I have no doubt about your connection with the Earl of Stair, it is a matter of proving the connection which, am sure will happen.

With Sarah being the mother of both of the girls and since finding that George Samuel Weymss Dalrymple is the father of both I suspect they may have been married or partners at least. Am still working on that one.

Oooh.. Are you ready for this? ... One mystery is nearly sorted.

George Samuel Weymss Dalrymple married Sarah Thompson
28 JAN 1850 Duddingston, Midlothian, Scotland

Shizara, You're up late too. I've had enough of the UK's swine flu symptoms to sink a battleship. Anyway, I already romantasize (?USA spelling) about Sarah Thompson. What would be good is to know where the Stairs lived and who the Wives were because no Wife or Mother seems to have accompanied them to Hokitika in 1871. What happened to George Samuel Wheymss-Dalrymple? Did he having married his girls off 'suitabley' then return to Scotland and life as the Laird's son??? Or was he 'decommissioned' and sent to stay in pastures new. Or maybe he retirned but was equally pensioned off with a farm or some such. What happened to Sarah his wife? I think this is most poignant.Oh goodness, I feel a book and a film coming on. Anyone interested?

Well, at least we know he married Sarah Thomson .... Am sure that we are close to tying things up.. Will do a bit more when I get home later.

Yes, at least it was all on the 'correct' side of the bedsheets Mum will be relieved I think this was one of the family fears!!! Except we don't know when Agnes Sophia was born, only when she was christened.Hope you have a good day today.

Duddingston Kirk A famous former minister was the Rev. John Thomson (1778 - 1840) who gave rise to the expression "we're all Jock Tamson's bairns" Now is this a coincidence or what!

I have some background for you on George Samuel Weymss/Wemyss Dalrymple.

Dalrymple, George Samuel Wemyss, Land and Insurance Agent, Perry Street, Masterton. Bankers, Bank of New South Wales.

Private residence, “The Laurels,” Chapel Street. Mr. Dalrymple is descended from a very ancient Scottish family, and is a second cousin of the present Earl of Stair. He was born in L'Orient, France, in 1828, and received the greater part of his education in that country, and in Belgium, his parents afterwards removing to Scotland. At the age of seventeen Mr. Dalrymple was licensed as a shipbroker in Glasgow by the customs authorities, he being said to have been the youngest official ever appointed to such a position. When only twenty-two he became surveyor of stamps and taxes for the counties of Sutheiland and Caithness, and subsequently for Perch. In 1862 Mr. Dalrymple retired from the service, having inherited a competence. Realising this, he came to New Zealand in the ship “City of Dunedin,” landing at Invercargill in 1863. Gaining mercantile experience there, and on the West Coast of the South Island, where he had a taste of nearly every sort of colonial life until the year 1876, he came to Masterton. He was never afraid “to take his coat off,” and this characteristic has assisted him in his life in the Colony. As a Mason Mr. Dalrymple is a Past Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. It may be mentioned that Mr. Dalrymple presented the magnificent Grand Jewel worn by the Grand Master of the New Zealand Constitution when in full regalia, and also one in miniature set with rubies to be worn by the Grand Master at balls, &c., for which presents he received a letter of thanks from the Grand Lodge. He is also Past Grand Master of the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows, and Past Arch Druid. In volunteer circles he took part in the famous Parihaka expedition, acting in the capacity of colour-sergeant to his company. In addition to his services as a volunteer, Mr. Dalrymple can look back upon a useful career as fire brigade captain, having in 1865 occupied that position in the first fire brigade formed in Invercargill. In 1870 he was lientenant of the Hokitika fire brigade, and six years later in Masterton he acted as captain of the fire brigade, Mr. Dalrymple's genial, hearty manner and native good humour render him popular in the district in which he has spent so considerable a part of his colonial life. He has in his possession a most interesting collection of old family papers and relics.

I find this all very interesting in view of the information we already have. It's just a matter of tying it all in together.

The ship that carried his children and wife to NZ recorded him as Mr Dalrymple so I think most of the tying up is in adding those things to the equation.

Oh Sizara, Its getting more like marmalade! Why arrive as 'Mr' when you are ???. I've emailed the Kirk to see if they have any old bits of paper for these peeps. I haven't seen anything of Sarah in the NZ stuff. What happened to them both and to Emily is still a mystery.
On from that, The Revd Thomson at Dunningston may be a coincidence. He had something like 3 daughters and 2 sons by his first wife who died of what was prpbaley a post puerpral infection 2 weeks after delivery of thier last child. He then went on to mary Mrs Dalrymple of Fordel; Widow of Mr Spence. They had another 5 children I think, not sure but thats what I think I read. The Earl of Stair , The weymss's , the Earl of March, they were all patrons of the parish.

Currently we are gathering information, trying to fill in the missing pieces, proving or disproving associations and family lore. I am not feeling phased at all by this and still trying to find further information on Sarah and Emily.

Shizara, Your resolve is admirable. I still feel its like marmalade at this point. The Kirk secretary has come out with a blank- no records held there other than baptisms post 1948. They are all at The Registry Offices in Edinburgh.

Sorry I have been so quiet... have been really busy at work and catching up with things.. Now .. I have found a bit more on George and Sarah. In 1861 they were boarding in London! Boarding with Robert and Martha Williamson. The transcription is appalling and it was only because I had a liberal and wide net that I spotted it. This is the transcription:

Name: Geo T Wernyol Dalrymple
Age: 32
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1829
Relation: Boarder
Gender: Male
Where born: (Br Subd), L'Brient, France

Civil Parish: St Mary Le Bow
County/Island: Middlesex
Country: England

His wife Sarah:

Name: Sarah Dalrymple
Age: 31
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1830
Relation: Boarder
Gender: Female
Where born: Carrickjergua, Ireland

I saved the document that it was transcribed from and have no doubt the correct name should be George S Weymss Dalrymple, that he was a stamp collector or dealer and was born in L'Orient, France.

Sarah's details are also correct.

The mystery here is what are they doing boarding with the Williamson couple and where are the girls?

Am off to bed now, will have another search when I get up.

Shizara, you are so clever. What a stroke of amazing luck to find this let alone decipher it. How extraordinary and bazaar- where indeed were the girls? Its more like treacle now. The more you find, the more questions that come out of it. I wonder if The Williamsons were no particular connection at all just a convenient lodging place.

Grins... who knows. It's like a treasure hunt full of clues, riddles and enough answers to keep you going. If I can find them in various places over the years then we can create some sort of image of how they lived and maybe find clues out as to why. Of course, it is not wholly improbable that they travelled without the girls sometimes and left them with either other family members or trusted friends.

I have spoken to a NZ friend who lives about 2 hours away and asked him to put feelers out on the name Dalrymple.

Am off to work soon so will do a bit more when I get in tonight.

Shizara, Life is doing very strange things- its like we are meant to know these things now. My Dear Mum is blown away as tonight A historian and his wife from Foxton flew into the Uk at 6am and this evening I've been with them and my Mum. They booked into our local hotel but they had pre-arranged a UK historical visit! They are very in touch with The Cook side of things from TU Cook and Meretini. My Mum is like alink they never knew and in turn she never really knew how important to NZ history TU Cook was and is. They told me Darymples are very strong wealthy and Equestrian in NZ- Sally Dalrymple a teacher and now Clark was a silver medalist in The Equestrian 3 day eventing for the Olympics.I'm sure that's what they said. They posed that George Samuel having married his daughters off then bore a son?to whom and this may be the line-more treacle!!! Meanwhile, Agnes Sophia bought 3 burial plots, 2 are occupied and 1 is empty. I have the name and address of the lady who received the bill for the most recent interment in 2004 for Mummy's cousin. Don't quite know what to do with it though. Geepers- its glue!

Shizara, I hope work was good for you today. Is this anything? I found it when I looked for Dalrymples in NZ Alexander Dalrymple – New Zealand's debt to a little-known Scot There's also Leomonth Dalrymple also from Scotland around the same era. Maybe a whole lot of rellies got the same idea? Still would like to know what happened to sarah Thomson and to Emily Eliza. Also why the Weymss- Dalrymples were lodging in London etc- Thick cut marmalade!!!

I have put a second tree together with another New Zealand Dalrymple line, mostly to keep them together. Thomas and Margaret (nee Little) Dalrymple.

Learmonth White Dalrymple is the daughter of William Dalrymple and his wife Janet (Jessie Taylor) and was baptised in Coupar, Angus, Scotland 21 July 1827. She never married and when she died she was buried with her father.

Sarah and Emily I think are uppermost in your wonderings - giggles - and they are part of my current focus.

I don't think I would be terribly concerned about dates for sailing to NZ because my guess would be that they travelled between and the UK several times.