Dear Listers, In 1861 Clementina B SMITH aged 4 is living in Kerridge with her widowed Grandmother, Mary BROSTER (nee BRACEGIRDLE bn 1795 in Adlington) - it's tempting to assume that the middle initial B stands for Broster. Mary had married Joseph BROSTER (1802-1859) in 1823 at Manchester Collegiate church, but prior to that she had had a daughter Nanny BRACEGIRDLE in 1817. Nanny married Samuel GREEN at Prestbury in 1840 and the two families were living with, or next to each other, in three subsequent censuses. (Joseph was also a witness at Nanny's wedding so it would appear that she may have been brought up by he and Mary). When Clementina married Samuel JOHNSON at Prestbury in 1874 she did not disclose a father but Alfred & Eleanor Ann GREEN (son & daughter of Samuel & Nanny) were witnesses. Clearly this seems a close knit family, but where does Clementina SMITH fit in? The simplest explanation is that one of Joseph & Mary's surviving sons (Joseph & Peter William) may have fathered her and maybe the mother died soon after, but I cannot find any Christening for her. It's not worth buying her birth certificate (which at least would name her mother) because this is just an annoying loose end (I'm actually researching the family origin of the name Clementina which came to be so often repeated in the BROSTERs and TURNERs and their descendants down to my mother's generation). I present this as the sort of puzzle so loved of us all - any suggestions or solutions gladly welcomed :-) - Martin Still a Cheshire lad. -- "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Psa.37) Web: http://www.biblewitness.org