I'm at risk of being accused of pedanticism here, but as a geographer and regular visitor to the area I was surprised at Tony's estimate (and I am not impuning Tony's encyclopaedic knowledge, which I freely acknowledge in the field of local family history, but it happens that historical-geographical research is one of my specialisms), so I measured it by triangulation (so we are talking about straight lines) - the direct distance across Portsmouth harbour, Portsea Island and Langstone Harbour, between the parish church in Alverstoke and the Town Hall in Havant is 8.7 miles (14 Km); the rough route of the 'old' road is approximately 21 miles (34 Km). My own relatives at this time were quite regularly walking distances in excess of this because of the nature of their work (Ag.Labs), and the area between Alverstoke and Havant at the time of Nelson would have largely been rural, punctuated by military/naval installations - so not the continuous urban sprawl of today but not too far between settlements- although I do take Tony's point that this would not mean that Havant and Alverstoke would have been regarded as 'the same area' as each other. People tend to think of geographical features as boundaries of 'home areas' -in the case of Alverstoke, as with Gosport, the natural boundaries are defined by the peninsular and the downs to the North; Havant's boundries would have been defined by the coastal plain, the harbours and the forested areas in the North, North-west and the Downs. In reality the local economic traditions would be defined by their geography and this would also deferentiate Alverstoke and Havant. John Orchard -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tony Knight Sent: 01 April 2008 21:45 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HAM] EMERY family of Havant Havant and Alverstoke are not really in "the same area" - some 15 miles as the crow flies but with Portsmouth Harbour separating them. By road, the trip would be even longer and slower. Linda & tony -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bill Barber Sent: 01 April 2008 15:19 I have found a bit of info. on your emery's. Their parents were Samuel And Mary (nee Stares). Their marriage was 04.10.1810 Alverstoke. Havant and Alverstoke are in the same area. [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Margaret Usmar Sent: 31 March 2008 19:34 Subject: [HAM] EMERY family of Havant I have an Emily EMERY born c1813 in Havant, Hampshire, marrying in Stepney in 1845. As far as I can tell, she and her husband had no children, and after her own death her husband has two nieces, Emily EMERY (born c1856 in Kensington) and Ann EMERY (born c1861 in Kensington), living with him. For FREE online parish register transcriptions visit the Hampshire OPC at www.knightroots.co.uk ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message