Hello Listers, I'm the new kid on the block! I've been researching my surname (NIHEN) for over 30 years and was recently informed that a group of NIHANs or NIHENs lived in the Niagara-Ontario region. My surname is just "odd enough" to suggest a probable link between my family, living in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, and the Niagara-Ontario group. The problem is that although I have a folder filled with names, dates, and information regarding the "Canadian Cousins", I cannot make a link. My family extends back to my great grandfather, John Nihen, whom I can trace to Margam, Wales, in 1851. The family "story" is that John was born in Ireland (1843) and emigrated at a young age. I do have John's first marriage certificate ... 1864 Aberavon (Neath), Wales ... married to a Mary CLEMENS. John and Mary arrived in Audenried, Pennsylvania, in 1869. John remarried to Margaret Ann ELLIOTT, my great grandmother, and relocated to Lansford, Pennsylvania, my home. My reason for writing to this list is that two persons on the NIAGARA- ONT list gave me information that a PHELAN family was related to the NIHEN/NIHAN group. I'm hoping to find a relative and a connection. I do not know if my great grandfather had siblings. I have found, however, the names Michael, William, Cornelius, and David Nihen in various records from Wales and a grave near Audenreid, PA ... no one knows anything about these folks. (John's father, Daniel, was born in Ireland, according to John's 1907 death record.) Does this ring a bell with anyone? Until learning of the St. Catharines, Ontario, group, I believed the only location of my surname was in the coal pits of PA. Any leads or suggestions will be much appreciated. I would be absolutely thrilled to find family ... dead or alive! Thanks, Joe Nihen Pennsylvania Researching: NIHEN, NIHAN, ELLIOTT, FETKO/SPACK