by Jonathan Tucker

This is the second in a series of articles about Clan MacIntyre and the life of Micum McIntire.

The most definitive and comprehensive current source for information on MacIntyres in general is the “Clan MacIntyre: A Journey Into the Past,” Martin L. MacIntyre, Regent Press, Berkeley, CA, 2018, second edition.  Copies may be purchased by contacting the author at martin.macintyre@juno.com .

The definitive genealogy is “Descendants of Micum McIntire,” Robert Harry McIntire, revised edition, 1983, Bookcrafters, Chelsea, MI.  This is often referred to as the “Red Book” among Micum descendants because of its bright red cover.  New copies may be obtained through the Gift Shop on this website:  https://micummcintireclanassociation.org/shop/?product-page=2.  Used copies can still be obtained from time to time through online booksellers.

Those interested in pursuing their own genealogical connections to Micum McIntire may submit question through this website at:  https://micummcintireclanassociation.org/micum-mcintire-genealogy-questions/

MACINTYRE – SPELLING & PRONUNCIATION

MacIntyre is the English version of the Gaelic surname Mac-an-T’Saoir (child of the shipwright). The spelling of the Scottish surname MacIntyre is both very important and completely beside the point. Until the late 1800s, literacy was not widespread. The spelling of people’s names (or anything else) was a very casual and random affair and mostly a matter of the scribe or clerk writing out what they thought they had heard, or how they thought something should be pronounced. So, when doing family research back past great-grandparents, we have to be creative, flexible, and alert—the name of a single person may appear in several different spellings, sometimes in the same document.

How Many Versions? – The spellings of Micum McIntire’s first name and surname on official documents appears in bewildering variety, apparently as a result of English clerks in New England struggling to turn his West Highland pronunciation of “Malcolm” into written English. Resulting spellings of his first name include Micom, Micum, Mycome, Michum, Mathan, and Micam. Surname spellings include Micatere, Macheyntyre, Mackintire, MacKentyre, Mackatiere, Mecantire, and others, and numerous additional variations have been since been added by Micum’s descendants (and by the descendants of his brother Philip).

In his April 17, 1700 will, both Micum’s name and that of his third son are spelled “Micom Mecantire.” His descendants quickly chose Micum McIntire as the preferred spelling, and that has remained the standard spelling since. But there are many varieties to choose from.

Outside of Micum’s descendants, there are many other spellings for the surname MacIntyre alone, not including other surnames associated with the clan (Wright, Coishem, etc.). These include MacIntyre, McIntyre, McIntire, MacEntyre, MacEntire, Mackintire, MacKentyre, MacIntear, MacIntier, MacIntrye, MacIre, MacInturf(f), Tyre, and many (many) others.

See https://www.geni.com/surnames/mcintyre .

Pronouncing Micum’s Name – There is no agreed-upon way to pronounce Micum’s name, nor is there likely to be. There are only opinions and preferences.

Micum’s name is usually pronounced in one of two ways—“Mick-um” and “My-com(b).” Both have their champions. My opinion (and that’s all it is) is that “My-comb” is closer to what “Malcolm” sounds like in a West Highland Scottish accent, and I lean on the fact that both Micom (in his will) and Mycome appear among the several (probably phonetic) spellings of his name.

But our ears are trained to hear 20th and 21st century American accents. None of us has any idea what West Highland speech (much less Puritan English) would have sounded like in the latter half of the 1600s. It is not a dispute that can be definitively settled, so the question will likely provide entertainment among Micum’s descendants long into the future.