Thank you so much Bob for your very kind offer.  That would be wonderful to get a picture, fingers crossed that there is a stone. I don't know too much about these two individuals, but what I have is: John Ratley, born c1834, was a general servant in Banbury in 1851 census for a family (John Walshaw? Nealshaw?).  He married Emma (born c1836) in Banbury 1855 and had three children, Daniel born 1856, George and Clara.  I have them in the census of 1861, 1871 and in the 1881 census widow Emma with daughter Clara.  Daniel married in 1881.  The one individual I am specifically following is Daniel.  Unless I'm reading the census incorrectly, which is entirely possible, I believe in 1861 the family lived on Horse Pool Lane which I believe is now Union Street but I could be wrong and in 1871 Daniel was living with a family in Aston or Aston Manor (?)  I don't know why Daniel ended up in Aston 1871 (which I think is south of Banbury on a google map) instead of staying with his family in Banbury and I don't know how he met his wife who was from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, which looks like quite a distance on the map in terms of finding a bride in 1881. According to the Banbury Town Council his father John was buried 8 May 1877 and Emma died in Union Infirmary in January 1922.  I would welcome anyone's suggestions on finding further particulars on the family, and specifically on Daniel.  I should mention that he eventually left England for Canada in the late 1880's, where I have picked up his trail.  It's his life in England that I'm having problems with. Thank you. Cathy __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/

Clare Aston, or Aston Manor, is a significant part of Birmingham, so much so that in the 19th century it was a separate entity. It's Aston Manor because much of it is part of the estate of the 15th Century Aston Hall which still stands right next to Aston Villa football ground. It's how they came to get their name I 've always supposed. But we won't get into Football. Many people from the surrounding countryside migrated to Birmingham/Aston for work in in the 19th century. People were a lot more mobile than we might imagine (thanks to trains) so Daniel could easily have gone from Aston 1871 to Biggleswade 1881 for work reasons and happened to find a wife too. But it was also a tradition (and still is for some) that people would get married in the brides family home so even if they had met in Aston (or elsewhere) they might have gone to Biggleswade to get married. Jon Malings County Wexford, Ireland