Thank you for that! We do know of this brother, and in fact, the descendants of this Australian brother and I found each other online and are in frequent communication about that generation of Cannings.

Is there a link for your source of information on this? What does it say, more specifically? I wonder if perhaps you got it from our website? We don't want to go round in circles :-) Our info on the Cannings is at www.lionsgrip.com/family.html.

The brother's name was Marinus Francis Alfred Canning. He became MP for Western Australia and lived in Perth. With the uncommon name of Marinus, he was always being mislabelled, such as Marcus, Manners, Marners, etc. I'm intrigued by a newspaper article online from those times that tells of a Marcus Canning who was just a few miles from the spot where the Shenandoah's officers were entertained in South Australia. Marcus was camping out, and set a field fire, right at the same time of the officers' visit there. Could MFA have gone down incognito to join the festivities with the Shenandoah crew?

We've learned that George P. Canning married Margaret Phillip[sis] Hook, of South Australia.

Also, George P's father, Alfred Canning, had a friend/partner Lieut Col. Leslie Walker, who founded the South Australia branch of the Masons. Certainly strong connections with Australia for this branch of the Canning family.

Alfred, a civil engineer, was avidly interested in the sea. The following is online:

"A meeting of the Royal Sailing Society was held on Thursday [Oct 6, 1831], at Oliver's Coffee house, Bridge street, at which a communication was received from Lord Melbourne, announcing the patronage of the King to the society. Mr. Alfred Canning, and Col. Leslie Walker, attended, and exhibited to the meeting their apparatus for saving human life, and escape from shipwreck. The former fully exemplified their practical utility by models, and stated that he had been several miles to sea in a violent storm in his apparatus, and returned safe to shore. The Hanoverian and Saxon Ministers were present, and were admitted members."

This invention is fabulous looking, with three large balls on each end which float, the person standing on a cross-beam between them. With such a father, George P. Canning certainly was raised for the sea life.

Our mystery now is, who was Alfred Canning? He is not listed in any Civil Engineers' records that we can find. He was born perhaps in the latest 1700's, married an Anne Powell in Worcester in 1817, is listed in the census of England with sons Rafton and Botrinne (where's MFA?). But we cannot find any more about him. On our family website we present more info on him, but we still have not found his own birth records nor any information about his parentage. He worked in London, tried to market his inventions there. Anyone having info would be greatly appreciated.