Katherine Mutrie

Katherine Mutrie is probably the best example in all of the trees to illustrate how spelling of names wasn't at all standardised in the past.  As stated elsewhere on this site, she is Kathrine, Katherine, Cathrine and Catherine, even Keteren and Moutree, Moutrie, Moutries, Muttries, Mutries, Multrie and Mutrie in the Old Parish Records.  Every time a child was registered a new variation entered the books.  Just to add a punchline, she is McMutries in Elder's death notice.

So, she was Elder Samuel's mother but because she was born before the censuses and because the Corstorphine records are incomplete and because the registrars didn't seem to be concerned with mothers in the records, we don't know much about her except that she had eight children including a son named Elder.  Yes, the name even confused the registrar. 

There are Muttries, Moultries and all sorts of other variations in the Edinburgh area and Harvey Nichols is beside Multrees Walk.  The slightly raised area that Register House is on used to be called Multrees Hill although Hill is an exaggeration. This doesn't help us find our ancestors though.

A birth record was eventually found written sideways in a margin in the wrong place in the register but it does give us her parentage.  Sadly the Corstorphine records are patchy around this era so the trail peters out.