Hi all, I'm a "long time lurker" on your newsgroup and it's about time I sent out something about the BOWERs that I'm interested in. My wife's mother was born Barbara BOWER in Lincoln, UK, and I have *some* information on her ancestors. The earliest BOWER family I have is a Thomas and Mary Ann BOWER married before 1848 and living in Louth, Lincolnshire, at the time of the 1881 census. They had two children, John Thomas (b 1848) and Mary Ann (b 1852). My wife is descended from John Thomas who married Emily ? and had 4 children. I suspect there will be few people on this list (shuold I say "in this family?") who have identifed Lincolnshire, UK roots in the 19th century, but I'd be happy to hear from you if you're out there. Also if there are any Internet resources that are specifically related to BOWER, I'd be interested in hearing about them too (e.g. is there a BOWER web site with links to people researching the name worldwide?) Nice to "meet" you all! Cheers, Peter Berrie Swindon, Wilts, UK -- peter@berrie-tech.com