Hello Irene, Thank you very much for your kind offer, I am interested in anything to do with the surname BARRAS(S) I don't want to be too greedy though ! My husbands great-grandfather RALPH HENRY BARRASS gave Washington as his birth place on the 1881 census, his mother had remarried and was down as MARY WALKER, born Walker (a coincedence or not) we tried to get his birth certificate but there wasn't a record of him. There are quite a few Barras(s) in Longbenton, North Shields, Gosforth (Walker) area of Northumberland including a marriage of MARY ATHEY to RALPH BARRASS Marriage: 29 SEP 1860 All Saints, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England This could be RALPH HENRY's father ! I am trying to work- out if the BARRASS I am researching is the same BARRASS that origanated from Penshaw -Washington-Chester-le-street area ! I have other ancestors not connected to this family, that moved from Co Durham to Longbenton area in the early 1800's who were miners, and then came back to Durham in the 1870-1880 time period ! Doney, Goyin Cornwall Inch from Devon Smith, from Longbenton (1841census) If I can find out a what time period they moved to Northumberland (if they Did) then this might help me to find out where my Smith's originated from ! Kind regards Carole Robinson