Surnames Come in Many Different Spellings and Pronunciations

I'm currently taking a genealogy course through FutureLearn: Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree, which is administered by the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. I'm really loving this class. I've tried online classes before and generally been dissatisfied with them, but this class is formatted extremely well and the instructor is excellent. I especially like that, while there are a few short video segments, the class doesn't depend upon extensive or long video lectures, and there's always the option of reading a transcript instead of listening to the videos.

One of this week's exercises was to record a snippet about an issue with surnames in your family, and since this was in the context of the possible differences in surname pronunciation, that was what I chose as my topic.

I've recorded my interpretation of the pronunciation of two different surnames in my family on Vocaroo: McKeown and McEwen. I've always thought they would represent similar sounding names, but on overhearing my first attempt at recording my thoughts, my husband offered a different pronunciation for the first spelling. You can listen to my recording below or go directly to http://vocaroo.com/i/s0unK6jqueKy - fair warning, the recording seems loud to me, so be ready to adjust your volume if need be.

 
Record music and voice >>

I'm told that the sound bites recorded at Vocaroo are removed after a few months. If you can't hear it, and you really want to, leave a comment and I'll get back to you with the recording. Or, maybe I'll try to find a more permanent way to share it.

Matrilineal Lineage

Over on Geneamusings.com, Randy Seaver has suggested that folks post their matrilineal lines. It's taken me several hours, including interruptions, to get this post done, in large part because I wound up discovering new information about my father's mother's line. Or, at least, new for me.

My matrilineal line is:

• me -> Pamela D. Lloyd: b. Chicago, Illinois
• my mother -> Luella Jean Rote: b. July 2, 1921 in Sandusky Ohio, d. January 17, 1999 in El Paso, Texas; m. Winston D. Lloyd in November 1957 in international waters between the US and Canada, a second ceremony was performed in January 1958 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• her mother -> Lulu Craun: b. July 26, 1889 in Indiana, d. February 21, 1966 in El Paso, TX; m. Galen Weiker Rote
• her mother -> Maryann Beck: b. September 1855 in Ohio, d. aft. 1920; m. John Craun in 1885 in Butler, Indiana

I have not had my mitochondrial DNA tested.

Please note, I have been able to discover very little about my mother's family, so if you think you may have information about any of the people mentioned here, I'd be delighted to learn about it.

On the Lloyd side, the matrilineal line of my father is:

• my father -> Winston Dale Lloyd: b. Pensacola, Florida
• his mother -> Inez (Sissy) Minerva Herrington: b. in Pensacola, Florida, d. January 24, 1986 in Pensacola, Floria
  m. Elmer Bruce Lloyd on July 7, 1922 in Pensacola, Florida
• her mother -> Ezella F. Boykin: b. August 26, 1866 in Quincy, Florida, d. January 14, 1959 in Mobile, Alabama
  m. Isaac Newton Herrington on December 29, 1885 in Jackson County, Florida
• her mother -> Jane Carolina McKeown: b. October 1845 in South Carolina, d. aft. 1900; m. James Cornelius Boykin in 1881
• her mother -> Sidnah Flemon Clark: b. December 2, 1820 in Chester South Carolina, d. July 13, 1902 in Gadsden, Florida
  m. Rev. Oliver Evans McKeown in South Carolina
• her mother -> Jane McClintock: b. Noevember 13, 1798 in Chester, South Carolina, d. August 1872) m. Alexander Clark in 1817 in South Carolina
• her mother -> Sidnah Flemming: b. 1776 in Virginia, d. January 20, 1839 in South Carolina
  m. Matthew McClintock
• her mother -> Sidneh Rosine: b. 1735 in Sweden, d. 1810 in Winsboro (Winsborough), South Carolina
  m1. Brown (widowed, circa 1759, while pregnant and living in Pennsylvania when, according to an unconfirmed story, her husband and first son were killed by "Indians" and she was taken captive; her second son was born in captivity and later went on to become an "Indian hunter.")
  m2. George Fleming in 1762, in Virginia

Although variants of Sidneh's story can be found in a number of places, the original version appears to be told in "A Brief Sketch of the Coulter Family in America."

Saturday Night Fun: Heritage Pie Chart via Genea-Musings

Over on Genea-Musings, tonight's genealogy task is to create a pie chart, based on your great-great-grandparents.

My great-great-grandparents were as follows:

16. Hiram Lloyd was born in 1825 in King, York, ON, Canada. He died on 14 Apr 1911 at the age of 86 in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA. Ellen Hughes and Hiram Lloyd were married on 28 Jul 1848.

17. Ellen Hughes was born on 2 Aug 1825. She died on 11 May 1896 at the age of 70 in Chippewa, MI, USA. She was also known as Ellen Lloyd.

18. Bartholemew Higgins was born on 14 Jun 1801 in Ireland.

19. Susan Swale died in 1871.

20. John A Herrington was born on 14 Jun 1801 in New Hanover, NC, USA. He died on 15 Jul 1859 at the age of 58 in Harrison, MS, USA. Sarah J Mathis and John A Herrington were married estimated 2 May 1825.

21. Sarah J Mathis was born on 29 Nov 1808 in GA, USA. She died on 27 Aug 1878 at the age of 69 in Biloxi, MS, USA. She was also known as Sarah J Herrington.

22. James Cornelius Boykin was born on 9 Mar 1843. He died on 28 Nov 1885 at the age of 42 in Sneads, FL, USA.

23. Jane Carolina McKeown was also known as Jane Carolina Boykin. She was born on 20 Jun 1845 in Chester City, SC, USA. She died on 7 Oct 1877 at the age of 32 in Sneeds, FL, USA.

24. William Rote was born estimated 1814 in PA, USA.

25. Martha Rote was born estimated 1823 in PA, USA.

26. John Ward was born (date unknown).

28. James Craun was born on 16 Oct 1820.

29. Martha McEwen was also known as Martha Craun. She was born estimated 1827.

Here's a pie chart showing where each was born:

Obviously, I'm missing a lot of information. If, by any chance, you happen to have more information about any of these individuals, I'd love to hear from you.