In a message dated 4/8/01 5:04:33 AM, smyrl@indigo.ie writes: << I'm afraid that the rule of stating whether or not a bride or groom's father was or was not still living at the time of the marriage was not often observed. Therefore it is NOT safe to assume that no mention of the father being deceased means that he was still living ! >> I agree. If it says "deceased" you can be pretty sure he was. If it doesn't say, you just cannot be sure which is true. Janet C-S