In a message dated 98-10-10 12:48:00 EDT, you write: << It's me again. Does that 17 page document go back to the 1600's by any chance? If it does, does it mention a Francis Downing in this country, (prob. VA) in 1624? >> No, it doesn't, Sue. It goes back to the immigrant Thomas Downing, born in Bradninch, Devon, England in 1691, immigrated to Chester county, PA, about 1717, and about 1735 settled on the Brandywine River where the town of Downingtown, PA, was established and named after him. Most descendants remained in the Chester county area until after the Civil War, when they began to wander off.... Allied surnames to this Downing branch are SMITH, WHITE, PIERCE, GHEEN, LEWIS, PALMER, VALENTINE, HOOPES, MASON, DENNY, BUCKWALTER, and BEIDLER. Most were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), although I've discovered a couple of branches circa 1830's who were swayed to the LDS and ended up in Nauvoo, IL, and thence on to Utah. Kinda interesting. Ray