Hi Peigi, > I'm sure you've tried this, but if not, it's what I do when I can't > find a surname spelling variation in ancestry.com: <snip> Yes, thanks, I've tried that. But my problem is tracing these people back to Ireland. They were here by the 1820/30s. Can't even find them on ship lists. And even if I had a county in Ireland, and wanted to pay a fortune to have baptisms searched, there would probably have been a hundred or so men with the name (or variant) born that year. ;) As I said, it is looking for hay in a haystack. Doesn't help that no death or burial record for one ancestor (should have been buried at the RC church in Hunter; he donated to build the place!) has surfaced. :( They should also have his wife, who remains "Whatsername." :(( Thanks, Peggy