Hello, I've been thinking about my LEWIS ancestors in England this morning. So far, I have Richard LEWIS, b1803 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, and then he had 7 children in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, from 1825 to 1845. This family seems to have stayed in Liverpool, and one descendant who lived more towards 1900, was said to have been a "Captain of the Volunteers." I had heard that term in regards to "New England" but not in regards to "old" England. So, I just looked it up. Turns out many web sites mention men who were Captain of the Volunteers. But, this web site has a very good report on a Thomas COVELL from West Stockbridge, MA, who around Age 20 left for Illinois. The story offers a lot of history about the 1800 to 1850 time when people were heading to the Chicago area and what happened after they got there. http://www.hillsidelibrary.org/history%20web/chapter1a.html (I love it when I go to look up something on the Internet - and find something else of interest !) Also, my early-morning brain thought that Stockbridge might be near Worcester. I looked it up and discovered it's in Berkshire County. http://www.weststockbridgetown.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Stockbridge,_Massachusetts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockbridge,_Massachusetts Betty (near Lowell, MA) P.S. Perhaps I was thinking of Northbridge and Southbridge, which are near Worcester. P.S.2 My gr-grandfather, "Stanley" LEWIS, was born in Liverpool, England, in 1859, and became a "British Home Child," arriving in Nova Scotia at Age 14. He married another "Home Child" there in 1879 and migrated to MA in 1881. They raised .13. children in Stoneham. Both Stanley and Mary (CORKILL) left many uncles, aunts, and cousins in Liverpool when they left. And, I have no way of knowing whether they remained in contact with them. The cousins were probably still in Liverpool up to the 1920's. (Don't forget the brand-new List: New-England-Railroads, which could use some new subscribers.)