Thanks for that suggestion Nivard, here's my brick wall: About 185 years ago, my great-great-great grandfather Francis Stanhope ADAMS (1800-1881) left his home village of Thorpe Arnold in Leicestershire and moved to London. He had been a farmer, his father Stephen ADAMS (est 1778-1834) was also a farmer in or near Thorpe Arnold). Stephen ADAMS married Elizabeth STANHOPE and the family owned two farmlands - one on the road to Hose and the other on the road to Grantham. At some point, a farmland was tenanted by a Mr DOUBLEDAY who was related by marriage. Stephen ADAMS' father is inferred to be John ADAMS based on his marriage to Elizabeth CROFT in 1769 in Thorpe Arnold (source, Parish register) although we can find no baptism record for him. The recurrence of the CROFT name in the known family line supports this assumption. We do not know where John ADAMS came from or died but the parish register of his marriage says "Of Wartnaby". After his arrival in London, Francis Stanhope ADAMS became a grocer, then a wholesaler and then a man of business. Two of his sons headed to the colony of Port Natal in South Africa and established a book and Stationary Store named ADAMS and COMPANY. My father Mr ADAMS manages this store today<http://www.adamsbooks.co.za/index.html>and it is coming up on its 150th anniversary. It is well known in South Africa. For the event, we are hoping to learn more of the ADAMS family of Thorpe Arnold and the families to whom they married: CROFT and STANHOPE. My primary goals are: 1) Find the parents of John ADAMS "Of Wartnaby" who married Elizabeth Croft in Thorpe Arnold in 1769. 2) Find a baptism record for Stephen ADAMS of Thorpe Arnold. 3) Fill in any of the blanks about the Stanhope / Adams / Croft line. Thanks for any thoughts shared. - Shannon If you have Ancestry.com access here is the link: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/36865265/person/20456614080 *Family Group Sheet for Stephen Adams* *Husband:* Stephen Adams b: 1778 in United Kingdom; Inferred from age at burial. d: Apr 1834 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England; Listed in the records of the parish in Thorpe Arnold. Age 56 Buried May 1st. Burial: 01 May 1834 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England; NOT CONFIRMED. Extract from Burial Register at Thorpe Arnold. Stephen Adams. Stated age 56."Adams Stephen Thorpe Arnold 1st May 1834 56" m: 06 Jun 1799 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England; Stephen Adams&Eliz. Stanhope, lic. 6 June 1799 Volume III., a narrow book of parchment leaves, several of which are blank, bound in boards and in good order. It records Burials 1792-1812, Baptisms 1793-1812 and Marriages 1794-1811 *Father:* John Adams (Abt 1745-) *Mother*: Elizabeth Crofts (Abt 1746 -) *Wife*: Elizabeth Stanhope b: 1780; Estimated age based on marriage in 1799. d: Jun 1806 in Thorpe Arnold Burial: 19 Jun 1806 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England; Extract from Burial Register at Thorpe Arnold."Adams Elizabeth 19th June 1806 Wife of Stephen Adams" *Father*: Stanhope *Mother*: Mary *Children:* 1 F *Name*: Mary Adams b: 1802 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England 2 M *Name*: Francis Stanhope Adams b: 1800 in Thorpe Arnold, Leicestershire, England; 1851 Census says he was born in Thorpe, Leicestershire. d: 21 May 1881 in Middlesex, England m: 17 Oct 1837 in Poultry Chapel, London Spouse: Emma Jemima Chapman