In a message dated 18/09/2007 04:03:39 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: I am seeking information about the family origins of Thomas Wealands Verna: I notice that all the replies you have received so far refer, quite correctly, to the spelling of the name which you used - Wealands. However, please note that there are numerous variant spellings which have been used in the past, most of which can still be met with today. The most obvious one is Wealans but there are also Willans, Whillans, Willeans, Whellans etc. You might argue that Willans and Whellans are both separate surnames, but in the hands of some of the old clerks they could be distorted in just the same way as Wealands could! With a surname such as Wealands you really do have to be broad-minded as to spelling, even in the early 20th century Geoff Nicholson