Greetings all At the risk of going over old ground, I accidentally came across what appears to be Jack's father in the 1891 census. John E J Lovelock was still single, aged 27, servant, Valet, born St Marks Gloucester to a Mary C Vane(?) Tempest and her family at St George Hanover Square, London. Presumeably this was shortly before he left for New Zealand. Now, checking what we do know on Jack's family, I see that we only know his father was bn abt 1866 in Gloucestershire. I assume no one has got the birth certificate or found the baptism. In which case I'm not sure how we know his grandparents were in fact John Edward Lovelock and Sarah Leach. I also note that no one has apparently searched the parish of St Mark's Gloucester. Unfortunately, the PRs of this parish that appears to have commenced about 1847 do not appear to have been filmed by the Mormons. Anyone feel like a trip to Gloucestershire Record Office? Worth a look I think. Best wishes Robert PS What got me going on this was some old correspondence from a Muriel Lovelock Petersen. Muriel lives in the US. She wrote to me back in 1997 and very kindly sent me a most interesting photocopy of a publication written by her uncle George J Lovelock called 'Memories and A Land of Paradise'. It details his memories of emigrating from Kent in England to a small timber town of Shulie, Nova Scotia, Canada with his family in 1907 and growing up there in fairly primitive conditions. She also included a photocopy from the Shell Guide to New Zealand (1979) of a place there called Lovelock Junction. Any one heard of it? It seems this very remote settlement was the work a Herman Lovelock looking for gold in the 1860s at a time when this Maori controlled area was still war-torn and perilous. The last known inhabitants left in the 1920s. Murial also believed she was connected to Jack Lovelock the Olympic runner. He believed that Jack's father was William Lovelock, her great uncle. As far as I can work out, this William was born abt 1882 at Margate Kent and at some stage moved to New Zealand. However, this is not consistent with what we know of Jack's family origins. ---------------------------------------------- Robert Sterry 9 Baileys Lane, Kurrajong Hills NSW 2758 AUSTRALIA Ph: (61)0245 731805 FAX: (61) 0245731022 Email: [email protected]