Thanks Monica, yes & this is one of the reasons I'm not sure about the only James Brunton I can find born in Newlands at the right time.
If I went with the children's names I'd have father William & mother Jean. But then, another problem is that I can't find the children's birth registrations & have only got the names from successive censuses, so I could be missing some eg there's not a James amongst them when you'd think there would be.
The marriage was 23/2/1835 at Carnwath.
The first two censuses are thus:-
1841 Census
Coltness Iron Works, Cambusnethan, Lanark
James Brunton 30 Coal M b Outside Census County;
Helen Beveridge 25 b Lanarkshire;
William Brunton 5 b Lanarkshire;
Robert Brunton 3 b Lanarkshire; [mother's father]
Margaret Brunton 1 b Lanarkshire [mother's mother]
1851 Census
No 6 Long Row, Shotts, Lanark
Household:
James Brunton Head Mar 43 Coal Miner b Peeblesshire, Newlands;
Helen Beveridge Wife Mar 38 b Lanarkshire, Shotts;
William Brunton Son U 15 Coal Miner b Lanarkshire, Carnwath;
Robert Brunton Son U 13 Coal Miner b Lanarkshire, Carnwath; [mother's father]
Margaret Brunton Daur U 10 Scholar b Lanarkshire, Shotts; [mother's mother]
John Brunton Son U 8 Scholar b Lanarkshire, Shotts;
Jean Brunton Daur U 4 Scholar b Lanarkshire, Cambusnethan;
Helen Brunton Daur 2 b Lanarkshire, Shotts; [mother]
John Brunton Brother U 38 b Lanarkshire, Carnwath
Do you know - are the Parish registers in Pebblesshire generally reasonably complete? I suppose it depended on whether people got around to registering births - except most babies would have been baptised, wouldn't they?
Any extra thoughts you can add would be much appreciated.
[Is this another brick wall? Hmm]
Regards