Hi Sue, Thank you for that information. I had already looked at Crockford's Clerical Directory on Ancestry, but the information doesn't cover before the 1800's. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae can be found on Archive.org and I was able to download this, but unfotunately there was no mention of WiIliam. The Gentlemen's Magazine starts in the 1700's, so is also too late for what I am after. I'm not a member of the Society of Genealogists so this might be a bit difficult to access the Fawcett Card Index. I have also got as much information as I can from the Clergy of the Church of England Database online, but unfortunately there is no mention of WIlliam Stephenson prior to 1624 or after his resignation in 1647 on there. I've had a look online, but the parish registers for Wigmore aren't availbale to purchase, so it will have to wait awhile until I can get to an LDS centre that has genealogical access. Not all of them do here in Australia. On 7 October 2012 20:53, Sue <familyhistory27@virginmedia.com> wrote: > Also remember that spanning the dates you are researching England was > convulsed with Civil War (1642-1660). The clergy who could not/ would not > conform to Cromwell's new regime were evicted from their livings - ditto > when the monarchy was restored in 1660. Many children were not baptised, > and > some only when the priest returned, Between 1653-1660 responsibility for > the > registers was taken from the church and given to a local official. From > 1653-1660 only civil marriages were allowed, conducted by a Justice of the > peace and were not allowed to take place in church. > This is what happened with William Stephenson going to Burrough Green in Cambridgeshire. in the history of the parish it states that the Vicar prior to William was evicted because he wouldn't conform and William was appointed. So I do at least know that much. Do you know whether recording of burials were affected during this time? I have the parish register transcript for Burrough Green, but apart from 4 baptisms for Samuel's children there are no entries for any other Stephenson's in the register. William & Judith seem to just disappear after 1655 and I'm having problems finding out what happened them. Thank you for your help. Paula Hadgraft Melbourne, Australia