In message <4049B56B.000003.04052@XP-BKBHO2U9YIMM>, Elizabeth Atherton <elizabeth.atherton@tesco.net> writes > Funny you should say that - John Doe of no stated profession appears with >Israel Atherton, Gent (my man) in Cheshire - early 18th century. >.. Elizabeth Atherton The othere fictiitious person was Richard Roe, and after years when people used his name in recovery actions etc, one local Mrs Roe named her little lad Richard. It must have been a nice little earner for him - litigants would have to pay him to stay away from the court, so that when 'Richard Roe, come into Court' was called, no one would answer (thus letting the recovery proceed by default) They changed the law when he was about 29, though. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society