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I'll be sure to check it out.  Many thanks. 

Hi becky12.  I'm pretty sure we have the same group here.  Margaret McVicar was the daughter of Alexander McVicar and Janet Walker, who operated Newmill in Kilmarnock.  Margaret gave birth to William on 19.2.1862 in Craigie, Kilmarnock and the father was named as Gilbert Templeton.  I see from your post that he married someone else just a couple of months before the birth.  I know that Gilbert moved to Australia, as did his illegitimate son, William, who emigrated there with his wife, Charlotte Frew.

William was actually raised by Margaret's parents at Newmill.  They had lost a son called William, who had been born in 1859 and died before the 1861 census, and it caused me a few weeks of confusion trying to work out the difference in age when William reappeared in a later census.

Margaret went on to marry someone who worked at her parents' mill in 1863 by whom she had two sons.  Following his death, she moved to South Wales to live with one of her brothers and married a cousin who was also living there, and they had two daughters - although I have found a possible third daughter for them who may have died young.

I have a fairly extensive family history for my McVicars and would be happy to share any information with you.

Thanks hanes teulu.  I've spent two days now trying to find various birth and census records for Benjamin David, Mary Anne Propert, their son, Thomas, and his wife Ann Griffiths and their children.  I can find plenty of surname David births around the late 1700/early 1800s in Maenclochog, but the only thing for Benjamin David I have found so far is the baptism to parents David Welch and Rachel Merryman in St Issell's, which is clearly nowhere near the right place of birth for Benjamin shown as Maenclochog on his census records!  It is beyond frustrating.

His son, Thomas (my g-g-grandfather), disappears off the census records between the one you found in 1841 and the death record I have for him in 1875.  Between 1852 and 1861, Thomas’ parents and siblings moved to Cardiff, but Thomas  remained in the Newport, Pembs area and married Ann Griffiths in 1852.  It is possible that Thomas was on military service from 1853 to 1857: Thos Davies, 1853-1857, UK, b.1832, Pembs (Dusty Dpcs 1562744, 004650254) – this would also tie in with the births of his first two children in 1852 and 1857.  His sea record shows he was sailing from 1858-9 on the Elizabeth; 1863 on the Mary Jane; 1870-75 on the Sylph (Smyrna); and 1875 on the Faithful (Lisbon) when he died of fever in Rouen.  This means he should be on the census records for 1851 and 1861, but I have failed to find him so far.  I have his wife and children living next door to and partly with Ann's father, John Griffiths, in Temple, Newport, Pembs for 1871, but nothing for them for the preceding years (I'm ok from 1871 forwards).  It's as if there's a big hole in the records.

I can't see any point in sending for Thomas' birth record, as I already know who his parents are and that his place of birth was Dinas from his death certificate, and there doesn't appear to be a record for his father's birth to send off for!  I think I've hit a wall with this search, to be honest.

Anyway, thanks so much for your help. 

Hi Rosie99

I think I am going slightly nutty.  I know my research up to Thomas Davies, the master mariner, is correct.  His death certificate clearly states that he was born in DINAS, son of Benjamin Davies and Mary Anne (or Marieanne - it's in French) Proppert; husband to Ann Griffiths - married at Newport about 1852 (the actual date was 27.1.1852).  So that's quite a lot of very specific information.  I also know that Thomas and Ann/e Griffiths' children were born in Newport, Pembrokeshire.  I've also found a record for the marriage of Mary Ann Propert to Benjamin David on 28.1.1825 in Dinas, Pembrokeshire.  Beyond that, it all seems to come unstuck.

I have a working table for the family, and on that I have two different possible birth/baptisms for Benjamin.  One is b.ca.1802 in Dinas, Kemess (or Cemais to be more precise), Pembrokeshire .  The other is bap.26.6.1803 in Saint Issell's, Pembrokeshire.  So, the first is on the northern coast, the second is on the southern coast.  It's always feasible for someone to be born in one place, then baptised in another (sometimes several years later in the case of some of my ancestors!) - where the family of one of the parents originated and the grandparents live, for example - which made the link to David Welch and Rachel Merriman in St Issell's as Benjamin's parents.

However, when I saw the birth place of Maenclochog for Benjamin on the 1851 census records you showed me the other day, it appears that neither of the birth/baptism records I've found for him are correct and I need to look for completely different parents for Benjamin. I haven't been able to turn anything up yet.  I haven't found any other census entries for a family with parents Benjamin and Mary and/or Ann with a son Thomas the right age to be my G-G-Grandfather, so I'm pretty sure this is the right census family (famous last words!).  I think the search route I need to follow now is Benjamin David b.Maenclochog.

Many thanks to everyone for all your help 

Hi Rosie,

I think they are the same census records, but the transcript I managed to get hold of didn't give the places of birth for the 1851 census and this can't be the correct family.

However, I know Mary Ann Propert was Thomas' mother (from his death record), and there's a marriage for Mary Anne to Benjamin David/Davies (can't recall which right now) on 28.1.1825 in Dinas.

I'll have to go back to the drawing board and search the census records again, then try and get a more detailed transcript of any that look likely that shows where family members were born.

Thanks again