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