In a message dated 28/10/2009 07:13:14 GMT Standard Time, AlisonLafon@aol.com writes: I found him on the 1881 census but I can't find him on any other census records in Sunderland - maybe FreeCen is not up to date in Sunderland? It isn't, and it's coverage in the NE of England in general is still very sparse. In other words it is not yet a useful or reliable source. Your question raises another important point, however, and that is the automatic assumption that sometimes comes over from some subscribers that there is always (one might almost say "should be") a version of just about any of the basic records we might use - church registers and census information, say - on-line. That is not so and even at the present rate of progress, will not be, true for many years yet - if ever. Research consists of a lot more than just looking at a few web sites. It is necessary to spend a little to have others read material for you where that material is impossible for you to access easily. Apart from Professional Researchers, most major local Libraries and Record Offices run such services. Also, there is lots of material available for purchase, as CD, microfiche or even in that ancient format, the book. All are available from eg the NDFHS, for reasonable prices. Can I also use this opportunity to make a similar point? That is, that what a particular record says is one thing; What you can reasonably read into it might be a lot more, especially if you have learnt something of the background to the places and times concerned. That background affected all our ancestors' lives and was much more important to them than the bits of paper on which those who could write scribbled down their notes. It's rather like poeple referring to their ancestors as "James" or "Jane", when they would always have been known as "Jimmy" or "Jenny", and getting over concerned about which church they went to when they probably only ever did so on three occasions - and had to be carried there on at least two of them! Standing back and taking the wider lok is an important part of researching - and one that you cannot do from any single source, whether it is on-line or not. Geoff Nicholson