This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jfclark819 Surnames: Tompkins, Boylan, McNally, Coughran, Hubert Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.kings/16662.2.1.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bob, What you say makes complete sense...and of course they were Irish and not German. This is why I am hesitant to write to Churches. Is there a guide or something you can point me to that I can read up on these parishes that will help me make a more informed guess? I have performed google type searches but I must not be using the "right" keywords. I have a LOT of family that came from Ward 5 (Navy, India, Java, West etc), all Irish or Irish-American and I have a feeling that finding the right Church will bulldoze a lot of those brick walls as they never registered with the city of Brooklyn and I assume it was only with the Church. I tried to contact the Dioceses but they told me they were behind and asked me to contact them in a year. I did, three times, but then they never returned my emails. I wish they'd turn the records over to someone who would digitize and index them. I'd even pay for that subscription. Interestingly, I think some parishes are getting ethnic again. My Parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, has masses in English, Spanish and Korean. Thank you again for your reply. Very much appreciated. Christine Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.