ST. MARY'S SHREWSBURY: Interesting. There are three very fat volumes (about three and a half inches thick) of the transcriptions by the Shropshire Parish Register Society for St. Chads, but only one for St. Mary's. Looking for a SHERRY connection. No luck, Lynda over there in blizzardly cold Canada. Sorry. Looking for a connection for PRICHARD and possibly any deVisschers. Nothing found, Patti. Regrets. But for Pat Hughes on <pat@pahughes.fsnet.co.uk> who lives in Hampshire, UK and was wondering where the snow was for Christmas, and is researching POPPITT, here's something: p274 1 Feb 1712 Roberts /o Robert Poppett labr. on ye Old Heath baptized (the minister should have been more careful, because some bleary-eyed folk might interpret labr. as short for labrador!) p283. 5 Jun 1715 Richard s/o Robert Poppit baptized p297. 21 Jan 1720 Thomas s/o Elizabeth Poppitt, wid, buried p709. 29 Apr 1794 John Everal and Mary Pugh married. wit. Robert Poppet Whilst waiting for the St. Mary's volume to come down from the stack, I poked my head into HOLT Denbighshire parish registers and found this: Marriages 1754-1837, as transcribed by those lively folk of the Clwyd FHS. p7. 11 Mar 1767 James CHALLENOR otp X and Margaret Pierce of Fardon X after Banns. Wit. Stephen Chadwick and Thomas Pierce (I wonder what the attraction to Farndon is with these Challenor folk? See my previous message!) p10. 17 Aug 1771 Charles chaloner otp X and Mary Mathews of Farndon X after Banns. Wit. Peter Fellows and Thomas Fellows p12. 16 Nov 1774 John Challenor otp sig (signsChaliner) and Mary Chalenor otp X after Banns. Wit. Richard Parker and James Thomlinson p14. 27 Jan 1778 Thomas Challenor otp sig and Elizabeth Peck otp sig by licence. Wit. John Palin Charles Cheetham Samuel Dod p20. 2 Mar 1785 Thomas Pickering otp sig and Mary Chaloner otp X after Banns. Wit. Timothy Thomas and Thos. Maddock p23. 13 May 1791 Thomas Chaloner singleman otp X and Sarah Meredith otp wid X after Banns. Wit. William Jones James Tomlinson (both ot these obviously from the parish church) p24. 25 Dec 1793 Charles Chaloner (sig Chalinder) singleman otp sig and Deborah Griffiths otp X after Banns. Wit. James Tomlinson and Alice Griffiths p28. 1 Oct 1795 Thomas Smith otp singleman X and Francis (sic) Chaloner otp X after Banns. Wit. Stephen Chadwick and James Tomlinson p37. 29 Dec 1812 Robert Pridden wheelwright otp sig and Mary Chaloner otp sig after Banns. Wit. William Jones and William Barnes X p38. 2 Aug 1813 Samuel Davies minor otp and Betty Chaloner spr sig after Banns. Wit. Mary Chaloner X Wm. Jones (So, was he a minor or a miner?) p43. 22 Oct 1822 George Challoner otp singleman sig and Esther Smith spr. otp after Banns. Wit. Edmund Jones and Mary Challoner On FRIDAY I am looking at two books: a) Australian Shropshire Register, authored by the Australasian Shropshire Association, published 1904-8 (or 1904-12), which appears to be an annual bookform for those years. b) The Post Office Directory of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, with the city of Bristol by Kelly & Co., Lond, 1879 edition. Anyone wanting specific look-ups from these two publications please email me as soon as possible, as these books are located in an off-site storage facility and have to be specially ordered and then transported into the library. This is a once off, so if you are too late with your email, as they say - tough! Bush fires in New South Wales now sort of under control. Sure is a large patch of burnt earth. Bye for now Graham