Hello Listmates, This message is a response to information Doris posted on 30JUL2003 regarding John Blackburn, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Blackburn. My great-grandfather was another John Blackburn who came from Gisburn (then in Yorkshire's West Riding, now in Lancashire) in 1830 with his wife (Frances Dean) and their two first-born children (Thomas and William) to settle in Delaware County, PA. My great-grandfather was the son of yet another John Blackburn and Rose ____. The IGI documents several marriages between a John Blackburn and a Rose. In the marriage which I consider most likely to be that of my great-great-grandparents (I have no proof), the bride is listed as Rose Wilkinson of Giggleswick. (Note that the surname Wilkinson also occurs in Doris's family.) My great-grandfather (John) was born in 1804. The birth years for his siblings (Mary, Margaret, Sarah, and James) range from 1799 to 1807. All of them could certainly be classed as contemporaries of Doris's John, who was born in 1802. While I have not yet established a genealogical connection between Doris's family and mine, there does seem to be at least a geographical connection. The English towns mentioned by Doris (Colne, Flockton, and Liversedge) and the two I've mentioned (Gisburn and Giggleswick) can all be found within a circle having a radius of about 20 miles. I would welcome any further comments that might help explain some of the relationships between Blackburns living near the Lancashire/Yorkshire border in the early nineteenth century. Charles A. ("Al") Blackburn Catonsville MD USA