Hello, listers -- This is in response to a post on 5 Nov from Derek <derek@icetea.demon.co.uk> who has been told that there are Huguenot connections in his JEFFRYES & JOHNSON lines. Hopefully, my comments will be helpful to Derek and also to others who may have similar questions in their own research. Sorry for the length of this. Anyone not interested in tracing ancestors in the UK in the 1800's can delete *now* <g>. Derek, first of all, there is no way to tell, from the info you have sent, if there is a Huguenot connection in your family. For example, the time period you mentioned, c1840's-60's, is much too late to discover Huguenot links. You need to get back a few generations, eg. at least to late 1600's-early 1700's). Also, there is no such thing as a name which is *always* Huguenot or of Huguenot connections. There are only Huguenot *individuals* (ie. those who fled their homelands several centuries ago and are to be found in the records of that day). But.....even if a JEFFRYES or a JOHNSON name were found in Huguenot records, it would not prove any connection at all with your own surnames. They're quite common names, for one thing. There must be many people in the UK with either name but who have no Huguenot ancestry. But, don't give up hope! There *may be* Huguenot ancestry in your background. I'm not discounting it -- I'm just saying that the proof is not there as yet. Also consider that your Huguenot ancestors (if you have any) may not have originally been a JEFFRYES or a JOHNSON at all. Instead, they may have had a completely different surname whiich you haven't discovered as yet. Derek, what you need to do is to start tracing the generations back, starting with what you know, and see where this leads you. This may not be easy because, as I said, the surnames are common ones, and you will have to begin searching in a densely populated area (London). For example -- and you may have done this already -- you need to get a copy of that 1863 marriage certificate. This will confirm the fathers' names for both Elizabeth JEFFRYES and William JOHNSON. Addresses are usually part of the info provided on the certificate and, if they are, you can look in the 1861 census to see who was living at those addresses two years before the marriage. Hopefully, it will be the entire family, complete with everything you need to know (ages, occupations, birthplaces). If they aren't found at that address, they may have been living in the same neighbourhood. If you are lucky to find them in 1861, try the 1851 and 1871 censuses for the same area to see if they are still there. This may provide further valuable info. Also check the 1881 census if William and Elizabeth were still alive at that time.This census has been fully indexed so you should be able to locate them in there. You will also need to obtain the birth certificate for William, born July 1838. This will again confirm his father's name but also tell you his mother's name, including maiden name. There may also be a family address on there too. But keep your fingers crossed that William's birth was registered -- not all were, in the years just after the introduction of UK civil registration in July 1837. Unfortunately, your Elizabeth seems to have been born just before civil registration began so you won't get a birth certificate for her. Instead, you will have to find her baptism in church records. As to where to start looking, I'd start with a parish where you know they were. If you find nothing there, begin looking in records for adjoining parishes, moving outwards in a concentric circle if you find nothing. People often didn't move far in centuries past, if they moved at all. Also, find out if anyone has done any baptism or marriage indexes for London parishes. This might save you some searching. Join a London mailing list, too, and put some queries on there. Hope this has helped Derek and has not just re-hashed things which have already been tried. The key is tracing back about 150 years. Good luck with it! Andrea