William Muir Crawford is consistently cited as being bron in 1705 in Pettinain, the child of one James Crawford and his wife Jean Prentice. However, on the birth record of William Muir Crawford, his mother is noted as one Jean Crauford (mothers were always noted by their maiden names of the time and not their married names so we can assume that Jean Crauford is the mother of William and not Jean Prentice. In addition, there is no fathers name noted on the birth record. The brother of Jean Crauford, written as Thomas Crauford, is noted as being responsible for the child's Christian education. The other names on the record are witnesses, Thomas Simpson, William Kay and John Marshall Interestingly, there is no note of William Muir Crawford being illegitimate, and nor is there a father noted posthumously. It is of note that he was given a middle name, as this was not a popular trend of the time, unless the child was indeed illegitimate, at which point the surname of the father was often added as a nod. It is highly likely that the father of William Muir Crawford, was indeed a Muir and not a Crawford as is often cited across the many family trees I have found.
I would be interested in anyone being able to provide any documented evidence of the parents of William Muir Crawford being James Crawford and Jean Prentice, as i would very much like to discover where this information comes from and how it has been verified. I am currently researching a possible mother for William from the information I have on his birth record.
