Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Quirky Ancestor: Sounding more American

Seth Mahurin was descended from either Scots or Ulster Scots. His grandfather, Hugh Mahurin, had arrived in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay by 1692. Hugh may have been drawn by the iron works in the colony.

Seth was advised at some point to drop the Ma from Mahurin so that his name would sound more "American." Tradition holds that it was a Yale College professor who made the suggestion, but I contacted the university and there was no record of Mahurin ever attending.

So, Seth became Hurin or Huron, while most of the family kept Mahurin. One brother refused to change the name, because he didn't want it to sound like an Indian tribe. [Huron Indians]

If you have a Hurin/Huron line and/or a Mahurin line, chances are they are descended from Hugh.

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