Listers -- Just some comments to offer as a follow-up to the inquiry on 1 Dec from Richard <Richard.M.Hartley@btinternet.com> re: MELLODEW in Lancashire, ENG (which he believed had Huguenot origins) and the reply on 2 Dec from Michael <mpalmer@netcom.com> who stated that the name did not have Huguenot origins, being a Northern English form of MERRIDEW. Our Huguenot ancestors may have had totally different surnames than the ones we think. Consider the following possibilities: a) that the Huguenot connection in Richard's family does not come from MELLODEW but from a surname as-yet-undiscovered or unresearched in his family, eg. one which has disappeared from view today because, for example, it was a female line. b) that Huguenot ancestors may have had a surname similar to MELLODEW and so adopted it as their anglicization (because it already existed in the area where they were living) once they were in England. For example, the listings for MELLODEW on the IGI -- which definitely show it as predominantly a Lancashire name -- list many variant spellings but one that caught my eye was MELLADIEU (Turton, 1797, but no indication of French origins). However, it could have been something else, eg. MALLARDEAU or ....?? Richard, the earliest date you mentioned was 1672. Perhaps if you trace back a hundred years or so, you might find some answers. Remember that there were Walloon refugees in England as early as the mid-1500's. Also, what about ancestry of the female lines? Something to think about..... Andrea