Hi again,
No problem with the look ups. I know what you mean about tangents. I was looking for a Jaffray in Rhode Island and found a whole family headed for South Dakota when I noticed Robert!
I had a look around for David and Mary Mitchell. The only likely one I found was:
David Mitchell
B. about 1828
Arrival: 6 Jun 1853
Place of origin: Scotland
Port of Departure: Glasgow
Port of Arrival: NY
David's wife's name is given as M. age 25
His occupation is servant. Their port of arrival was New York, but several of my relatives arrived there and ended up in Rhode Island so unless you know for sure that David and Mary sailed for Boston I didn't want to rule this out right away.
The 1880 US Census has a David Mitchel living in Andover, Essex, Mass. Andover is about 15 miles north of Boston and is next door to Lowell which was a major textile center in the 1880's.
He is listed as a widower living at home born in Scotland. He has two daughters living with him--Ann 34 and Betsy 20. Both born in Scotland. Both are spinners in a flax mill.
Do you have dates of birth for David and Mary? Were there other children beside Jane?
Carol