FRANCIS SOUTHWICK wrote: > I am looking to locate my family. > My gg grandfather was called Charles McPhillips born c 1838.? I do not know?which county he was born in.? His father was also called Charles. >?Also my gg grandmother Rose Ann McGowan born c 1840.? Again I do not know?the county she was born in.? Her father was called John. DAVID (Sherlock Holmes) replied: > You are asking someone to hunt for a needle in a hay stack especially so when you have no county even as a guide. > As for the McGowan surname I am picking that this is and was a quite common surname in Ireland. I must agree with David. While some reader may get lucky and find this marriage in an online search, it is easy to do this search oneself ... go to familyseach.org or Google BMD (birth, marriage, death). David's assertion that McGowan is a common surname is right on the mark. The original Gaelic form is Mac Gabhann, deriving from gabha, which means "smith". So, in effect, you're asking for help in locating a John Smith. Brad searching for WILSON in?Armagh (talk about a needle in a haystack)