Hi Anne Thank you for the comments and the analysis about ages and dates. I think that another complicating factor is that those who report deaths in Australia may have mixed & confused knowledge of the the names of family members in Scotland, especially those who either did not come from the same area or were very young when they left Scotland. I understand the desperation of those who sought to leave difficult circumstances. It looks like Archibald was over the HIES cut-off age of 60 when they left Oskamull for Portland, departing from Liverpool on the New Zealand. Given that they seem to have manipulated the facts on that account, one wonders what else they might have changed for one pragmatic reason or another. The birth dates that I have for Christy McMillan and Ann McMillan come from my searches of Scotlandspeople and the Mull website. So the variations in the birth dates on the death certificates is interesting, as there is no reason to vary those dates at that time. I will need to look at their actual death certificates to see who reported their death in Victoria - as that may provide me with a clue. The death certificate for Mary McPherson (nee McMillan) in Victoria, whose parents were Archibald and Flora McMillan (nee McIntyre) from Mull continues to be a puzzle. It states her birth date as 1801. If Archibald and Flora were married in 1816 - it is unlikely that this Mary is their daughter, but the coincidence in names is interesting. Mary appears as one of their children on both parents' death certificates and I have not been able to find her - so the puzzle continues. Thanks again, Anne for sending me the information about dates and ages. Regards Libby McMillan (Ongoing email: libbymcm@tpg.com.au) On 08/09/2007, at 3:34 PM, Brian Maye wrote: > Hi List & Libby, > > Here's another confused individual but not by your family. > > However, I'd suggest that the earlier dobs are more likely to be > correct since it was common for people to either make out they were > older or younger according to the circumstances and their > perceptions of their employability at various ages. > > Younger people in e.g. the 1841 census often pushed their ages up > because they could earn slightly more as an older person. > > However, with shipping and the Assisted Immigration it was > advertised that Australia was looking for fit, healthy younger > workers .. (note the comments on the state of health of those on > the 'New Zealander') . Sometimes specific skills were mentioned and > therefore many claimed to have those skills. They probably did but > I have one instance of the occupation given on Baptisms as handloom > weaver & on shipping records as mason & farmer. > > This is not to say that these people did not possesss those skills. > The clearances did not help here as many who would previously have > had a rural occupation had to resort to weaving when they were > replaced by a couple of shepherds. > > Anne Maye >