Hello, This is my first letter to the list and hope it does not break any rules. For 30 years or more I have been told by my grandmother (Martha Rosanna GINNANE nee WELLS) and other older members of the family, that my g. grandfather (Roland Sinclair WELLS) was the son of Thomas WELLS and Mary Anne WHITE (dau. of William White and Janet JARDEN/JARDINE) This information was sent to me again recently by an independent researcher who has done a thorough reseach of the family of Thomas Wells and definitely states Janet Jardine/ Jarden as Mary Anne daughter.Yet as I have found more information, the dates don't correspond. This is what I have ....more questions than answers. William and Jemima CRON/CHROM married in the Parish of Applegarth/Sibbaldie DFS in 1830 and came to Australia on the 'Mountaineer' in 1832. By 1840 they were in Windsor NSW where Janet died. I believe that she died in childbirth and that Janet JARDINE (1815-1853) moved in to care for the four small children, Janet/Jessie, William, Matthew, Robert. William then married Janet PALMER at Peninsular Farm (or Palmey Farm ) 1841. She was a widow who owned the farm. Janet JARDINE was a witness to this marriage. Then in March 1843 Janet Jardine married the widower John MATHESON when already 5 months pregnant to William WHITE. It is significant that the baby, Mary Ann was brought up by William WHITE and Janet (Palmer). From the records it was the usual custom to have the child baptised very soon after birth. In Mary Anne's case she was not christened until September 1848 and named WHITE. I have a copy of a marriage certificate for Thomas WELLS (widower) and Mary Anne WHITE(spinster) with consent of parents 3/4/1854 Parish of Mount Vincent. Number 99 Volume 43 (gg grandparents) The birth certificate of my g. grandfather Roland Sinclair WELLS (1868-1905)shows the details of parents as Father: Thomas WELLS, farmer, 40 years, born Windsor Mother: Mary Anne formerly WHITE, 28 years, born Windsor (making it about 1839 not 1843) Roland died at his brother's farm (Henry I think) and buried at Ashford His father, Thomas, lived at Warialda until his death. I have also found (Hawkesbury Pioneer Reg) that Mary Anne married John McLACHLAN in 1861 at Windsor and their first child was born at Wilberforce. John was a drover so they moved to the North west plains around Moree and finally settled on a selection at Warialda, where Mary Ann died giving birth to her twelfth child in 1888. There is a record on NSW BDM website for Mary Anne WHITE b1839, no father shown, but mother shown as JANE This suits Roland's birth record. Is Jane actually Janet J? Did Jane give this child to someone else to care for? Or was Janet Palmer (William's second wife) the mother before her marriage to William? The other record on NSW BDM website is for Mary Anne WHITE b1843. Mother: Janet J and father: William. Was this baby 4 years later a second one for Janet J and named after the baby she had to give up? OR did my Mary Anne have something to do with William White and his first wife Jemima CRON. My reason for this is my g. grandfather's name : Roland SINCLAIR WELLS. Jemima and William have: Grandchild - SINCLAIR Mason WHITE G. Grandson - SINCLAIR Ernest WHITE This is an unusual given name. What a mess. More a tangled vine than a tree at present. Hope someone can make some sense of this and maybe assist. Warmest wishes from HOT (38 degrees celcius) Windsor, New South Wales, Australia Marilyn Mercer