In his diary he spells the names of his children, his brothers and sister and himself with the following ten variations, none of which include the 'oh' or 'ough' endings: Ma Cullogh, ma Cullogh, mc Colagh, ma Collogh, mc Collogh, mc Cullogh, mc Cologh, mc Collough, mc Coloch, mc Colock. Our ancestor, Archibald, is named in three passages. James spells his brother Archibald's name 'mc Cologh' in the first entry in 1752 and mc Coloch in the 2nd and 3rd entries in 1754 & 1755.
A review of the McCullough genealogy in the book,Early History and Genealogy of the Anderson-McCullough-McCune Families and Related Lines of Franklin County, Pa., indicates a mix of 'ough' and 'oh' spellings among several of the relatives and ancestors of William Edgar McCulloh. However, the 'ough' spelling in this genealogy seems to be a continuation of the spelling commonly used on legal documents of the time as opposed to the spelling actually used by the families themselves. Clearly our ancestor William Edgar spelled his name McCulloh as did his father Amos. In a family Bible, Amos’ birth, marriage and death are all recorded with the ‘oh’ spelling. Interestingly, a short legal document dated shortly after the death of Amos on the day after Christmas in 1876 used the ‘ough’ spelling for his name but his wife Hannah signed the document with the 'oh' ending. The 1860 and 1870 censuses incorrectly use the ‘ough’ spelling for Amos and the 1880 census continues the ’ough’ spelling for Hannah. Amos's tombstone in Ft. Loudon, Pennsylvania has the 'ough' spelling, yet his funeral card uses the 'oh' spelling. The 'oh' spelling was also used for Amos in 1863 in a military draft registration ledger and in a newspaper listing around that same time.
Amos's mother, Mary Ann McCulloh (Leiws) had a family bible. Every entry on the genealogy pages use the 'oh' spelling, yet, apparently Mary Ann herself used the 'ough' spelling when she wrote her name three times on the front page of the bible in the 1830s.
Shortly after their arrival in America our ancestors settled in Franklin County Pennsylvania. Amos, his mother Mary Ann, her father John and his father George all lived in the Little Cove and Ft. Loudon. I have visited three cemeteries in the Little Cove. Many McCulloh tombstones exist in these cemeteries including William Edgar's great-grandfather John (d-1851), his great-grandmother Elizabeth (d-1847) and several other relatives and descendants, all of which have the "McCulloh" spelling on the tombstones.
It would seem, then, since at least the early to mid 1800's, whenever our ancestors were directly responsible for spelling our name, as opposed to the spellings used by government and legal representatives, the "oh" spelling has been the preferred, though not exclusive, choice for our line and those McCullohs whose ancestors lived in the Little Cove.
(Do you have a letter, bible or other document known to have been signed by one of our ancestors that would shed more light on this issue? If so please contact me; I'd love to hear from you.)
Sources
Scottish Clan And Family Encyclopedia - 1998, Barnes & Noble Books, New York
The Book of Scotch-Irish Family Names - 1988, The Black Staff Press, Belfast
Clans and Families of Ireland - 1993, The Wellfleet Press, Edison, NJ
The Scotch-Irish; A Social History - 1962, Chapel Hill; The University of North Carolina Press
The Descendants of Captain John McCollough (1770-1847) And Anna Elizabeth Spangler (1779-1858) - 2006, Mark and Curtis McCollough
Early History and Genealogy of the Anderson-McCullough-McCune Families and Related Lines of Franklin County, Pa. - Elizabeth Brubaker Wolff
Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan - 2003, Oxford University Press
Mary Ann McCulloh Lewis Bible - in the author's possession
Copyright 2006
