Thanks for the spreadsheet Mike. I'll work my way through them over the next few days. I have just managed to eliminate one possibility, although he would have been an interesting ancestor to claim! William Henry Bilson (19) was in court in 1872 for having stolen a horse. He had appeared earlier at Nottingham Quarter Sessions on 26 June 1871 charged with cattle stealing and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Birth probably registered Dec Q 1852 at Melton Mowbray. In 1861 census living with his uncle at Melton Mowbray born Sutton Bonnington. Sentenced to 3 months imprisonment on 1 July 1872. Parish records show a burial of William Bilson age 20 at Sutton Bonington 25 May 1873. Since my husband's grandmother Alice was not conceived until about June 1875, this man can be ruled out! Full story in Grantham Journal: Saturday 10 June 1871. Best wishes Rosemary Rodliffe Our resources available on-line at: http://www.thornburypump.co.uk/Ancestry/resources.php Kelly's Directories of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire 1900 Return of Owners of Land in Norfolk 1873 Newnes Round the Coast 1895 Black's Guides to Cornwall 1879, Gloucestershire 1875 and South Wales 1883 Leicestershire, Norfolk and Northamptonshire photographers details free at http://www.earlyphotographers.org.uk/