For some time now we've been looking for a William Rowe HOCKING who "vanished" to South Africa c.1892. William was born 5th Dec 1854 at Chy an Dour, Penzance. He married Eliza NEEDS on 31 Jul 1880 at St Mary's Church, Penzance. They had 5 children. Their last child, Ellen, was born 5th Nov 1891 in Penzance. At some time around then or after, WRH went to South Africa. We have then been looking for his death in South Africa but you know what these men were like - they often changed their names, moved on to other countries, etc. I should add, William was a baker in Penzance. We have recently been given the Death Record from South Africa for a William HOCKING but we don't think he's ours. Can anyone lay claim to him? I've been looking for families with a William and a James - we've scoured the earlier censuses to see if we can eliminate any of the HOCKING families. So far we really haven't come up with a definite family. Here are the Death Records for the William HOCKING William HOCKING Birth place England Father unknown Age 42 Date of decease 26 June 1892 At New Somerset Hospital Admitted on 28th April 1892 >From SS Matthew? Castle Brother Jas of Robinson Gold Mining Company of Johannesburg, Transvaal On his possession - 1 leather bag and one box contents unknown, 1 watch, 1 ring, 1 bunch of keys, cash of £61. 16s 1d. Less hospital fees of £10 10s. Funeral expenses £8. Balance £43.6s 1d. left. I can't really confirm that the ship was SS Matthew Castle, I can't find a ship of this name but it looks like Matthew. Of course, this William HOCKING doesn't have to be from Cornwall but most HOCKINGs are from Cornwall especially most Miners! Can anyone lay claim to him and can anyone find our William Rowe HOCKING please? Liz www.btinternet.com/~e.newbery OPC for Street, Somerset