The man who seems to be the most likely candidate to be my Austen 5x great grandfather was Richard Austen, who according to the IGI was christened on the 9th of December 1745(coincidentally exactly 200 years before my birth) in Climping. A few years ago I visited the SFHG Library in Lewes and checked the PRs for Climping and there were no baptisms in Climping in 1745. any clues. Regards Joe Austen 9934 in oz