Thank you to Mike, Sigurd and Ron for the information on the HOWRIE/HOURIE clan. Mike, if you could remember roughly how old Captain John Hourie was or any other details, I would be most grateful. As I am discovering, the practice of naming children after fathers, uncles, brothers! leads to loads of duplication - John, James and William being my own nemesis! I believe that once I get to the Orkneys (next year in April/May I hope), there will be more than enough data to get my teeth into. Having said that I am already swimming in dates, places, misspelt names and lots of "skeletons in the closet" --- I love it!! Cheers Sarah