Hello Listers, I write from the State of Victoria, Australia. I am seeking further information on the family of my great great grandmother, Janet Cuthbertson. It is suspected that she had little education, and therefore all following spellings, and age calculations are approximate. Some jottings in the family state that she was born 31 May, 1830 at/near Strathaven Lanarkshire, Scotland, daughter of James Cuthbertson, who died at Thornibank (Thornliebank?), 3 September 1850, and his unidentified wife, who died at Pollockshaws on 7 January, 1852. Janet’s marriage certificate from 4 February 1856, on the Ballaarat Goldfield, states that she was 23, a spinster, a servant, born at Strathaven, Lanarkshire, Scotland, that her mother was Ellen Riddle, and that her father was Robert Cuthbertson, a quarryman. I know from another document that she already had an infant son, named Robert, probably born on 11 May 1855. I notice that at www.familysearch.org a Robert Cuthbertson marries a Helen Riddell at Glassford, Lanarkshire 2/2/1817 – info from a film. Given Janet’s accent, literacy, and the occasion, one suspects that Helen Riddell became Ellen Riddle on Janet’s marriage certificate. On the above website, LDS members have submitted that Robert and Helen had christened James 3/9/1817 at Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Margaret Tod, c.1827 …… Lanarkshire, William Brownli, 13/51834 at Glassford, and David, 16/3/1836 at Glassford. The ten year gap between the christening of James and Margaret is interesting. Janet is listed as a 23 year old on the passenger list for the “Storm Cloud” which arrived in Port Phillip Bay (for Geelong and Melbourne) in December1854 from the U.K. Also on board was one other Cuthbertson, a James, aged 37. Family lore has it that Janet emigrated with her brother (name unknown) but that she lost contact with him during the gold rushes (not difficult!) and that she never saw him again. One suspects from the shipping list, the name and the age, that the James on board was her brother. Janet named her children Robert, John Allison (or Ellison), David Maund, Alfred, Janet and Agnes. Her husband’s name was John Hastings. Janet died in the State of Victoria, Australia, in July, 1914, “aged 84”. I have not yet tried to search the 1841 and 1851 census records for Scotland to extend my knowledge of Janet and James, but could do so in due course. Thank you for reading this, Tom Woolman _________________________________________________________________ Need a new place to rent, share or buy? Let ninemsn property help http://a.ninemsn.com.au/b.aspx?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fninemsn%2Eseek%2Ecom%2Eau%2F%3Ftracking%3Dsk%3Atl%3Ask%3Anine%3A0%3Ahottag%3Achange&_t=757263783&_r=SEEK_tagline&_m=EXT