Hello John, thank for the information. This is certainly a confusing one. I have the following: Catherine McNeil bapt. 27 Oct 1793 Calliach daughter of John McNeil and Janet McLean siblings; Neil, John, John, Mary, Catherine, Marion/Sarah and John Neil and John (the youngest) both came to Ontario, Canada in 1820/21 but I don't know if the rest of them came or not. I have Archibald Beaton bapt. 3 Sept 1785 in Gometra and died in Tobermory 4 June 1856 - married to Catherine 2 May 1814 and they had the following Archibald, John, Jessie and Catherine which certainly follows the naming pattern of both parents??? These two other children were from the 1841 census but there might be children in between or they might have died. I don't know how else to make sure this is the right Catherine McNeil. Malcolm is not a McNeil name in my line and I don't know about the Beatons. Could your John's Malcolm be from his wife's side? Jacqueline in Nova Scotia ----- Original Message ----- From: John Beaton To: sct-isleofmull@rootsweb.com Cc: h.j.arch@ns.sympatico.ca Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 10:43 PM Subject: BEATON/McNEIL Hi Jacqueline, Sorry I'm a bit slow replying but have been away. I am sure you and I exchanged emails on this topic a few years ago. I am descended from Archibald Beaton / Catherine McNeil through their son John (Frackadale 1815). John went to New Zealand where he married in 1843. The family is split almost equally between New Zealand and Australia. As for the other son, Archibald Jr, there is a death in Queensland in 1886 which seems to be him - parents are correct but other details a bit off - so maybe he followed his older brother. The death certificate claims that he was in Australia for 40 years (ie since 1846) but I have not found shipping records for either of them. Now getting back to Archibald and Catherine, there are two possibilities for each of them. There are two Catherine McNeil (or McNiel) christenings at Caillioch and both mothers were Janet. The first was a child born in 1791 at Caillioch to parents Malcolm McNeil and Janet Campbell, who were married in 1791 at Caillioch. The second was a child born in 1793 at Caillioch to parents John McNiel and Janet McLean, who were married in 1785 at Arin. I have no idea how you would separate these two possibilities but if I had to have a wild stab I would pick the first purely because the name Malcolm was taken as a second name by one of John's sons. Do you have info on either of these families (eg siblings of Catherine) which might provide useful leads? Likewise for Archibald, there are two possibilities that I have not been able to conclusively separate. Both had fathers named Lachlan Beaton and both had mothers named McKinnon. One was born 1785 (Gometra) and one 1795 (Tobermory). I am punting for the former, but will not go into the details here as I think you are more interested in the McNeils. Please keep in touch. John Beaton Brisbane