Could he have been having a joke on the enumerator? May be his 'gold mine' was a business or possession that was providing him with comfortable income. I am not sure that a Gold Mine would have one owner, they were usually owned by a company with shareholders As far as I can determine there were no Gold Mines in Scotland, the gold found there was from alluvial deposits. However there are gold mines in the Dolgellau district of North Wales, discovered around 1840, which prompted the most sustained period of gold extraction activity in the British Isles, flourishing up to the first World War and which has continued intermittently ever since. <<<<<<<<Near neighbours of William Elders included families living at Pear Tree Cottage, where there were at least 5 families, totalling at least 30 people. Just what sort of "cottage" would have housed that many? >>>>>>>>> A large one! Regards Stan Mapstone _www.mapstone.org_ (http://www.mapstone.org)