I wonder whether any kind person can please help me to resolve a dilemma I have been faced with for many years. My 3xgreat-grandfather, John MASON, was christened in Albrighton in 1793, the son of Thomas MASON and Mary WALKER. He had six children, all born in Boningale/Albrighton - Alexander (b c1818), Mary (c1821), Samuel (c1823), Isaac (c1824) - my 2xgreat-grandfather, Thomas (c1827) and Elizabeth (c1832). John died in 1849 in Boningale at the age of 55. My dilemma concerns John's wife, Elizabeth, whom I have been unable to identify. When I first consulted the 1841 Census (on microfilm many years ago) I was surprised to find that Elizabeth was not born in the county, as John did not seem to have moved far throughout his life. Elizabeth was shown as a 61-year old widow in 1851, her place of birth being shown as "Warwicks Birmingham". She died in October 1851, her age being shown then as 63. So it would seem that Elizabeth was born in Birmingham c1788. So my dilemma is - just who is this Elizabeth and how do I trace their marriage? All their children were born pre-Civil Registration, of course, so no help through the mother's maiden name on a birth certificate. A search on FamilySearch for a marriage between John Mason and an Elizabeth revealed only one in Shropshire - in 1811 in Wem - the bride being Elizabeth Lewis and there were indeed several babies by the name of Elizabeth Lewis being christened in Birmingham between 1786 and 1790. So how do I know if this is the correct marriage or which Elizabeth might have been my John's bride? There was also a marriage between John Mason and Elizabeth Slater in Birmingham in 1810 and four suitable marriages in Wolverhampton between 1811 and 1817. Indeed one of these brides, Elizabeth Rogers, is a very likely candidate as the marriage took place in 1817 (their first child being born in 1818) and her father's name was Samuel, which is the only non-Mason name amongst their children. There was also an Elizabeth Rogers being born in Birmingham in 1785 - but maybe that was just a year or two too early. After all, John and Elizabeth could have been married anywhere between Birmingham and Albrighton - or anywhere in the country, for that matter, and I know that not all marriages appear on FamilySearch. A further complication is that their first known child was not born until 1818 (when Elizabeth would have been approaching 30 years of age) so she may well have been a widow at the time of her marriage to John, which would make tracing her maiden name even more difficult. Oh dear, I just seem to be going round in circles with this and it is annoying me that I cannot tie this marriage down, having got back much further on many of my lines. So, if anyone can look at this with fresh eyes and see what they make of it, I shall be most grateful. With many thanks to anyone who is interested enough to have a think about this for me. Wendy