Hello all, In my Lewis post, I mentioned another of my brick walls which also seems anchored in Wales. I'm interested in hearing from anybody with information to share regarding my GGrandfather Thomas William Davies who claimed to have been born in Wales probably in 1824 but perhaps as late at 1826. [Census records vary.] I have absolutely nothing concrete to link him to Wales save for his marriage record, a later application for homestead land and that his children gave their origin as Welsh albeit all were born in Ontario. T. W. Davies married an Alice Blackburn in Wallaceburg Ontario in September, 1852, in a dual ceremony conducted by a Wesleyan Methodist minister. One of Alice's brothers was married at the same time and later included `Davies' among his first son's name. The Blackburn family had it's roots in Armagh, Ireland in the 1700s and came to Canada as United Empire Loyalists from Pennsylvania, USA. I have no inkling of how or when TW arrived in Upper Canada [or even Ontario] save that he might have come with British troops encamped at Chatham barracks [both Chatham and Wallaceburg are in Kent County] or he might even have arrived shortly before his marriage. One thing is certain, he arrived to early to be among the `home' children of the later 1800s. I'm told that most Welsh folk who immigrated to Canada, did so from Glamorgan, Powys and Monmouthshire, sailing from Bristol or Liverpool. Were I a betting man, I'd lay a dollar on Bristol though you folks might insist upon at least a pound. Unlike my early Lewis family where most of the children were born in Wales, all of my immediate Davies kin [found to date] were born in Ontario with descendants now scattered the breadth of both Canada and the United States. I have been told that I am most unlikely to penetrate my brick walls in Wales without some clue as to how these ancestors got to Canada or some definitive link to Wales. I am, however, not ready to concede defeat. Were I in good health, I'd be on a plane for Wales without a second thought. I might not find my folks but I'd at least know the land of my paternal ancestors. I'll not tell any of you that my mother is of Northern Ireland descent. Shush now. Please feel free to contact me directly or on the board if there's even a remote hope of a connection. Thanks to a new found Welsh contacts and cyber pals, I now can say `diolch yn fawr ' and `lechyd da'. Hey, it's a start. Now as you folks start your day at 9:15 GMT, I'm heading back to bed at 1:15 a.m. PDT. Have a good one. Ron Davies Surrey, BC Canada