I have just recently subscribed to this list, and this is my first posting. I am trying to find ancestors and descendants of William PEARSON, miller and maltster of Garnett Bridge. William died in May 1720. I have a copy of his will dated 1719. From his will I can glean the following information regarding his beneficiaries: William was married to Katherine/Catherine and they had two children: (1) Agnes PEARSON who married Urban AIREY on 8 Nov 1702 at Longleddale. (2) William PEARSON, married to Elianor (no marriage found so far, so I don't have her surname; I have been unable to find a record of this William's birth either) William jr and Elianor had two children mentioned in William snr's will: William bpt 13 Feb 1710 Kendal (or one of its chapels?) George bpt 5 Jan 1712 Longsleddale William and Elianor also had a third child who was deceased before the will was written: Elianor bpt 12 Feb 1715 Selside, "of Garnett Bridge" d. 4 May 1716 I believe William PEARSON snr ("of Fawcett Forest") married Katherine DENISON ("of Whinfell") at Sedbergh or one of the outlying chapels, on 6 Feb 1676. I must admit that I was surprised to see the marriage recorded at Sedbergh rather than Kendal, but examination of the parish records seems to indicate that quite a few families in the Fawcett Forest/Whinfell area were married there. In 1677 a William PEARSON, miller and maltster "of Selside" writes an apprenticeship indenture for one John DENNISON, son of William DENNISON of Witherslack, butcher, to train as a miller and maltster. The Dennison surname is somewhat of a coincidence with William's wife's maiden name DENISON. In addition, the parish boundary of Selside runs adjacent to the east bank of the River Sprint at Garnett Bridge, so I have every reason to believe that this person is one and the same with William PEARSON d. 1720. I have been unable to find any ancestors of William PEARSON sr or Catherine DENISON; likewise I have been unable to trace with any certainty their grandchildren - there are numerous William PEARSONs around in the mid 1700s! According to the will, William Pearson snr. also held land at Milne Craggs, Bampton. As yet I have been unable to find a family connection with that area. So, I have more than one brick wall here. If anyone on the list recognises any of these names and has any further information I would be most grateful if they could contact me. I would also be very interested if anyone has ever found an earlier record of the name "Garnett Bridge" for either the hamlet or the bridge. There is a record in 1713 that " Garnet Bridge, being a public bridge, is out of repair.. " but I have yet to find anything earlier (it was still in decay in 1726 and 1746!). Could it be that until the corn mill was built (presumably by 1677) there was no other settlement at that location? Regards, Stuart Stuart Phethean Hampshire, UK