Hi Ron, Hmmm what makes you think they are 2 different FLETCHER families? Is it because of the change in location? You would be surprised how many places shepherding families pop up over the years! Dad is pretty convinced that these are the same FLETCHERs he knew and if they are they were in other places too, including the island of Jura for a time. Is it because of the ages? I know Alex FLETCHER would have been 73 by 1913 (when my grandfather worked with him at Cononish) but in the days before social security of any kind, people worked until they were no longer fit .... and my grandfather did refer to him as 'the old man' then. His adult children would have been doing the bulk of the work. Do you have any idea of Neil FLETCHER's occupation? Dad believes this Neil was a ship's steward during the pre WW1 period. It may be the same group yet, Ron. What do you think? Hi Mary My first thoughts were the age factor but as you say your grandfather was young and Alexander was old, well that clears that up hopefully. The other thing is Calum i don't have anything on the birth of him. He would have to have born very late as he is not on the 1901 census. The youngest son on the census is Malcolm who was 8 at the time.Neil migrated to New Zealand where he married in 1907 and had a family then moved on to Australia. Neil's occupation on the census (all the census information was very kindly provided by Judi McRae) shows him as a shepherd. Well mary, i will leave you with this and hope to hear from you soon. Cheers Ron In OZ Make Yahoo!7 your homepage and win a trip to the Quiksilver Pro. Find out more