Hello. My ancestor Janet Coulter was the illegitimate daughter of Jane McRea.
My question is:- As Janet was illegitimate - why would her surname be Coulter - I don't know if that was her father's name as I have not yet found a birth record for her. However, I would think that it was unusual to not carry her mother's surname?? Janet was married to James McAughtrie, widowed and then died in Dundonald Ayrshire 1883, aged 80. Sadly, still bearing that old stigma, "Illegitimate" even on her OPR death entry. Does anybody have any connections to these families please? McAughtrie, Coulter, McRea??
Thanks - Jeanne Bell NZ