Cara, I took your suggestion and have sent an email to Cyril at [email protected] but no response yet. Thank you for the lead even as you were burning down your kitchen. David Rose, Perhaps when I visit Ireland next month I'll look in the books you cited at the National Library; any and all clues appreciated! Was there ever a King Harmon, or is that just an area? I don't believe my ancestors were "landed gentry"! I've not encountered the Strachan name in my brief year or two of research. Rita in Arizona > Contact Cyril Newsome he is doing Hays family tree and I think from > memory > he has a site or a list for Hays somewhere >> My gg-grandfather Thomas Harmon was born in 1834 in Ireland to >> Lawrence Harmon, b. 12 Dec 1808, Co. Kilkenny, and Bridget Hays, b. 29 >> Aug 1813, Ireland. He married Ellen Quinlisk of Co. Tipperary. > my youngest > son in the mid 1900s married a HARMAN girl in the Christchurch area > of our > South Island -she comes from a line of Harmans going back to a Richard > James > Strachan HARMAN dob DBL 1826 and settled in the area in early 1850s.