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macmaurice: My Great Great Grandfather David Morison was born in Perth Scotland on the 10th February 1814. I cannot obtain a record of this birth from the Registrar's Office. Perhaps it was not recorded. There is an entry in a Family Bible in his son's hand mentioning this date and place. I know that David's Father's name was James, {I know this from David's Brother's death certificate. I also have a copy of a letter dated 3 March 1837, which tells of the death of his Brother James (aged 27 years) caught in the chuck of his lathe (at Claud Girdwood Engineers), in Glasgow}, but I do not know his Mother's name. There is the possibility that it was Janet, as his second daughter who died young was so named. James is buried at St Mungo's in Glasgow. The burial site cannot be found today. David was married to Janet Niven in Glasgow on 18 September 1835. Janet was born in Glasgow. Her Parent's names were Charles Niven and Mary McCallum. David was very active as a Chartist, and a Trade Unionist. He was an Engineer (a metal worker in today's terms). He was arrested in the Plug Plot Riots in Manchester in August 1842, and charged with sedition, and causing a strike. In the ensuing court case he and 57 others, including Feargus O'Connor were convicted, but due to a technical error in the indictment they were not finally charged. I have been able to obtain a copy of a newspaper account of this. One of the stories that survives in memory in my Family has it (and I presume it occurred around this time) that the Police came looking for David and broke into the house and made a very thorough search, with out finding him. As they were leaving my Great Great Grandmother Janet called out after them, "You forgot to look in the teapot!" He was also involved in the Great Lock Out of 1852 where the Amalgamated Society of Engineers were on strike for many months. It was this event that caused he and his Family to leave Britain on 30 June 1852. To stay meant signing a document renouncing his Union, in order to get work, and he and 27 other Engineers chose not to. On board the ship "Frances Walker" they formed the first Australian Branch of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Today this Union is known as The Amalgamated Metal Workers Union, and is one of our oldest and most influential Unions in this Country. In the period leading up to this departure I am aware that he worked in the late 1830's, and early 1840's at Nasmyth and Gaskill's Bridgewater Foundry in Patricroft, Manchester, and later for the Great Western Railway at Swindon in Wiltshire. His children were James born 10.4.1838 at Patricroft, Robert born 20.5.1840 at Patricroft, David born 18.6.1844 born at Swindon, George born 11.5.1846, and Jane born 22.5.1848 born at Swindon. There are two other Daughters Mary and Janet but I have no information on them , other than that they must have died in infancy. In Sydney the Morison's lived around Balmain and Glebe and Pyrmont from the addresses that I have identified. At the time of his death David was working at an engineering shop called "Halliday and Morison" located at 16 Erskine Street Pyrmont. Charles Halliday was one of the 27 Engineers that came out with David. The four boys in this Family apparently served their engineering apprenticeships at Halliday and Morison and Mort's Dockyard in Balmain. Robert and James, however moved to Newcastle (New South Wales) in the 1870's, and began the engineering company Morison and Bearby, which ran until the 1960's. The other Brothers David and George seem to have had some association working with this company from time to time. In the 1880's David (junior) was, for a time, Secretary for the Eight Hour Movement in Sydney. Of this Family's deaths - David (senior) died 11/06/1865, Janet 21/08/1866, Jane 4/12/1866, David (junior) died 31/03/14, George 8/05/33. All of them are buried in the same grave at Rookwood Cemetery Sydney. James died 25/09/1901, and Robert died 5/03/1914 - both are buried at Sandgate Cemetery Newcastle. Well this is a basic sketch of the Family that I am descended from. I'm keen to find out more. Robert Morison. UON Library, University of Newcastle, Australia: Many thanks for this, Robert!