Thanks very much for those OED entries Liz , so my parish register isn't a one-off . However , since the quoted items don't provide corroborating evidence , I would argue that one still doesn't know the significance of adding "spinster" to the woman's label in these cases - they're consistent with an indication of unmarried , but surely that is just not necessary since " Mrs BLOGGS , widow" can only refer to a woman without a living husband , so why add "spinster" ? Thanks again, Robert Hillier, Poole