Hi Again - Just did a Google Search for Thomas William Portland SMITH - perhaps the following is your interest http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,285078.0/prev_next,prev.html http://www.dreamwork.co.nz/FamilyHistory/TheSmithsofKaitaia/tabid/2535/Default.aspx http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.smith/47080/mb.ashx?pnt=1 http://www.smithsworldwide.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I23955&tree=tree1 http://www.id.mundia.com/id/Person/6497629/-74016819 http://www.otago.ac.nz/historyarthistory/nzic/immigrants/s.html Hi Always important to enter Surname of Interest in Capital letters on the subject line. You have a letter from Thomas William Portland SMITH stating that these were the happiest 3 years of his life. When was the letter dated? - Is there any location mentioned. Is it possible that Thomas William Porland SMITH - retuerned home ? Do you know if his parents also went to the USA ? If not - perhaps some information among their papers - may give more information. Their Obituaries if published in that time frame. Search Family Search Org - online Ancestry for the USA - may be helpful. In Canada some of our Public libraries subscribe to ancestry - with access to all . perhaps the same in the U.K. ? Cheers, Stella name: Thomas William Portland Smith gender: Male baptism/christening date: 07 Oct 1841 baptism/christening place: SAINT THOMAS,STEPNEY,LONDON,ENGLAND father's name:<https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQBW-JG8>Robert Smith mother's name:<https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQBW-JGD>Barbara indexing project (batch) number:<https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1//search/records/index#count=20&query=+batch_number:C06788-1>C06788-1 system origin: England-ODM source film number: 597931 At 04:43 PM 23/09/2012, you wrote: >Up till now I've had no experience with US records at all, being under the >impression that none of my ancestors ever went there. But, I've just found a >letter from my elusive Thomas William Portland SMITH in which he states that >"the happiest three years of my life were spend in the United >States..." . I've >got no idea which part of the US he means, but the era would have been during >1841-1860 approximately. > >Can anyone on the list give me any ideas about where to start searching? It's >likely that he went there with his parents, Robert & Barbara SMITH, who were >Irish. The last address I have for them is Stepney, London in 1841. I realise >that Smith somewhere in the US is a big ask!! > >Jeanette > >************************************** >Send your List messages using **PLAIN TEXT** and always **TRIM >AWAY** superfluous old messages in replies. > >**MEANINGFUL Subject Lines - who, what, where, when, with SURNAMES >in CAPITAL letters** > >List Admin can be contacted at: [email protected] >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' >without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message