I can't seem to get through a huge brick wall in my research on my Macaulay family. I'm hoping that someone has some advice on where I should go from here, because I'm at a total loss.

I'm currently investigating Andrew Macaulay (various spellings of his last name have been used). I'm pretty certain that he was born in 1839 in Scotland. His parents were Samuel Macaulay and Marg Elliot I've been able to locate him in several Census records in New York, however, it seems as if he simply didn't exist prior to the year 1880. I can't locate him in Census records, immigration records, or anywhere else before 1880. Andrew married Johanna M Elisabeth in New York in 1882 and can be found as a single stone mason in New York in 1880. Andrew's mother Marg Elliot was a witness at his wedding in 1882, however, I haven't been able to locate any other trace of Marg or her husband Samuel ever being in the United States.

Andrew had a son, Frederick, that was buried in New Jersey. I've considered investigating this, to see if there are other family members buried in the same place. This is all I can think to do at this point.

Family legand is that Andrew came to the United States in the 1860s, and this matches up with information on the Census records that I've found - they state that he immigrated around 1869 or so.

I have no clue where to look next. I sure would appreciate any advice.

Many thanks!

-Veronica