Hi Kellie and Mary,

Just to explain my Ancestry tree, it is a bit of a work in progress as I only joined Ancestry two weeks ago, and it's the result of what I already knew or had evidence of, and additions from other people's trees where I'm pretty sure they connect. I hope this is proper Ancestry etiquette.

I have problems at two different ends of the question for George and Elizabeth. Where did they come from, and where did they go to?

According to family oral history, Caroline Cooper, their daughter, was born in Adelaide. So when I obtained her marriage cert, I was surprised to find she was born in Sydney.

I've looked at the microfiche at the State Library in Sydney and found their marriage details and the births of their children - I haven't put in all the death dates yet - but some of the children died young according to the other tree for them on Ancestry. Some were born in Sydney, the 2nd last in Melb which was then part of NSW, the last was born in the Benevolent Asylum in Sydney. According to another microfiche entry, an Elizabeth Doughty (possibly Elizabeth Dougherty, her maiden name), died on the 5th April 1844, and William J. Cooper was baptised on the 9th April 1844. So I have surmised that possibly this was Caroline's mother - I could be very wrong about this!

This would explain George Cooper then marrying, or having a 2nd partner. He is named on the BCerts as a wheelwright, and I have also found mention of a George Ward Cooper, a wheelwright, in Adelaide about this time, on FamilySearch.

The last bit of the puzzle that I have is an Anniversary Book which belonged to Caroline's son, which contains names and birthdates that match the names and birthdates of George Ward Cooper and Mary Wood's children, as listed on the SA Genealogy web page.

This couple have a lot of trees on Ancestry, I haven't tried to contact them yet, as I was trying to work on the Sydney end of things first.

Where did you find the information on George's arrival in Adelaide? Was it on a passenger list?

Thank you both very much for your helpful suggestions and information.

Claire