Thank you for your suggestions (re city hall ). There is evidence to show that Seth Brush Downs was born in North Castle, N.Y. but any available information of his adulthood was in Greenwich, Connecticut. I had gone to the Hartford, Ct State Library where so many recods are kept but found nothing and it never occured to me to try city hall. I don't know if those probate records would be in Greenwich but it's easy enough to make a phone call. A word of caution to anyone trying to research in New York state: it is a miserable experience. You are met with a horrendous lack of courtesy and assistance. The way records; especially church records were kept, or rather NOT kept wherever I inquired was shameful. Access to public records is almost nonexistant and any request was met with resistance and indifference. I'm not talking about an isolated incident but rather 13 yrs of research. Connecticut is just the opposite. People bend over backwards to try to help and even when they can't, they try to steer you in another helpful direction. Connecticut seems to take pride in their ancestors and most of the time you will find easy accesss to whatever records are out there. I will call City Hall in Greenwich. I think that is my last hope to try to find out if I can prove Seths parentage. Thank You, Marianne in Wingdale, N.Y. PS. Assuming I am correct in my assumption of my Down/Downes ancestry, I have quite a bit on the Downs line back to John Of New Haven and also alot on the Brush family and the Lounsbury family.