Thanks for your interest, Eve. You and I corresponded a couple of years ago about my ggrandmother Maria BRACEY-- since then I've found a couple of cousins descended from her and now know more about her children, but still have very few cracks in that brick wall. I have found Maria in every census (1851 to 1901) and her death certificate, and there's NEVER a man living with her other than her parents, siblings and those five fatherless children! It almost suggests (I hate to think of this but it keeps sneaking into my mind) that she might have been "working" at more than straw plaiting ...... I've made much more progress with my Bucks. ancestors, the TREADWELLs and ADAMS, though there too there's a brick wall around my ggrandmother Anne Maria ADAMS nee SMITH, born in France, with so-far untraceable parents ..... This family history stuff is certainly challenging, and always fascinating! Warmly, Anne -----Original Message----- From: Eve McLaughlin [mailto:eve@varneys.demon.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:37 PM To: BEDFORD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [BDF] Luton Modern School > My big >brick wall concerns my father's unknown grandfather. Dad's mother was >Alice Maud BRACEY, born 1880, youngest of 5 illegitimate children of >Maria BRACEY, born 1846 -- no trace of the father of any of them! I've >tried all the usual routes to an answer. Maria was poor, but >apparently being supported to some extent, though there are no >maintenance orders or anything of that sort to be found. It does suggest she was in a stable relationship, supported by the father, who didn't or couldn't marry her. Who is she living with in 1881? Does his name bear any relati0on to any of the children's forenames? > -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society ==== BEDFORD Mailing List ==== To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send a message to: Bedford-L-request@rootsweb.com (if you are in mail mode i.e. receiving the messages individually or want them individually) or Bedford-D-request@rootsweb.com (if you are in digest mode i.e. receiving a digest of multiple messages or want this mode) In the BODY of the message (not the subject line) type the word subscribe or unsubscribe.