I'm going to do the puzzler a little different this time. I will send Charles Hartley an answer to put on line but I think this one needed a little larger explanation. My question was: You found your male descendant on a church register, but not his wife. How could that be? You gave me some great answers and I'd like to go through some of them. 1 - He wasn't married yet. That is a possibility; his marriage might have taken place later and the clerk hadn't entered her name - or showed her under her maiden name if she was a member. 2 - She was deceased. True. She possibly had died ... but in most churches, her name would still be listed (sometimes for many years) with the notation "deceased" and _possibly_ a date of death entered. 3 - They had divorced. Again, a possibility. But, in most church books, her name would still possibly be there with a line through it or some notation. 4 - She had committed a grievous sin according to church rules. Good thought. When this occurred in many churches, her name would still be shown with the notation "excluded." The terminology varied from denomination of denomination - in Baptist churches and others, this is the term used and normally the date of exclusion. 5 - She was not a member. Very true. She possibly had not joined the church. 6 - She was a member of another church. Very true. If you will read through the old biographies, you will find that in many instances the wife held membership in one church and the husband in another. She might have come from a long line of Methodists and he of Presbyterians - and they kept their memberships in the denomination of their choice. Pastors of the earlier years also served in up to 4 churches a month. He might join one of the churches - his wife might keep her membership in another of the churches he pastored. 7 - Only male members, or head of household were listed. No. Women were always listed. If you will think back of all the church rosters I have posted over the years, there were women! Some churches kept separate lists - they separated the male members from the female members in different lists. But they were listed - making it difficult sometimes to figure out which female belonged to which male and which ladies were single! But they were listed! Children were not listed until they became a Christian in Baptist Churches and others and had been baptized. Some, as in the Presbyterian Church would list the child and his/her parents when they were baptized as infants or confirmed in other denominations. In most churches of the earlier times, the clerk kept an active list of members. He faithfully updated this list annually or every few years. These were entered on the church books along with the minutes of the monthly business meetings. Thanks for your participation! I'll be coming up with another puzzler soon. Sandi -- Colonel Sandi Gorin Website: http://www.gensoup.org/gorin/index.html Genealogy Puzzlers: http://www.gensoup.org/gorinpuzzles/index.php --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com