A postscript to my message below. I did find that the correct William Ayling was born in 1654 in Woolbeding. I figured it out partially by the proximity of headstones to his son, Thomas, which gave me his mother, then to William (via comparing their Wills). Which leads me to a new question. My Ayling ancestors' graves are concentrated in the two small churchyards of St. James in Stedham and All Hallows in Woolbeding. Has anyone in SFHG ever mapped the headstones in terms of the placement clusters? SFHG does have a list of headstone inscriptions for St. James, but I think it would be even more useful to know that placement context. Obviously there are less Wills and baptisms as you go into the 1500's so I am exploring whatever alternatives I can find. Thanks for any help you might offer, and thanks to all who take the time to reply to other posts. I am learning lots just "listening in" to the advice given to others. Chris Ayling Cranbrook, BC Canada -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [SFHG] Error in THE AYLING STORY by Kenneth Ayling 1983 Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:34:58 -0600 From: Chris Ayling via [1]<sfhg@rootsweb.com> Reply-To: Chris Ayling [2]<ayling1@telus.net> To: [3]SFHG@rootsweb.com Hi there. Anyone investigating the AYLING surname has probably come across "The Ayling Story" by Kenneth Ayling. It's an excellent book. I've found my line does link up with the lineage he chooses to highlight in his story --namely, Thomas Ayling (B. 1689). However, Kenneth indicated that Thomas' father was William (B. 1649). This turns out to be incorrect as William died in 1653 according to the annotation added to his baptism record. Also Nicholas Ayling (B1593) the supposed father of William states in his own Last Will & Testament (written in 1665) William and "the sonne of my sonne William" which is unlikely given that William (B. 1649) would have been only 16 years old at that time. I thought I would post to this group in the event someone has already worked this out? If so, please let me know. Thanks alot! Chris Ayling, Cranbrook BC Canada P.S. For anyone coming across this post in future I have my lineage consistent with "The Ayling Story" line on ancestry.com under "2014 Ayling Tree Sussex UK to Canada". I have a second tree called "2014 Ayling Tree Sussex UK to Canada - Alternate Line to 'The Ayling Story'" where, hopefully, I will be able to sort out the correct line. No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - [1]www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4765 / Virus Database: 4015/8190 - Release Date: 09/10/14 No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - [4]www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4765 / Virus Database: 4189/8482 - Release Date: 10/30/14 References 1. mailto:sfhg@rootsweb.com 2. mailto:ayling1@telus.net 3. mailto:SFHG@rootsweb.com 4. http://www.avg.com/