Very possible, Margaret. I've forwarded your response to a cousin and am awaiting her response. Thanks for the input. Gary Radcliffe ----- Original Message ----- From: bethanyc@aebc.com Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 12:09 AM To: SURNAME-ORIGINS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SURNAME-ORIGINS] S FOR SHIRE Just a guess, but it looks to me as if it means "same" -- "of the same" meaning the Romsey placename mentioned earlier in the record. Like "do" in a census record meaning "ditto", in a list of children all born in the same place. Possible? Margaret Gibbs Richmond, BC ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237