I have acquired two books lately, both of which have numerous references to the Becher family. These are: Protestant Society and Politics in Cork 1812 - 1844 by Ian d'Alton 1980 Old World Colony Cork and South Munster 1630 - 1830 by David Dickson 2005 Both published by the Cork University Press. In the later book, the name is spelt Beecher. Someone was asking about the Leslie family the other day. The Dickson book has a reference in the index to Charles Leslie and another to Leslie's Bank. Rev Charles Leslie is mentioned in the D'Alton book too. Also a reference to Hedge schools in the Dickson book where it says, "The evidence for schooling in the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne is particularly rich: Bishop McKenna found 117 informal schools operating at the time of his 1775 visitation. These were 'hedge schools' in the sense that they were outside the strict terms of the law, that the master charged a fee and that they often moved location. The teacher usually operated with the direct patronage of the parish priest and included catechesis in the basic syllabus but some teachers were it seems a law unto themselves...." There is much more about the rapid development of RC schools from then on. Kae On Sep 25, 2006, at 9:39 PM, irl-cork-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > >> I am still hoping that I can find someone with information about the > Becher family in Ireland. I am seeking in particular baptism > records of > the children of the marriage of Lionel Becher of Sherkin b 1686 d > 1772 and > Catherine Dunscombe. Many thanks. Eileen.