George is in the 1841 census at Thomshill, Birnie, Moray, described as a cartwright, with wife Isabella and daughter Joanna, 2 and Hellen, 1.
In 1851 Isabella, aged 40, described as house carpenter's wife, is at Thomshill with daughters Helen, 11; Christina, 9; and Helen, 7. Joanna, aged 12, is a servant in the household of William Taylor, farmer, at Pans Port, Elgin.
Thomshill
http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ2157 Pans Port
http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ2262The IGI lists four children of George Ellis and Isabella Forsyth, who were married at Duffus, Moray on 3 June 1837.
Johanna Brander born 9 baptised 22 July 1838
Helen born 1 baptised 14 January 1840
Christinia born 25 baptised 31 October 1841
Isabella born 17 October baptised 1 November 1843
You should look up both censuses, the marriage and all four baptisms at SP to make sure that any transcription errors are your own, and also to note any additional details that may be in the baptism records, for example names of witnesses, who may give a clue to George's parentage.According to
http://libindx.moray.gov.uk/mainmenu.asp Isabella Forsyth or Ellis, wife of George Ellis, carpenter, and daughter of William Forsyth and Christina Mortimer, applied for relief from the parish of Birnie in 1854. The application will describe her circumstances and almost certainly refer to George having been transported, which is just the clinching detail you need. Isabella died on 22 July 1888 at Thomshill.
I am now getting into the realms of speculation. Traditionally a first daughter is named after her mother's mother, a second daughter after her father's mother and a third daughter after her mother. George and Isabella, however, named their
third daughter after Isabella's mother and their
fourth after Isabella.
It would be interesting to know why they chose an unconventional name for their first - could she have been named after one of the Brander family who were prominent in the Elgin area, and owned land in the parish of Duffus? Was George in some way connected to or indebted to the Brander family?
Noting that George and Isabella were married in Duffus, and that their second daughter was named Helen, I wonder whether George is the son of John Ellis and Helen Robertson, born 3 and baptised 11 October 1812 in the parish of Duffus?
LIBINDX records that Helen Robertson, wife of John Ellis, daughter of George Robertson and Margaret King, died at Deanshillock on 19 March 1855. This means that you are really, really, really lucky, because an 1855 death certificate lists all children, living and dead, of the deceased, often with their whereabouts. So go to Scotland's People and download a copy of this death certificate, and if it says that Helen had a son George, aged 42, in Australia, you have the proof you need.
Deanshillock
http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ3056If I am right, you also have not one, but two more generation on your tree.
Happy hunting!
