Connie, Sounds like a lot of fable and not a lot of fact. It's hard when it's not your own family. At best, he would be 80 by the time of WWI. And if his wife was of similar age, she would have to be dead by 1945 - not registering children. And if we really stretch the imagination and have a 75 yr old male marry a 20 yr old female and have a child around 1900, why would there be a wait of 45 years to register the birth. Do you have any specific data? Do you know a specific area of Bedfordshire ? Who was his wife.? Where did they marry? When & where did they die? When & where were any children born? Looking logically, he should appear in every UK census from 1841, 1851, 1861 & 1871. Other listers may be able to elaborate on census data for those overseas on military service. I believe all those censuses are now available at Ancestry.co.uk for subscription or pay per view basis. If he migrated in 1872, you should find him in 1880 USA Census available at www.familysearch.org. Otherwise try 1881 UK census. An analysis of the distribution of Stapleton in Bedfordshire from 1861 census shows they come from just 4 locations - most from Ampthill and Bedford city, with a few in Luton and Woburn, and just one family in Biggleswade. There are no Henry or Harry and just 4 John's around the indicated age. However, it's more likely that around aged 30 he was on active service. Over in USA, in 1880 Census there is a Henry Stapleton b 1836 England, living in Tennessee with wife Harriet. There are no Harry's but unfortunately too many John's for meaningful analysis. I'm sure we would all like to help. We just need one or two secondary clues that could come from a death or marriage certificate. Peter in Sydney