I have a ship question for you. My gggg grandparents, John (Ian) McMartin and Katherine Robertson were married on Valentines Day, 1798 in Weem, Perthshire and set sail for Canada shortly after that. One source said it was at the invitation of two of Katherine's brothers who were already in Canada. >From a distant cousin, I received this excerpt from a letter by Bert McMartin of Castalia, Iowa (brother to my great grandmother Elsie McMartin Kobriger and son of Daniel Angus McMartin who was grandson of John & Katherine) to his Aunt Gladys (Mrs. F.M. Pettygrove, Wilton ND dated 12 Dec 1925, when Bert was about 53: " As far as I know, in 1798 John (Ian) McMartin and his wife Katherine amd some other relatives left Scotland (they were Highlanders) for America. They were on the ocean for several months. The captain of the vessel went crazy and sailed back and forth on the ocean for months until they were almost out of provisions. When the first mate seized the captain and put him in restraints. The mate took charge of the vessel and steered for the nearest shore, which was Labrador. It then sailed on to the Bay of Chaleurs. They stayed there probably one or two years. From there they went to Huntington, Quebec outside of Montreal and then on to St. Andrew's East, Quebec on the River Rouge." In trying to hunt this down, I've found that lumber from Canada was a popular export from this area and era and that sometimes new emigrants were the "backhaul" on these ships returning to Canada from Great Britain. Sounds like an interesting story - does anyone know any more info about this ship or the people involved? Also, I've heard that John's father (Duncan McMartin, married to Janet Gilchrist) died in Nova Scotia, but haven't been able to find documentation. Thanks for any info! The names and dates are wonderful, but the stories are my favorite - also the hardest to confirm! -Gayle Olson