Good afternoon Listers, I wish to thank Rhoda and Jacquie for their expertise in family research, which has helped to unravel the Ann Milne Brown story. I could not be where I am today with the research material, which has now been sent to Bob, the chappie I have been helping find the history of the woman who gave birth to his mother Eva. Also, what happened to this "Ann Milne Brown" after the birth of baby Eva? Also, I wish to thank others on the List who also made suggestions and offered solutions. However, instead of solving the mystery, there is now a greater one to solve. At the time of Bob's mother Eva's death in Manly, NSW Australia in 1994, he had to obtain his mother's Scottish birth certificate for registering her Death Certificate here in New South Wales. Bob immigrated Down Under from Edinburgh Scotland in 1960, his Widowed mother Eva, followed him in 1961. When he received the copy of Eva's birth certificate for the first time he saw his "grandmother's" name - Ann Milne Brown, however there was no father, and his mother's surname was also Brown, for the first time he realised his mother was illegitimate. Ann Milne Brown declares in the section for Name, Surname and Rank or profession of Father, surname of Mother and date and place of Marriage, just these words, "...Ann Milne Brown daughter of a butcher's assistant...". Bob's curiosity was roused, as the woman who his mother Eva had called "mother" died before he was born, however he knew that they had lived in Musselburgh and that his mother Eva had attended the Pinkie school in Portobello. Rob returned to Edinburgh to try and find out more about the Brown family and he hired a research group in Edinburgh to investigate. They obtained a birth certificate for Ann Milne Brown, plus they set out a family tree tracing the family back four generations. Ann Milne Brown was born on 28th May 1885 to John Brown and Mary Knowles (they had married in Edinburgh on 31st Dec 1879). John Brown was a Butcher's Assistant at the time of his daughter's birth. However, if only the researchers and carried out a search for the death of Ann Milne Brown, they would have found that she died on 16th February in 1886, at the age of 8 months of Tubercular Meningitis. There is no record of another daughter being born to this couple, which they named after their dead baby Ann. So who was this person that was using the name of a dead child, and also using the words "...daughter of a Butcher's Assistant...", which appears on baby Ann's birth and death certificates 23 years before? In 1909 John Brown was a Butcher not a Butcher's Assistant. It appears to be some kind of identity theft, using information from either the birth of death certificate of baby Ann Milne Brown. Also, the story that "Ann Milne Brown" the mother of Eva, had immigrated to Canada around 1910, was a good excuse to explain her disappearing off the planet. Bob remembered an Annie Montgomery, who his mother referred to as her "sister" and also Annie's daughters Effie, Jean and also Annie, who he had met before leaving Scotland. After a lot of detective work by Jacquie in sussing out the Montgomery family, this is what she was able to find. The lady who brought up Eva as her daughter, with her real daughter Annie Gall Montgomery was Euphemia Montgomery. Euphemia was born on 6th May 1859 to Charles Montgomery - Coachman and Harriet Pennycuik at 22 William Street in the District pf St George, Edinburgh. Euphemia Montgomery was one of 8 children, Isabella Connel. b. 857, Euphemia Cummings b. 859, Janet Cummings b.1861, Ann Blackley b.1863, Thomas b.1866, Harriet b.1868, Jane b. 872 and Catherine Montgomery b.1875. In 1881 at the time of the Census, Euphemia and her older sister Isabella Montgomery were in Berwick Upon Tweed in Northumberland, working as Barmaids in a Tea Room owned by their Uncle Christopher Hopper and his wife Isabella Hopper (nee Montgomery a sister of the Isabella and Euphemia's father Charles). No trace can be found of Euphemia in 1891, however on 24th January 1898 Euphemia at the age of 39, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Ann Gall Montgomery at 32 Joppa Road, Portobello. I wonder if the middle name Gall is the surname of the baby's unnamed father? In 1901 Euphemia aged 42 is living on private means, Annie her daughter is 3 and Euphemia's younger sister Annie 32 a Domestic Servant are living in the district of St Cuthbert, Edinburgh. Around January 1910, Euphemia Montgomery takes into her care a child by the name of Eva Christian Brown, and brings her up as her own, though Eva kept her name. The daughter of Euphemia, Annie Gall Montgomery had three daughters Effie (Euphemia) Montgomery b. circa 1922, Jean Montgomery b. circa 1924 and Annie Montgomery, all are illegitimate. Effie married Mr. ??? Dunbar, Jean marries Mr. ??? Leary and Annie the younger never marries. Eva Christian Brown, the little girl Euphemia Montgomery raised from a baby, married William Wilson - Railway Goods Shunter on 25th September 1936 at Portobello. Her "adopted mother" Euphemia Montgomery died six weeks after Eva's wedding on 7th December 1936 at 5 Straiton Place, Portobello. The question now is, what was the relationship of Euphemia Montgomery to the woman who gave birth to Eva Christian Brown? Why was the identity of Eva's mother, taken from a child that died at 8 months of age? Was the story that Eva's mother immigrated to Canada, not long after the Eva's birth, an easy way to explain how she disappeared off the planet? With the private means that Euphemia was receiving and could live on and not work for a living, coming from maintenance being paid by the father of Annie Gall Montgomery? Can anyone help with more information regarding the Montgomery family of Musselburgh/Portobello? Or come up with any idea's regarding the birth certificate for Eva and the false details which it contains? Regards, Janice Belrose - Sydney Australia