Manuscript Note on the Origin and Spelling of the Surname Purves (or Purvis)

Description

A single leaf of handwritten notes, numbered "10" at the head and likely forming part of a longer genealogical or antiquarian treatise on the Purves family. The author argues that the variation between the Scottish spelling "Purves" and the English "Purvis" arises naturally from differences in pronunciation between the two countries — "Purves" being sounded as one syllable in England, while "Purvis" carries two syllables in the Scottish manner — and offers parallel examples such as Hume/Home and the contrasting pronunciations of Forbes. The note further observes that during the reign of William the Lion, King of Scotland (A.D. 1190), the name was rendered "Purveys," citing as evidence a charter granted by William Purveys de Mospennach to the monks of Melrose Abbey, in which he granted free passage through his lands of Mospennach. Written in brown ink on laid paper, the document bears fold lines, light foxing, and a small ink blot, consistent with nineteenth-century antiquarian correspondence or family history notes.