Norma / Jacqui, Have been following your discussion with some interest, as I have been digging around the Murroes records too. On Janet Elder, did you pick up from my feedback on kirk session records, a mortcloth fee for a Janet Elder, recorded Dec 19th, 1794. In the same year, another Elder (sorry, don't have his Christian name) was in considerable trouble with the Murroes kirk session for fathering an illegitimate child with a Margaret McHardie. There are a few lines that trace back to Alexander Petrie, son of Henry Petrie/Margaret Elder, born 1761. It seems likely though that there were at least two Alexanders around in Murroes in the late 18th century. There is the Alexander, in my line that married Jean Bathie in 1776 and had their later children in Murroes. There are also some "unallocated"children to an Alexander Petrie in Murroes, mother not named, born in the late 1770's, starting 1775. As the son of Alexander/Margaret Elder would only be 14, he is not a likely father, even if he was a virile Petrie. So we have at least two Alexanders, but it seems likely the older one moved into the parish.Unfortunately the kirk session records for Murroes do not start until 1790, so we cannot get evidence of the unallocated children being born out of wedlock, or of a first wife for the older Alexander who may have died, before he subsequently married Jean Bathie. There are no records around the time of such an incident in Monifieth either, and they were pretty ruthless at pursuing such incidents there. There are several instances of couples being dragged up in front of the Monifieth kirk session around this period for "secretly going off to Edinburgh to get married". This was obviously a good way of confusing the kirk on the relationship of the dates of their marriage and the birth of their child and the kirk did not like it. It is of interest though, as the marriage records of some of these couples will be in Edinburgh rather than in their own parish. I did pick up a reference to an Alexander Petrie, blacksmith in Murroes in these records in 1795. The husband of Jean/Janet Bathie was a blacksmith. The kirk session record for Murroes of Nov 8th 1795 notes that (kirk elder) David Patullo had paid money to Alex Petrie, smith in Barns of Wedderburn, "when in distressed circumstances" These are just bits and pieces at the moment, but may be of use to someone. I would welcome any other such fragments on Murroes around the time, to help build a picture of people and relationships. I agree with Norma that we mustn't think of these parishes in isolation. They were very small geographically and in population. In 1790 the population of Murroes was 623 and Tealing 802 and people did move between them. Jim Petrie, Isle of Wight