Lesley <bonzasheila@hotmail.com> wrote: I am new to the list and have recently received family tree information. I hope to be able to find some connections to fill in the blanks. My ancestors were David DAVIES and his wife, Elizabeth EVANS. Apparently, David "...farmed Twygwyn Farm, it having come to him through is wife...." To begin with, I am sadly lacking in any geographical knowledge of the above area and would appreciate some guidance. <snip> I have checked the IGI for births, but it appears these are not available. Could someone please let me know where I can find BDM's in Wales. ============== Dear Lesley, Welcome to the Cardiganshire List. The spelling "Twygwyn" is corrupted. The farm name is likely to be Ty Gwyn (= white house) or possibly Twyn Gwyn (white hillock). As you've posted your message on the Cardiganshire List I assume you believe that Ty Gwyn Farm is in the county of Cardiganshire. Unfortunately, Ty Gwyn is a very common name for a farm -- for example, analysis of the 1881 census suggests there could be up to 30 properties named Ty Gwyn (or Tygwyn) in Cardiganshire. You therefore need to narrow down your search by finding out the name of the parish in which your ancestors farmed, perhaps by investigating 19th century census entries, or if your period of interest predates the censuses, possibly wills, property deeds, or other documents kept in the family. The IGI contains very few births because its information comes largely from church registers which record details of baptisms rather than births. Furthermore, the IGI has rather incomplete coverage of Welsh records. The General Register Office (GRO) index of births is a nationwide index of the civil registration records of births, from July 1837 onwards. Unfortunately, as you have not indicated the time period in which you are interested, I do not know whether the civil registration records are relevant to your research. An incomplete transcription of the GRO births (and marriages and deaths) index can be searched on-line at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ On payment of a fee, you can view facsimile images of the GRO indexes at http://www.1837online.com/ And you can view microfilmed facsimile images of the GRO indexes at many major British city and town libraries, at British County Record Offices, and worldwide at the Family History Centres attached to branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church). Your problem in using the GRO indexes is that your family names (Davies and Evans) are two of the most common in Wales. There will therefore be many entries for the same names, making it difficult to identify which (if any) is yours. Kind 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: 6.0.521 / Virus Database: 319 - Release Date: 23/09/2003