Annie Lloyd <Cardi2@aol.com> wrote: There are three major points that you need in order to find your Welsh immigrant. They are: 1. Name of the immigrant 2. A date (birth, residence, marriage, death, etc.) 3. A place which means parish or town and county. Unless you can answer all three questions, don't ever try to do research in Wales or for that matter, anywhere else. ------------- To which Bruce Barrett <brucepbarrett@adelphia.net> replied: I have to disagree with your logic in the above statement. There is a possibility that someone may see the query and recoginize some of the information especially with uncommon names. They may be able to provide bits of information that would allow research to continue. If I knew the dates and places I would order films from the FHC. ============================ Dear Bruce, Annie is right. Indeed, I would add a fourth and possibly a fifth point to her list of prerequisites to finding an immigrant prior to his (or her) emigration: 4. Proven links from yourself, back through each intermediate generation to the immigrant ancestor. ...which should tell you... 5. The approximate date of arrival of the immigrant on the shores of his (or her) new homeland. Without having proven the links between yourself and the immigrant, how can you be sure that you are descended from him/her? As Julie Preston remarked, "There's a lot missing from your family legend -- have you skipped generations back to these people or did you follow your lines directly back to them (plus where and when)? There should be some clues along the way." Failure to do exhaustive research in the USA means missing out on essential clues to the family's origins in the British Isles. Genealogical research requires a *systematic* approach. It is 99 percent legwork and only 1 percent luck. Even the luck has to be earned! Relying on the (remote) possibility "...that someone may see the query and recognize some of the information..." is not good enough. And even if they do recognise some of the information, if you have not properly researched back to a specific immigrant and proved you are his (or her) descendant, how can you be sure they are referring to *your* family line? You (and others in a similar position) need to absorb the advice offered by old hands such as Annie and Julie and learn from their experience in successfully tracing their histories back to their Welsh origins. Ignoring their advice and going your own sweet way means repeating the mistakes they made and the time (and money) they wasted, early in their own research. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Good luck with your research. Regards, John ---------------------------- John Ball, Ystalyfera, South Wales, UK E-mail: wfha@clara.co.uk Homepage: http://home.clara.net/wfha/ Welsh Family History Archive: http://home.clara.net/wfha/wales/ --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.525 / Virus Database: 322 - Release Date: 09/10/2003