Thanks Roy Of course I wasn't there at the time - and they are not my ancestors, so I have no axe to grind. Although family historians must always go down the path of "authentification is when you examine the original document yourself" - not believe some spurious claim transcribed half a dozen times and embroidered on the way. At the end of the day you have got to weigh the probabilities yourself. Having said that, I could recommend a read of Genealogy of the Crane Family by Ellery Bicknell Crane published in Massachusetts in 1895 - that is if you have not already done so. I too have collected a number of fivers over the past 40 or so years. Kind regards John -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 21 August 2012 12:58 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SFK-UK] Suffolk CRANE Family > I am currently researching the CRANE family who - 500 years after > the Norman Conquest when they came to England were found mostly settled in > Suffolk, with one group living at Crane Hall in Ipswich.> > > John - Sunny Suffolk> Absolutely no disrespect intended, believe me, but I often wish I had a fiver for every time I see a message claiming someone's ancestors came over with William the Conqueror or at the time of the Norman Conquest! All my surname dictionaries give CRANE as an English name, a nickname from the bird and probably bestowed upon a long-legged person. Reaney & Wilson say the earliest recorded reference was for an Osbert Crane in the Pipe Rolls for Cambridgeshire in 1177, well over a century after the Norman Conquest, so I'd be interested to know how you have traced it back to the Conquest? If it came from one of those Internet websites that give potted explanations of surnames and want to sell you a mug or tea towel with your alleged coat of arms on it - genealogy bucket shops, I call them - then those charlatans will tell you virtually EVERY name came to England with the Normans! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Famous family trees blog: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/tag/roy-stockdill/ "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE