Re: Craytons in the uk
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In reply to:
Craytons in the uk
Rachael Crayton 5/24/02
Just had to respond - the spelling of surnames has a history of being very "fluid". This is especially true before education of all classes became common. I could give you examples, but I'm trying to keep this brief to focus just on your question.
Depending on the accent of the people of the area - those of us who spell the name Crayton today, have to look at alternate spellings. Your family may have been Craton, Creaton, Creton, Creighton, Crichton, and so on.
One quick example - in our family, 1841, South Carolina - Mary Crayton's will. The person who made out her will for her spelled her name both Craton and Crayton -- in the same document. Her husband's name on the 1790 census in NC appeared as Creaton. One family story is that he was originally from Northern Scotland before he emigrated to America. You can just hear his accent - the closed "a" sound in the spelling of the name. He died in the 1790s and so no longer influenced the spelling of the name. His wife was born in America.
So - in Staffordshire, perhaps the regional accent dictated the phonetic spelling of your name.