Thanks Gwenda, I'm amazed by your rapid response and the depth of your information. I'm certainly living in amateur hour here with what I am managing to drag out of the Internet. My cousin (in uk) did tell me that the John Ritchie who married Isabella had the middle name of 'Lottimer' although I have been unable to locate a 'John' with that middle name. Now I'm wondering whether I'm following the correct John and,for that matter,the correct Isabella (Carlyle). I think you are pushing me back to the drawing board Gwenda. Do you get this information from the net or do you have access to a CD? When I was in Tassie a couple of years ago I spoke to a man who was giving a demo of black smithing in a tourist area near Port Arthur and he was very interested in the Scottish Lowlands from whence his forbears came. He said that his daughter (or grandaughter) was compiling a family history but,at that time,I wasn't interested enough to exchange names. Ian