--=======3A697930======= Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-3D1ADF2; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Thanks for the information on this topic. There have been some very helpful ideas! I agree with some of the other list members that it is better to go ahead and put in 'dummy' parent records using only the father's surname and either 'unknown' or '?' for the mother's given name & surname. This allows me to keep this family group together as siblings, and to list what I do know about the parents. Here's an example based on an actual household in the 1880 census. John Green 36 years old, head of household Thomas K. Green, brother, 39 Joseph Green, brother, 33 Nannie Brown, sister 42 Adelia Brown, niece 21 James Blue, half-brother, 20 Here are a few things we know about the parents from this census entry: The half-brother, whose surname is not Green, is the youngest of the siblings listed, so probably the mother of the older children was widowed and remarried. Mr. Green (father of the older children) died before 1860 when the half-brother (James Blue) was born. The oldest child listed in this group, Nannie, was born about 1838. So, her father (Mr. Green) was probably born before 1820, and her mother was probably born before 1822. The mother of these children married Mr. Green before 1838, when Nannie was born. The mother of these children married Mr. Blue before 1860, when James Blue was born. This information will make it easier to eliminate some choices as possible parents of these children. For example, any male with the surname Green who died after 1860 is not likely to be the father of the Green children, and can quickly be eliminated from consideration. >Jerry Bryan" <c24m48@hotmail.com> wrote: >It's not common, but the same situation can arise out of your own personal >research, not just with imported GEDCOM. You might discover that two men >were brothers and yet not have a clue as to their parents' names. --=======3A697930======= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-avg=cert; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-3D1ADF2 Content-Disposition: inline --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.426 / Virus Database: 239 - Release Date: 12/02/2002 --=======3A697930=======--