Thanks brigau/Brig1au. I'm not an Ancestry subscriber, However, thru' my own researches I'm well informed about the Chalmers' (my paternal grandmother was a Chalmers) and the Rennies' trees. Also I've been in contact with a great-granddaughter of Adam Carss who also has a copy of Adam's book. We are fascinated by his ability to produce the poetry in his early 20's and, as far as we can see, achieved in the absence of any special or lengthy education. To be fair, this forum probably isn't the best place to get info on this - but you never know! A number of the poems had been previously published in the local newpaper, so perhaps an examination of those would cast light on how it all came about. Cheers, Jim.
