> William MORRISON born about 1857 > On the 1861 Kirriemuir > census Alexander and Agnes have 2 children, William age 4 If William was aged 4 on the date of the 1861 census, 7 April 1861, and if his age is correct, he would have been born between 7 April 1856 and 6 April 1857, so there is a greater likelihood of him being born in 1856 than in 1857. Do Alexander, Agnes, William and Janet make up a single household? What are Agnes' and William's relationships to Alexander listed as? Or to the head of household if this is not Alexander? Scotland's People does not list a marriage of an Alexander Morrison to Agnes Wallace, and neither does FreeBMD, so it seems that they were not married in Scotland, England or Wales. The IGI listing doesn't list Janet 'Wallace or Morrison'. It just lists Janet Wallace, mother Agnes Wallace, and no father's name. SP also has Janet Wallace born in Kirriemuir in 1860, but no mention of Janet Morrison. This does seem to confirm that Alexander and Agnes did not marry. Have you considered (a) Could William have been born somewhere other than Kirriemuir and (b) Could he have been either Alexander's or Agnes' son by a former liaison, rather than the son of both of them? If so, he could have been registered as almost anything. Or maybe they simply neglected to have his birth registered at all. Where exactly was Janet born? The address might give a clue. I don't know how helpful the Kirriemuir Kirk Session records are, but it might be worth getting them checked to see if they say anything about the birth of either William or Janet which might shed some light. I don't suppose this is very helpful, really. Anne