I'll make a start, dont know how much you dont know. ;-) I think its a good tip to bear in mind that formal registration didnt take place until 1855. However, if you were to find a birth in that year, the birth certificate will give you a lot of information to confirm the earlier records you might have. Numbers of children born and died, the parents. I've found death certificates also to be a mine of information which can blow apart a line of children as to the identities of their parents. I calculate death dates by the three score years and ten rule. If you have a walk in LDS Center near your home they will help you. Its a good starting place http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true - you can find a lot of information there but its not too good an idea to rely on it. It's free unless you purchase the film in the walk in center. IGI uses Soundex so you dont have to search all the variants of a name. That is, in principle. I have the name SHERET in my ancestry. IGI had many of the variants but my Gt +4 Grandfather married a lady whose name was STEPHEN and that has variants also. I was missing one child born just 2 months after the couple had married. They already had an illegitimate birth and got hauled up by the Kirk Sessions for that. I didnt think of looking for a second, that was, until someone sent me a Monument Inscription telling me there was a first son born that I didnt have who died in New Zealand. In the event, I found the marriage of my SHERET under the name of SHERRATT, exact name and STEVEN as opposed to his wife's maiden name of STEPHEN. There was William born to this happy couple. Monument Inscriptions are a good back up to being certain about a lot of information, occupation etc. You need to back it up with paper records where you can. Scotland's People is the place for that. You need to register and pay credits - 30 for £6. Good idea to have a list of names and dates before you start to spend, because its time sensitive. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Error/denied.aspx After 1841 you have the benefit of Census Returns. http://www.freecen.org.uk/cgi/search.pl (free) I've probably written enough to get you going, and apologise if you already knew this stuff. Oh, one final point, dont rule out a second marriage, and twin births! Happy hunting. Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marian Sargent" <[email protected]> > Hello! > > I am new to this list. I have been researching my 3rd Gt-grandparents, Edward MCGIE (b. 1781) and his wife Ann DRUMMOND (b. 1785) who were both born at Kilmarnock according to their marriage record. They were married 15 May, 1808 at Old Church Parish in Edinburgh. Two of their children Daniel born in 1809 and Mary (my 2nd gt-grandmother) born 1811 were baptized in Old Church Parish also. A younger son Edward was born in 1817, also in Edinburgh. Edward McGie, Sr. was a Merchant according to the church records on both his marriage and the birth of his children. The family emigrated to Quebec, Canada about 1822 where they settled on a farm in Rawdon, Quebec. The boys were sent to school in Quebec City where Daniel McGie became a prominent citizen. Mary McGie married John EVELEIGH at Rawdon. I am looking for info on both McGIE and DRUMMOND families. If anyone has any of these family lines, I would like to share info with them. If not, could someone please help me by telling! m! > e where to search next! Scottish records are all new to me. I am in the U.S.A. Thank you for any help you can give to me! > Marian (Buck) Sargent in Oregon