In a message dated 99-02-13 13:30:04 EST, you write: << I am thankful for the spell checker on my AOL, that way i do not get embarrassed too badly. Question? Do you have knowledge of a book by a person named LeMence or LaMance, about Greens from Rhode Island? Is it reliable and is it still in print? I have some information that quotes this person and i was wondering about it. Thanks a lot, Hi Frank, Yes, I have seen the book, and it appears to be a great book which was written in 1904 by Lora S. La Mance. The book is entitled, "The Greene Family and its Branches." This is the book that gives the story about the first Greens when the concept of last names was commenced. She tells the story about King John giving the ancient estate of Boughton to Sir Alexander in 1202 because of his support in Normandy when the King took his wife, Isabelle, who was the wife of Count de la March at the time. Sir Alexander was suppose to have been the great grandson of one of the Knights that came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror. When last names were first required, this family adopted the name of "de Boughton" (from the estate) and later changed the last name from Sir Thomas de Boughton to Sir Thomas de Greene because of the park like estate. Many researchers do not believe this story, and have discounted the book because of the story, but I have enjoyed reading the book, and believe it gives us the best story of the very ancient times we have. I am not so concerned if the story is exactly correct. I have enough trouble getting my stories exactly correct, so I do not criticize the stories of others that were written almost 1,000 years ago! I do not know if the book is still in print, but most good libraries have a copy of the book. There is a copy in theClayton Library in Houston, Texas and the Dallas, Texas library, which is where I first read it. Hope this helps. Tom Green