Hello, I was a member of this List during 2001 and have just subscribed again. This fall I have received new information so that I can now ask for information on the correct families. I am looking for any information at all on John and Mary DEXTER who were probably living in Westport, MA, during the 1870's and possibly from the 1860's into the 1880's. Mary was the former Mary Anna CLARK/E, born in Westport in 1837. She was the daughter of James CLARKE and Mrs. Rhoda LAVARE, they having married in Westport, MA, in 1829. Rhoda's maiden name was Rhoda MANCHESTER, and she was born in Westport in 1800. I do not know when or where John DEXTER married Mary Anna CLARK/E, but it was possibly around 1860, and it could have been in any town between Westport, MA, and Killingly, CT. I also do not know anything about their children. What I do know is that by 1890 they were living in Melrose, MA. And, in 1892 they adopted a baby girl. They were Age 55, and the little girl had just turned 3. They re-named her .. Mary Anna Clark DEXTER. In 1899, Mrs. Mary Dexter died, and she was buried in Killingly, CT. Around the same time, John Dexter "disappeared into thin air." All we have on the childhood of Mary Anna Clark DEXTER are "family stories" and writing about her would only be "guesswork." But, sometime after 1900 she went to live in "The Temporary Home" in Boston, MA, where she remained until she was an adult. On her marriage records in 1911, she listed her birth-father as William CLARK/E. We have no idea who this person is. Her Adoption records which I had opened during 2001 show that NO information was known about her birth-parents. My only guess is that a William CLARK/E took her in in 1899 when Mrs. Dexter died. And, probably William was somehow related to Mrs. Mary (Clark) Dexter. Thank you for your time. Betty (near Lowell, MA) "There are two lasting bequests we can give our children; one is roots, the other is wings." Hodding Carter, Jr.