Hi Peter: On Tue, 23 Mar 1999 [email protected] wrote: > I could swear that I once collected a record of a Ruth Nevil and some other Neville being orphans and adopted by someone. I'll check my stack of less organized records and see what I can find. I really appreciate your help, thank you. I keep wondering if the William Nevell on a 1768 list of insolvents in St. Mary Anns Parish, Cecil Co. could possibly be the father of Ruth and John. I keep thinking that maybe the mother died and things were just too much for him so he skipped out leaving the children with Mrs. Burns. > As for the 1790 Census, there is no record of a Mary Burns or a Mathew Burns in Maryland. > There is a Mathew Barnes in Charles Co (3 white males 16+, 1 white male under 16, 5 white females and 2 slaves). I don't know how good a candidate he would be. I really don't think the above is relavant; just a feeling. > There are three records for Mary Burns in Pennsylvania: Northampton County (the current Northampton Co is on the Eastern border of I am now tracing the route the party took from Harford through PA to see if they could have passed through Northampton or PA where they could have picked up Mrs. Burns. My geographic prowess is second only to my mathematical skills so it could be an interesting trip <g>. Tomorrow is my day to volunteer at the FHC and I am going to try to get up early before the throngs arrive so I can get my hands on a reader long enough to check the Canadian records for Upper Canada Land Petitions in the hope that Mrs. Burns petitioned for land. I can't imagine that she would not have done, John, Moses, Thomas Welsh and even old Hannah Mitchell did. If she did it could possibly state her relationship to John. One can hope. Thanks sincerely for your help. Paddy