Thanks Sharon, for those terrific ideas about what can and cannot be proven. On the other hand-----I for one have traced roots where----- I found a skeleton! Much to the dismay of my older family members 30 years ago. Yes, we follow these written historical accounts. But, you know what! Girls will be girls and Boys will be boys. That is a trueism throughout the history of the human race. So, in essence the study of genealogy, as we move from one family to another by written record, has a basic erroneous assumption. That names on records are (biologically) correct. ----- And this is interesting --though maybe politically incorrect-- In studying one's direct ancestoral lines--it is only the female that can make it incorrect, through adultery. Think about it. So, we do what we can and have faith. Like all of you, I love the exercise. But, we will never Really know! Ray