In a message dated 11/22/2003 9:02:49 PM Pacific Standard Time, HAMPSON-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > Mary Ann (Rhodes) was born about 1838 in Staffordshire. They had children > Emma (my great grandmother), Martha, John, Margaret, Rose, William, Arthur, > Ernest, Walter, Clara and Joseph (that I know of!!). Emma and Martha I have > been able to keep track of, but the rest of the family disappear from England > after the 1881 census. I believe they may have gone to America in the > 1880's - I am basing this on two very vague points. Firstly I recall when I was > young some American "cousins" visiting my mother and also a search of the US > Social Security Death Index which turns up a Joseph Hampson dying in April > 1972 in McDonald, Washington, Pennsylvania - his date of birth is exactly the > same as baby Joseph above (14 December 1880). Is there anybody else > researching this branch of the Hampson tree? Marjorie McManus: It may be that we are both searching for the same Hampson family. Unfortunately, I have even less information than you, but it does sort of coincide. My grandmother, Laura Augusta Hampson, was born in Tarrytown, NY 28 June, 1865. My grandfather came from St. Bees, Cumberland, to NYC in 1882, and they were married 18 Feb 1890 in NY. She died 17 Feb 1906 and is buried in Kensico Cemetery, NY. All I have on her is the above plus the fact that she had a sister named Francine who married an Apsley Boulding but had no children. Also, my grandfather somehow gravitated to PA where my aunt, Ethel Telford, married and raised a family in Philadelphia. It's possible that the Hampsons had relatives in PA and it's possible they could be related to your strain. One other factor is a rumor that my grandmother's uncle served in the Union forces in the Civil War and was imprisoned in the Richmond, VA prison for a while. Anything you can come up with that can tie in with the above will be much appreciated. Bob Telford Robert Sheldon Telford, Long Beach, CA, USA