Margaret have you tried the 1881 census which is free on line at www.familysearch.com? click search then census and put in as much information as you have - this will give you a list of folk with that name and age range click on name to view individual's sheet and then on household (top right of screen) to see who he was living with - this will give you details of his parents that you can pursue forwards and backwards regards Wendy _________________________________________________________________ Use MSN Messenger to send music and pics to your friends http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger