Dear Marion and List, The Daniel Markham who married Elizabeth Whitmore was a freeman and deacon in the Congregational Church. Arguments rage about his birth credentials and parentage. Mark Goodmansen took a trip to England armed with some facts and such from the USA and he tracked (Deacon) Daniel Markham to a small church in Earls Colne, Essex. I heard Mr. Goodmansen give an explanation of his reasoning about the parentage of Daniel Markham and his origin in Essex. I am inclined to believe that he has found the right parents and right birth place. When I married into this family, I was introduced to the volumes of the Markham Memorials. I got really excited that finally here was a genealogy all tracked out for me and all I had to do was copy it. I was writing furiously when it suddenly occurred to me that this history of the Markhams, aside from being a monumental work, was in actual fact a tracing of the Title or Rank that came with the Manor named Cotham. I was only interested in Blood LInes and not Titles. I was really disappointed. For the millionth time since being "bit by the Genealogy BUG" I wish that Deacon Daniel had taken the time to write down who his mother and father were and where in England he came from. It would settle the question once and for all. Marion, in light of Mr. Goodmansen's research, I suspect that you do not have the correct parents for Deacon Daniel. Perhaps you could do a re-check of the information that you have to hand. I know that we are not seeking for family gold hoarded up somewhere to make us all rich, but I invite others to discuss their findings regarding the parentage and origin of Deacon Daniel Markham (who started all of this and then had the good sense to die with his secrets intact!) I do not wish to start a fight on the internet over this, but if we all pooled our resources and looked at the research I am sure we can come to some sort of a consensus about which origin is most correct if not absolutely correct. Cheers, Beverly Markham in Arizona. Life on earth is expensive. The biggest perk is the free trip around the sun. Wear a hat and enjoy the ride....