Hi David,

I was told in Edinburgh that the missing 1841 Fife census records were lost at sea, but I see they now have a different explanation:

"In 1910 the Registrar General for Scotland found the original 1841 and 1851 census enumeration books in a storage area in Whitehall and arranged for them to be transferred to Edinburgh for permanent preservation at New Register House.
Several of the original volumes have not survived. They are mainly for parishes in Fife and it is said that they were lost when being transferred across the River Forth but there is no documentary evidence to support this."
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/census-records/1841-census

I have ancestors from Fife and a lot of Fife records if there is anything you would like me to look up for you? My email address is on Ian Radcliffe's website.

Sue