Hi Ruth, sadly none of your suggestions are of any use to us. UK government legislation expressly forbids any information being released before 100 years have passed. It will not be availale until 2021 despite the Freedom of Information Act. The 1920 Act excludes itself from being subject to the Freedom of Information under any circumstances. There would have to be another act of parliament to change this. There was never any contact with relatives in Poland so no family letters hidden anywhere and no contact with any Polish community that might have existed in the area. Marie had not been in hospital but even if she had been, hospital records are also covered by the 100 year rule. Although, occasionally dispensations can be made by sympathetic authorities. The only information that the funeral director would have had would have been the info provided by the family, so no help there. I have discovered that although she never attended catholic church and all her children were brought up as protestants she did have statues and crucifixes at home. So, after her death her children made a special request for her funeral to be conducted in the catholic church, and this was granted. On her death certificate it simply gives Poland as place of birth. This was all the info that the member of the family who registered the death knew. No, I don't live in the, USA, I moved from England to Southern France 12 years ago, the only other relative intrested and helping our research lives in Australia ! Once again many thanks for your continued interest in my search. Regards, Chris

Chris, One more comment, then I am out of ideas :o) You wrote <<The only information that the funeral director would have had would have been the info provided by the family, so no help there>>. Yes, that's true, but take into consideration that the person who gave the death info, most likely gave the info right after her death, or not much later after, and in their sorrow, may not have been thinking clearly. Or, because of the sorrow of the family, a friend of the family may have given the info on the death record. Have you checked the death record to see who the informant was that gave the info? Anyway, the family may have had more time to think about smaller details when talking to the funeral director, and may have remembered what town Marie was born in. I remember one incident where I was helping someone with their family tree, and the funeral record had the town listed of the deceased's place of birth. It may be a long shot, but....at this point I would try to locate the record. Ruth