Hi Judy, Thanks for your thoughts and response. I don't have access to the Emigrant Register, a genealogist found the information and it was photocopied and sent to me. Regarding the assisted immigrant program in SA, people applying had to be under 35. I think Alexander may have fibbed about his age, their ages compared with their children suggests they were parents at age 20 and 16 respectively, which is not that rare I guess, but shaving five or so years off their true ages is a distinct probability. The column headings read : Occupation : Shepherd. and Address: Leith. This, as you say, could suggest that they were temporarily living in Leith waiting for transport to London for the passage to Australia Unfortunately I have been unable to find the death certificates of Alexander and Elizabeth. They don't appear in SA so there is the possibility that they may have gone to Victoria for the gold rush, but daughter Elizabeth , married Charles King in Willunga SA in 1855 (apparently 21 years at the time); they lived in the area and were buried in the old Willunga cemetery. However I can find no marriage records for Donald and Jessie in SA either so an interstate move may have well been the go. I will check with the Victorian and other state records for their deaths though and also the marriages. If that comes up blank, I'm still at that wall. Do you think it would be worth while hiring a genealogist in Edinburgh to find their emigration records and then they could go backward from there? There is little I can do this side of the world : ) Cheers and thanks Janine

> > daughter Elizabeth , > married Charles King in Willunga SA in 1855 (apparently 21 years at > the > time); they lived in the area and were buried in the old Willunga > cemetery. Do these marriage and death records not give parents' names at all? Was there a newspaper notice for any of these events? IS there a possibility of other children either born in Australia or left behind in Scotland (it did happen) whose records might be found? > Do you think it would be worth while hiring a genealogist in > Edinburgh to find their emigration records and then they could go > backward > from there? I don't know what there would be to find unless you know the name of an emigration society that sent them. Did you send for the details of the marriage you found. I have one from a similar date at St Cuthberts and it gives both addresses, groom's occupation and bride's father's occupation and location. Judy