This first part is from Mike Blankenship mblankenship@mindspring.com (Michael E. Blankenship): Is the fact that Ralph arrived with people having English names a sure guarantee that he was also English? I also have a record of marriages (somewhere around here) from Cork Co. Ireland which took place in the 1680s, and include people with the name BLANKENSHIP. Do you know anything about these? Of couse, this would have fitted in perfectly with the time frame of Ralph's life. This second part is from Don Blankenship donb@megabits.net (Don in FL): It may even be possible to discover the family trees of those people who traveled with Ralph Blankinship across the Atlantic and by doing so further learn of where those people originated in the British Isles. Mike Blankenship notes that he also has a 1680's Cork County, Ireland record of marriages in his collection of reference materials. In that listing he recalls seeing people with the name BLANKENSHIP. Now that is really quite interesting and needs follow-up work! I think we have been operating for the last 30 years or so on the premise that the surname Blankenship was originally Blenkinsopp and these Blenkinsopps came from Northumberland, England. Why do we believe this? Because author Col. Blankenship believed it and planted it in our minds. Wouldn't it be interesting to discover that our line of Blankenships is not from England at all, but from Ireland. Another observation which Mike Blankenship makes concerns people who presumably are identified as shipmates of Ralph Blankinship and include those named below, all of whom have English sounding names. Jno. Walker, (JOHN WALKER) Tho. Mercey, (THOMAS MERCEY) Ralph Blankship, Jno. Tossill, (JOHN TOSSILL) Roger Roberts, John Howard Sarah Shepherd This part is from Sharon Sue Blankenship Altice MrsLady002@aol.com: I have done alot, like hours and hours, of research on the people that traveled with our Ralph Blankship. I was hoping to find a clue to something in Ralph's life. Jno. Walker, (JOHN WALKER) Tho. Mercey, (THOMAS MERCEY) Ralph Blankship, Jno. Tossill, (JOHN TOSSILL) Roger Roberts, John Howard Sarah Shepherd All of the information I have found, I have sent in to the post and it should be in the rootsweb achives. I know from my research that the following people were from Ireland: Richard Kennon, John Walker, The Womack family, Roger Roberts and if I am not mistaken here I think John Howard also was from Ireland. I have not had a chance to do the research on the other names at this time but I plan on looking into them shortly. I hope this helps with you all discussion. I am still looking for Francis Clapp that was imported by Martha, July 9, 1724. Sue B. Altice