Greetings Listers James DEMPSTER and his wife Mary (ms McCUTCHEON, McCUTHON and other variants) are my 4 x ggps. I know of 7 children born to them between 1774 and 1788, but as Mary's baptism (if we've got the right person) was in 1740, there could have been others before that. Mary's baptism is in Straiton in Ayrshire, as is that of the youngest child, a daughter called Florence (possibly unusual because mostly I've seen this as a boy's name in Scotland). This is no proof that the family had moved back to Ayrshire - they may have been on a visit. James was a shepherd and apparently moved around a bit. The first six children were baptised in Kirkcudbrightshire, in either Carsphairn or Dalry (which are just over 8 miles apart), so James may have been born in KKD and even married there. The marriage has not been located, nor has the burial of either. I am in touch with a distant cousin in the US who has sent me info on the US line. It would be great to meet up with any other descendants of James and Margaret. Their daughter Mary married James WALLACE and produced a family of 11 children. Their son Robert married Barbara LEES and had a family of 12 children, and their son Thomas married Barbara's sister, Margaret LEES (my 3 x ggps) and had a family of 13 children. Is there anyone 'out there' who has a connection with this DEMPSTER family please? I've found various bits of info on various online sites - some of them quite unbelievable. One is that Mary, b. 1740, died in 1855!! The reality is that the Mary DEMPSTER who died in 1855 was the daughter of James and Mary - ie Mary WALLACE ms DEMPSTER. In good Scottish fashion, her death is noted under both her married name and her maiden surname. The date of 1832 for Mary's birth is more possible, but it would still put her over 90. I've also found James's birth noted in Carsphairn in Kincardineshire, whereas I think Carsphairn is really in Kirkcudbrightshire. Many thanks Pam Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com