My g-g-grandparents were Phelans and lived most of their lives in my home town in Connecticut. In searching the town records I found many references to them including marriage, birth of their children, death of the husband, etc. but I could never find a death notice for my gggrandmother, Bridget Phelan. I finally caught on to this Phelen/Whelan thing and checked the records under Whelan--and there she was. The only time in about 40 years that she was listed under that name. So the moral is, don't ignore one name or the other! They really are interchangeable. Lois elseajay@earthlink.net