Yes thanks Mary. Much appreciated.

I still don't get the illegitamate point though. The bapt record states that he was son of Robert Sprooston and Mary Gilmour. Could it not be that Mary Gilmour was married to Robert Sprooston prior to marrying Robert Cunningham and Robert died?

However I can't find a marriage record for Mary Gilmour and Robert Sprooston although I did find a marriage record on familysearch just now for Mary Gilmour and a Henry Lees in Braddan in 1842 but need to look into that further tonight.

The problem for me now is to try to find anything on Robert Sprooston to be able to go back another step down the male line and I haven't seen anything yet.

I did note that he is Robert Sprooston on Robert's bapt record in 1847, Robert Sprowston on Robert and Jane Quine's marriage record and Robert Spruston on Robert and Jane Leece's Marriage record.

I looked through the 1841 census and found nothing for Gilmour or Spruston. I guess it is possible that Robert Sprooston came from elsewhere but I have Mary Gilmour as being born in German around 1825 so I would have hoped to have found her in the 1841 census.

Mike