First, a big thank you to Christine for replying to my request for information on Hamilton's in Sutherland. As you say, there were not many in Sutherland. My James moved to Caithness around 1815, where again there were few Hamilton's. This in itself has been an advantage as it has made it reasonably easy to track the family from there and I have a good tree laid out all stemming from James Hamilton (b abt 1786) from Clyne and Ann Cameroon (b 1788) from Gospie. If anyone is interested in this leg, I would be happy to supply the details. His birth place is noted only from the 1851 census (he died within months of the census) but I am fairly confident it is correct as he married Ann Cameroon from Golspie and I have found her birth records and family. I have found several Hamiltons baptised around the same time period in Clyne (but not my James). Date Father’sName Mother’s Helen Hamilton 26 Apr 1784 Robert Hamilton Isobell Sutherland William Hamilton 20 Sep 1784 Robert Hamilton Christy Sutherland William Hamilton 22 Oct 1784 John Hamilton Janet McKay John Hamilton 05 Nov 1785 Robert Hamilton Christy Sutherland Margt. Hamilton 20 Dec 1790 William Hamilton Katherain Sutherland With so few Hamilton's, my James must be related, probably to all of them but I cannot be sure. I may well have to be satisfied that I can go no further given the sparse records. However, I would like to understand more about the movement of people in the time period. I have ordered the CD on the Sutherland estates and read several books on the clearances. At this stage, I am not sure if he was part of these major upheavals or whether it was just a migration for other reasons. Possibly someone could recommend sources of information on the history of the area which will be helpful. I live in Kent which has an excellent archive of local history and will again volunteer to look up information if it can be helpful to anyone. Thanks again. Cathy Goodwin (nee Hamilton) Kent, England