Thanks Alan, I am pretty sure that the family came from Ireland as David's obituary says that he was born in Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland, but obituaries are only written after the individual has died and David died rather unexpectedly when he was visiting his daughter in Kansas so he wasn't around to make sure the obituary was truthful. It is the daughter he was visiting that wrote on her census form in the States that her father was born in Scotland. That is why I am checking that area, to see if any leads turn up. I am at a loss to find anything in Ireland as the records for the parish that includes Ballyjamesduff no longer exist and there seems to be no family on the 1821 census that include him with an older brother named Alexander. David was only 7 when he came with his brothers but he did become literate and was a well known and respected businessman and politician in the area where he lived as was his brother Alexander, so I think the family must have been literate before they came. I think though that the name might have been written Marrow, or Murrough on very early census and directory records. Thanks for responding. Kathleen
