For a long time now (nearly 2 years) I've been using every facility I can think of to trace my maternal grandfather, John Greenwood. According to such records and family hearsay that I've been able to harvest he was born around Todmorden on May 8th 1875. The first proof I have of his existence is his marriage certificate in 1898 when he was in barracks at Aberdeen with the Gordon Highlanders. On his certificate he gives his age as 23 and his father's name is John Samuel Greenwood and his mother as Mary Jane Greenwood M.S. (nee) Butterfield, deceased. I have been to the FRC in Clerkenwell and been unable to find the birth recorded as Greenwood or Butterfield for up to 5 years either side of 1875, nor can I find any record of a marriage in those years for John Samuel Greenwood and Mary Jane Butterfield. None of them appear in the 1881 or 1891 censuses but grandpa is in the 1901 census, still in Aberdeen with my grandma and 2 children, both of whom died soon after. Another child who did survive (my aunt) was born in 1903 but that is the last record I have of my grandfather. He was awarded a long-service medal during the reign of EdwardVII but I don't know when he left the army. I have twice sent messages to the Gordon Highlanders asking for any help they can give but so far have had no acknowledgment. In the 1800s the Todmorden area was awash with John Greenwoods, most of whom were nonconformists, but none had the details I needed with the possible exception of John and Mary J Greenwood who I discovered in the 1891 and 1901 censuses in Haworth. However, grandpa's marriage certificate says his mother was dead by 1898 and his father was a groom whereas John Greenwood in Haworth was a Stone Quarryman. Also, in 1881 these Greenwoods were in Leeds but with no children. My grandparents and all their offspring are long gone and even my cousins who still live in Yorkshire know nothing so I need people with experience to suggest where I might look next and I hope the listers can help. Regards, Barry Emmott