Hi Will, I appreciate your thoughts, but for some reason, Stephen Fells was the 'heir', even though being the younger brother, and his elder and eldest brothers had heirs, but Stephen was put above them, 'bearing the name of Fells'. It's an odd situation all round, and doesn't sit well. There was something going on, but what is anyone's guess. The oldest brother, Christopher, had apparently committed some crime abroad, which took a lot of money to extricate him from. Finding the documents to prove all this is difficult to say the least, especially with a name like Fells!! Best regards, Yvonne >> [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: 26 January 2007 19:44 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [OEL] Age to be a witness What's interesting about your reply is that I've often run across situations where a younger son did not marry until very late in life. I can't say why, but I can speculate ! Let's say these thoughts go through the head. My elder brother will inherit everything, so I can't myself get a *good* match since I have no prospects. The best I can do is an older widow, or a illegimate daughter or the daughter of some poor yeoman. Maybe I should wait to see if maybe my elder brother will d.s.p.m. (i.e. without male heirs) and then I'll be next in line for the property and I can get myself a high-status wife. Just random speculation :) Will <<