My brick wall is the Richings family. John Richings, son of James, was born on Feb 18. 1831, no place know, but somewhere in the west of England. He married Mary Birt on Dec. 24, 1853 in Mosely Green, Gloc., and soon after that they came to the USA. He was a coal miner, but on his marriage license his father was listed as James Richings, a farmer!! I have checked all of the Richings families on the 1851 census of Gloucestershire without any success, but have not had access to other counties in the west of the country. He would have been 20 years old on the 1851 census and since they left England in 1854, he is not listed on any others. I don't believe that his family came to the USA, but am not certain of that. I have found some information on Mary Birt's family, but John's home and family remain a mystery. Thanks for any help. Nancy Richings

Hi Nancy There are a few families in the '51 of the counties I've got, but no John matching that sort of description. I've checked Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Devon; I don't have any others. Possibly of interest though is the following from the Somerset Marriage Index: Groom James Richings status – of –, – Bride Betty Oliff or Cliff ? status – of –, – married on 25 Jun 1824 at parish Lyncombe & Widcombe by – Witnesses Samuel Rogers, Charlotte Rogers Notes – which is the one and only Richings marriage in there, suggesting that the family aren't native to Somerset at least. FamilyHistoryOnline has a few more 1851 censuses than this; it might be worth a try! Cheers Rob ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com