This seems the time to see if descendant-connections can be made, and a "brick wall" named Ruth chipped at. Please excuse the length -- if of no interest, please skip it all -- though I'd love some thoughts! All places mentioned, in two counties, are 2 to maybe 15 miles apart, all very close to one another. William Coulman (COLEMAN) and Ruth OFFER were married 23 April 1798 Chippenham, Wiltshire. William was b. April 1775 Hardenhuish (Harnish), now a part of Chippenham, and d. April 1855 Biddestone, Wiltshire. Ruth was b. ?? and d. at the age of 48 in February 1814 in Biddestone, making her b. ca. 1765-66. If that's accurate, she would have been about 10 years older than William, which seems unlikely for the time unless married previously. I have copies of all of the original parish/probate records about all information here, which give no indication of Ruth's status, such as "widow." Scanty info re. any Ruth OFFER in the IGI is not applicable or of questionable validity/use at present. Ruth and William had five known children: Dinah (christened 1799), Robert (1802), William (1804), George (1807) and Philip (1811, d. 1887), my 3X great-grandfather. If Ruth were born ca. 1765, she would have been ca. 34 when Dinah was born and 45 when Philip was, entirely possible but it raises questions. There is more: A 1782-written, 1783-probated will of a Martha OFFER of Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire, (the widow and relict of William OFFER of FC -- will 1755, probate 1757) mentions many relatives/heirs, including Ruth ??, the widow of Martha's deceased son, James, whom his father's will says is eldest of three sons. This Ruth OFFER and deceased James had three children (James, Hannah and Mary, all identified/named in will) and, after James died, under the recorded name of "Ruth OFFER" she married Thomas DAVIS at FC in 1779. Martha in her will also mentions an apparent unmarried granddaughter, Ruth OFFER, the daughter of her only living son, Robert OFFER, who appears to live in nearby Westerleigh, Gloucestershire. His children "then living" if any, but otherwise unnamed aside from Ruth, were given a pound and a shilling, and she also was given half of her grandmother's clothing. Martha was careful to identify all women who were married at the time of the will's signing and their husbands. So this granddaughter appears to be unmarried, perhaps a minor but maybe older in 1782 and still living at home, or perhaps could have been in service or other work in Chippenham or thereabouts some 15 miles away. The question: Would parish records usually/always be recorded under the previous husband's surname, as in the widow Ruth who married Thomas Davis, or would they sometimes be recorded under the birth surname? If the current name at the marriage she could not in 1798 be the wife of William Coulman (COLEMAN) as her name would have been recorded as Ruth DAVIS, but the granddaughter Ruth OFFER might be. It should be noted there is a Ruth OFFER who d. 1849 at Coalpit Heath (between FC and Westerleigh) at the age of 77 (b. ca. 1772), who might (and might not) be Robert's unmarried daughter -- the granddaughter Martha left clothes to in her will and who would have been ca. 10 when the will was written if this is she. Or should another Ruth be sought? Or??? Incidentally, after Ruth OFFER COLEMAN's death, William married Mary RALPH 17 October 1816 in Biddestone and had three known (possibly more) children: James (christened 1820), Maria (1824) and John (1828), all b. Biddestone. Mary was the daughter of James RALPH and Elizabeth LEWIS, b. 1788 Yatton Keynall. William and Mary RALPH COLEMAN are found in the 1851 census in Biddestone. Any suggestions, thoughts, ideas, etc. gratefully accepted as would be distant cousins or step-cousins! -- Sally