Hi Marilyn, It helps to try other sources first so that you can narrow down your search terms for SP; you can narrow down place as well as date (though ancestors sometimes do the unexpected!). IGI is good up to about 1875, and censuses can be helpful. Hugh Wallis's website has a section on middle names, useful to help a common name stand out from the crowd! Best wishes, Sheena -----Original Message----- From: Watson Family <watsonb@iinet.com.au> No wonder I haven't really done that before having such common names I get pages and pages. Marilyn