Garth A lot of men joined up in the army in those days to get away from something - having fathered a child whose mother they did not wish to marry, some sort of crime, etc. and gave a false place of birth, age, name, etc. My ggg grandfather did all these three things on his army record. Happily for me, he told the truth about his age and birthplace to the 1851 Census enumerator and I was able to track him down eventually. Judith > Message date : Apr 09 2005, 08:28 PM > From : "Garth Houltham" > To : ENG-STS-THE-POTTERIES-L@rootsweb.com > Copy to : > Subject : [Pots] Joseph Holtham > I am searching for the birth of Joseph Holtham c 1766 in Leek. His Staffordshire Militia records say he was born there but I can't find any reference in St Edwards Parish registers. I would love to know who his parents were. Can anyone make any suggestions as to where to look next? He married his first wife Catherine Gibson in 1803 but I don't connect with any children until 1812. Could he have been away with the Militia and his wife was left at home. In total he had 14 children from his two marriages. The second wife was Margaret Hawley. > > > ==== ENG-STS-THE-POTTERIES Mailing List ==== > The List for the Pottery Towns of the Ancient County of Staffordshire > > > -- Whatever you Wanadoo: http://www.wanadoo.co.uk/time/ This email has been checked for most known viruses - find out more at: http://www.wanadoo.co.uk/help/id/7098.htm