Karen is right about not overlooking Probate records. We started our research with City Directories. We really only knew our great grandparents names (and had to ask a funeral director for their given names, at that !!) Being Irish, it seemed as though everyone shared the same common names, which served to complicate things. A person named Simon, with the same surname as our family, shared an address with our family members at several points, and was listed in the town for a longer time period than our known ancestors were. My sister said to, "Let him go. He's not ours.") I refused, saying I'd let him go when it was proved he wasn't "ours". We finally found death dates for several family members and I contacted the cemetery. A couple of phone calls later we had the burial information and Simon turned out to have been the purchaser of the burial plots !!! Jackpot !! Another day we were at a research facility and I just happened to take down a big book to look at while waiting for my sister to finish with the film she was viewing. It turned out to be a Lis Pendens volume. There was Simon's name recorded !! He had owned property. And there were dates. (Duh!!) Our thoughts went wild with trying to figure out where we could get more information. At that point, finding new information just couldn't happen fast enough to satisfy us, but we weren't very well versed on just what was available or where to find it. So, back to Probate records, sort of. We somehow found out that we should go to the Surrogate Court and see what was there. Wow ! Simon had died intestate, and remember, he owned property. I reeled when reading the list of next of kin and couldn't believe my eyes. That led to finding court notes and newspaper articles. They were all suing each other. It was great !!! I'm not quite sure what that says about these ancestors, but I am grateful for all of it, and am very fond of them all. It kind of helped put some flesh on their bones, as it were. Gotta love those feisty Irish. **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)