Afternoon, I am helping a friend with her family history and have come across a real brickwall with this couple. Below is a summary of what I have been able to find out about the situation. Although in 'official' documents John Shortland never married it appears he definitely was in relationship/s during his period in Port Jackson. He arrived on the Sirius and remained in NSW or on Norfolk Island until 1800. In a number of un referenced family histories, he is listed as having at least one child with Elizabeth. One of his children appears to be Margaret Rebecca Shortland who married James BOYCE, convict in Tasmania. There are mentions of his descendants in newspaper articles. An early one, in the Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser on 13 Feb 1830, states: "Ah, little did that enterprising officer, whose voyage and description does him much credit - I mean Lieutenant Shortland - when he was walking and chatting upon the hopeless task of success that Governor Phillip had first presented to his view, in forming a settlement here - little did he think that his grand-daughter, now Mrs Pidding, should dwell in as neat and fine a house as the wife of any country surgeon in England." Now the only PIDDING wedding/s I can find on the NSW BDM are two entries in 1829 for the marriage of a Maria WILLIAMSON to William/Thomas Pidding. Coincidentally at that time, a Joseph Shortland Williamson was having a financial problem in the courts with Thomas Pidding. Thomas Pidding had migrated to Australia in 1829. He was a naval surgeon. This fits with the newspaper crack about the 'country surgeon' and suggests that Maria Williamson was Shortland's granddaughter and that Joseph Shortland Williamson was her brother (or father) Joseph Shortland Williamson was the son of a DCG Williamson of Parramatta. However, I cannot find any entries in the NSW BDM for either a Marie or Joseph Williamson. I searched the PJ archives and found that question of who is Elizabeth was discussed before and the suggestion was that it could have been Elizabeth Dean. She had a Margaret in 1799 and a Mary in 1792 and Eliza in 1804 (after Shortland had left the colony). I also wondered Elizabeth and Shortland were together on Norfolk Island as Shortland was there for a while. If anyone knows anything about these people or can suggest what to try next, I would be grateful. Regards, Natalie