Hello again, I am returning to the list after quite a long absence during which I have discovered some more about my Wigtownshire forbears. What I now know is that my greatgreatgrandfather Hugh McDowall and his wife Janet Smith had eleven children, not six as I had previously thought. They had their first six children at Barwhirran farm near Newton Stewart in Penninghame Parish. I believe that their next five children were born somewhere near Wigtown between 1809 and 1822, but I have yet to find evidence thereof. What I do know is that Hugh, Janet and nine of their children sailed to America in three separate ships in the 1830s, headed either for Pennsylvania or Ohio (although the stated intented destination of some was Illinois). My current interest is to try to understand what conditions were like in Wigtownshire in the 1820s and 1830s such that almost a whole family decided to leave and what information did they have which influenced their choice of America, as against say Canada, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand. Hugh was a tenant farmer. Was there the equivalent of the Highland Clearances in Wigtownshire? All clues or suggestions will be appreciated. Jim MacDowell