Hi all I have an Alexander Scott born 1798 at Tulloch, Bellie to Alexander Scott and Helen Todd who married at Bellie in 1796. The Bellie OPR fortunately lists deaths/burials and in 1825 there is an entry showing that a burial of a dead born child of Alexander Scott, Cabinet Maker in Fochabers took place. As the child was still born there is no record of a birth/christening although the IGI shows the birth of a child 'Scott' whose father was Alexander Scott but no mother's name. This entry was probably generated from the burial entry in the OPR. The\re is no trace of a marriage for Alexander so the child was probably illegitimate. In the 1841 Census there is an Alexander Scott, aged 40, Cabinetmaker, living in Fochabers and domiciled with him at the time of the Census was a Jannet Dustan aged 65 who was described as being of independent means. By 1851 Alexander was living in Market Street/Place in Fochabers aged 52 but there is no sign of Jannet Dustan. A search of the Bellie OPR revealed that she was buried at Bellie Churchyard on 27 March 1848 aged 76 which would tie in with the 1841 Census in which ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 years and her age at that time could have been 69. By 1861 Alexander aged 62 was still living in Fochabers at the same address and 10 years later in 1871 the same applied with his age given as 72. In 1881 there is no trace of him in the Census which suggests that he may have moved from Fochabers or died but a wider search of the Census using many spelling variations of his name together with his occupation produced no results. A similar style of search on scotlandspeople for his death after 1871 to 1900 again shows nothing which matches. The Moray Heritage Centre's LIBINDX was used to search for Cabinet Makers on their database but again this proved fruitless although there were many listed. Finally, the Monumental Inscriptions for Bellie Churchyard and New Cemetery were examined but although Jannet Dustan was buried there no headstone exists for her nor is there any trace of Alexander or his still born child in that publication. This has truly become a brick wall and I would be delighted if anyone out there can shed any light on this mystery. I felt certain I would have found a death entry for Alexander on scotlandspeople. Ian A C Scott