mcleay's. For example Macleays of Ross and Cromarty. Understood to be spelling variation of Maclea and historically connected to other Macleas. Yes if you are looking at Livingstone/Livingston then check less common variants Levingston, Liviston, etc.

regards,

Donald