Dear Joseph (and list), Your questions are completely valid and really the ones that all of us have. Regarding where to start, I believe that any seasoned genealogist will tell you that you start with YOU and work back. Do not just write down, as fact, what people tell you. Take them as leads and follow up with acquiring the documentation. That goes for the information that you see posted on web sites, the one that I manage included. Unless every information point has supporting documentation, it is nothing more than a lead or lore. Regarding the lineage back to Odard and the Norman ancestry previous, it will probably never be documented to standards that would assure 100% certainty. For instance, my ancestry is pretty soundly documented back to about 1635. Previous to that it is based on circumstance and probablity. Sometimes, that is the best that we can hope for. In reality, we are pretty lucky to have such a long line. Many, many people I know can't get back before their Great grandparents. Take care. Mike Dunton <><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~ The Dunton Family Homesite P.O. Box 767 -- Molalla, Oregon 97038 http://www.web-ster.com/miked list manager for dutton-l@rootsweb.com & dunton-l@rootsweb.com <><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~<><~~~~