Hello Gordon, Thanks for the information and the advice. A cursory internet search has turned up many books to research and my local librarian is working with me to see what is available via internet and interlibrary loan. Also, I've looked at some of the LDS Family History microfilms and have found there is much to research. I had no idea! My work is cut out for me. Thanks, again, for replying. Regards, Emily E. > First, look up Mary Harris in one of the books like Gary Boyd Roberts' > Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. If she isn't there, you will have to > do primary research and more likely, your cousin was wrong. > > If she is there, then you have to document his work back to Mary. > You'll start with census information, then before there were censuses, > vital records, land records, wills, etc. You'll need a basic > understanding of how to do American Genealogy to do that. > > On Wed, 2004-02-04 at 08:45, favreoaks@comcast.net wrote: > > Hello, > > I am fairly new to family history research and very new to research on this > branch of my family, so I hope you will forgive what may be a "dumb" question. > > > > First some background. About 40 years ago my mother was given a family history > by my cousin, her nephew. At the time, I was a young wife and mother and thought > it was interesting but I had no time to indulge in further explorations or > explanations. Now that I am old, I am vitally interested and would like to know > how I should go about authenticating the family history my cousin compiled. > > The cousin is deceased and there are no sources listed for most of the > information, only occasionally is there reference to a source document. > > > > In the history my cousin states, "Col. Thomas Ligon was born in England and > came to VA abt. 1641. He died in 1675. He married Mary Harris and Mary is > descended from Edward III, King of England, and thus from William the Conqueror, > through Lionel Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence and his daughter Phllippe, who m. > Edward Mortimer, Earl of March, and their daughter Elizabeth, who m. Sir Henry > Percy, (Hotspur of Shakespeare's 'Henry IV'). We descended through the Percy and > later the Harris lines for 12 generations, etc., etc." > > > > Can anyone tell me how I should proceed? > > Any help or advice will be appreciated, > > Emily Elstrott in Washington State > > > > > > ============================== > > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 >