Well - you can probably guess what's coming. Through finding a census entry in London for 1851, and through some subsequent detective work by a cousin there and myself - we have ruled out that birth. James Philp b. 1779, son of John Philp, tailor in Leith, became a master cutler, married in London and ended his days there, survived by one daughter. My cousin found her will and it makes the connections very clear, linking her strongly to the Edinburgh jewellers' line I'd found. Such a pity - but still really interesting, a fascinating mix of Victorian family connections and middle-class good causes...!
So - back to square one, or nearly. The next step is tracing another possible candidate - James Philp born in Dairsie, Fife, in 1775, son of Robert, wright there, and Janet Kermoch/Kermack who's probably from Angus. We've bits of clues but need to get him to Leith! What we really need are the apprenticeship records. Can I find them? No. Just got what Fife indentures the Fife FHS has, but not a sign of him there...
](./images/smilies/brick-wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
Jenny
(Been very quiet - work has got in the way of everything - but I'm still working on an academic paper on how/why people do this, and what it means to us.)