Forrest, Greetings from London. I'm not sure whether I had the will of Joseph Manning (born Thrapston, Northants, lived most of his life and died in Spalding, Lincs 1773). He was a gardener who left use of his cottage to his housekeeper for life, then to Thomas Bullen of Ringstead, Northants. At Northampton Records Office I looked at Thrapston parish records, but the quality of the film was dismal. I hope soon to see the film held at the Soc. of Genealogists library in London. If anything of interest crops up, I will surely be in touch. It has been a tough week with the bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. One of Ian's cousins lived in one of the compounds in Riyadh that was bombed. He was not injured, although his apartment was only 200 yards from the explosion. Ian flies back to Australia this week to visit his elderly mother and many relatives. His mother and my father were from families of ten, which have multiplied several fold. Time for the BBC Ten O'Clock News (the main bulletin of the day). Good wishes Rosemary --------------------- London, UK [email protected]