Family historians frequently encounter lost ancestors, those who have dropped off the family tree. The Herdman family of Paisley had such a son, whose fate was still puzzled over more than one hundred years after he was last seen in Scotland. Fortunately this lost sheep was also a black sheep and so left traces of his doings in government records now held by Public Record Office Victoria (PROV).

In 2007 British family researcher Anne Martin, née Herdman, decided to try locating her great-uncle Robert Herdman, who was born on 18 February 1861 in Paisley. Robert Herdman was the second, but oldest surviving, son of Robert Herdman and Isabella Lockhart (1854–82). The Herdmans had been Paisley folk since 1801 and counted amongst their number a bagpipe reed maker and a silk shawl weaver. 'Old' Robert Herdman, born in 1829, made good as a baker and businessman. After training and working as a journeyman, he became a master baker and moved to Saltcoats to work at the bakery and granary, which he bought in 1875. Robert was a highly competent baker and a shrewd businessman. He built a quality bakery and tearoom business that was run successfully by his descendants until 1968.¹

Old Robert was a respected member of Trinity United Presbyterian church and had such a good relationship with the Minister, George Philp, that he named one of his daughters after him and appointed the Minister as one of the trustees of his will. Robert and Isabella had eight children, four of whom, including young Robert, trained as bakers. Other daughters worked in the baker's shop and tearooms. Young Robert shows up in the 1881 British census working as a baker in his father's business. The next year his mother Isabella died an untimely death and Robert then seems to disappear from local records.

No detail about his fate had been passed down except that he was lost, perhaps 'gone to sea'. Anne looked at all types of records in her efforts to find young Robert, with nil return. She then did what many searchers do: she googled the name. Amongst the 1,440 hits was one from the Index to Missing People found in Victoria Police correspondence records.² This indicated that solicitor James Campbell of Saltcoats, Scotland was seeking Robert to convey to him his share in Mr Herdman's estate. Anne then posted a query on a Victorian mailing list with a family history focus. Several responses offered leads and amongst these was one that looked promising. This was for a Robert Herdman, born 1861 in Scotland, listed in the Victorian Prisoners' Index.³ Reference to the relevant volume in the Registers of Personal Descriptions of Prisoners⁴ was critical in establishing that this was indeed her great-uncle.