Hi Listers, Just thought I would share a family story with the list. Perhaps others have had interesting skeletons as well. If so, would you share your story? Here is mine. My paternal grandfather, Ernest James AUSTIN was born in West Maitland in 1895. He was the son of Charles (Chas) AUSTIN & Winifred Rosanna WILLIAMS. His siblings were Florence Ellen (1883), David William (1886), William (1888), Winifred (1892), Reginald (1896) and Pearl (1899). Tracing this paternal line has been challenging! To begin with, my father’s cousin informed me many years ago, that when my grandfather was young (maybe aged two yrs), his father “died in a horrific accident”. Several years ago, I decided to research this paternal line. I could not confer with any known living relatives as they had all died. Being a ‘bit of a novice,’ I could never understand why I couldn't unravel anything. To begin with, I tried to find the death of my g.grandfather, Charles, between 1895-1900. I read and read all sorts of films but never found a death. (Am still looking) Two items of interest that I stumbled upon was my g.grandmother appeared to have had two children posthumously!!! Ridiculous, I thought. One posthumous child is acceptable but two born three years apart! Back, to the drawing board. I then discovered, my g.grandmother, Winifred had remarried. In 1906 she married John DIXON in Sydney. Now this still didn’t explain the birth of Reginald (1896) & Pearl (1899). Who was their father? The birth record for Reginald & Pearl list no name of the father. Woe is me. A few months ago, I received the marriage record of Charles & Winifred. What joy that brought me. At the bottom of the certificate, there was an entry that stated Winifred had divorced Charles in 1905. Hallelujah I exclaimed, “Great Grandfather never died in a horrific accident” I found a skeleton in the closet. I now know why my grandfather was “Ernest James DIXON” in WW1. In 1912, all his siblings surnames were legally changed to DIXON. By WW2, my grandfather had reverted back to the AUSTIN surname. I wonder now if he changed his name legally back to AUSTIN. A death certificate would be a clue.:-) At the end day, I keep on searching, looking for evidence and tossing the anecdotal data out the window. I wonder if anyone on the list has a similar tale or perhaps related to this line!! Lesley _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail