I, too, would be very interested in hearing about experiences, Viv. A gx4-grandfather was named Mungo Young. On his marriage banns, he was listed as being from Eckford Parish and his bride, Margaret, from Gordon, and they married in 1791. Also on their banns, a William Young was listed is his Cautioner. Their children were James, Margaret, Agnes, Elisabeth, William, John, Jannet, Ralph Oliphant, and Janet. Since the name is fairly unusual, I have searched the period 1740-1771 and have several possibilities, but none were born in Roxburghshire. The most viable candidate's parents were Samuel and Elisabeth Wright Young, with siblings named Robert, Elizabeth, William, Archibald, Anne, & Margaret, and puts his birth at 1755 in Cramond, Edinburgh, Midlothian. Not exactly around the corner, but not the other end of the country. The next most viable candidate in terms of names repeating (William, Agnes, John, and Elizabeth) was born in 1715 in Ayr. I would think this fellow would have been a little long in the tooth to be fathering 9 children starting in 1791 and ending in 1806. The only other candidate, was born in 1742, and no names fall in with any previous family names or patterns. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions? Meg Landseadel Staton Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA

Hi Margaret, >William, John, Jannet, Ralph Oliphant, and Janet. Since the name is fairly >unusual, I have searched the period 1740-1771 and have several >possibilities, but none were born in Roxburghshire. The most viable >candidate's parents were Samuel and Elisabeth Wright Young, with siblings >named Robert, Elizabeth, William, Archibald, Anne, & Margaret, and puts his >birth at 1755 in Cramond, Edinburgh, Midlothian. Not exactly around the >corner, but not the other end of the country. > >The next most viable candidate in terms of names repeating (William, Agnes, >John, and Elizabeth) was born in 1715 in Ayr. I would think this fellow >would have been a little long in the tooth to be fathering 9 children >starting in 1791 and ending in 1806. The only other candidate, was born in >1742, and no names fall in with any previous family names or patterns. > >Anybody have any ideas or suggestions? Yes - remember that the parish registers do not cover every birth. Your Mungo may have been born in Roxburghshire (or somewhere else nearby) but his birth not recorded in surviving records. It's probably not an appealing thought because it does raise the possibility of family lines being very difficult (if not impossible) to trace, but it seems to have affected a fairly hefty proportion of births in southern Scotland in that period. Also since the family were fairly near the Border there's a chance that Mungo's forebears may have been Scots working on/across the Border line: in such a case they might not appear in the English baptismal records, if they were Presbyterians. There were Presbyterian congregations on the English side but you can't rely on every birth being recorded. Good luck though! Viv Dunstan