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Izzet, it doesn't help to specify an ordinal. One of the items has two spellings, each at different ends of the alphabet. If my solution is right it's the sixth in one set and the fifth in another.

0pt0, I think (though I haven't checked to be 100% certain) that if you ensure your jumbles only touch at edges, then there is one that cannot meet that requirement. That's why I think the preamble should have been slightly differently worded to remove all doubt about the intended meaning of 'contiguous'.

I don't really understand the final paragraph of your post 100 Murky, but I'm sure you're right!

0pt0 and Izzet, it was pointed out much earlier in the thread that the maths determines the "missing name". All the names total 45 or 46 letters depending on the variant length of one of them (either 7 or 8 letters). There is only one name whose omission will leave 39 or 40 thematic letters in the grid however they are disposed.

Thanks Murky. The logic of the numbers is conclusive. I had previously made life difficult for myself by including the parents in the list of possible candidates for the theme group. With these removed, all is now clear.

That one took me a bit of time with some obscure words and an endgame that proved difficult to crack. However the usual tactic of putting it down and coming back later did the trick and everything feel nicely into place. There are several clues that took a bit of untangling (eg 8d and 16d) but I was able to back solve these once I had the hidden message.

As has been noted elsewhere on this thread my overall impression was that this crossword had been through a few drafts and the endgame is not what was originally intended. However I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same so thank you Agricola!