Many thanks for the helpful replies I have received, especially from John and Heather. Between those two most helpful people, they've negated any need to lead us off-topic. After 12 years, an undergraduate qualification in local history, and an article in preparation for The Local Historian, I am all too aware of the difficulties of family history research, as well as the practicalities of mailing lists (I joined one in the month it had 500 messages posted, hence my wariness of joining several at once). It is this knowledge of the difficulties that leads me to try to assist others with their brick walls, and I've found few better ways over the years I've been here than by tapping into the rich vein of knowledge that the luminaries of this list offer. A very merry Christmas to the helpful people of the Essex mailing list! Adrian > Why not subscribe briefly to Genbrit-L, the General British enquiry list, as this is a multi-county > enquiry, and post the brickwalls there. > There are some knowledgeable people on there. > Subscribe to the *List* in the usual way via Rootsweb. > It is gatewayed to the unmoderated Genbrit Newsgroup, so be prepared for some sharp advice as well > as kindly advice. > > But worth it for the knowledge :-) > Cheers > > John Henley