Hello Dot and many thanks for your reply. The phrase "silence" is a good one to use and is such a shame as one tends to build his hopes up when a "find" has been confirmed and the research (and money spent) has been worth it. Whether he was called Jerry or Gerald, the individual who replied (albeit briefly and promising at the start) on me contacting him was (is) his son who was born in 1946. A key figure in my research as you can well imagine. He briefly wrote of Jeremiah in a notorious kind of way (or was that me interpreting was was written between the lines?). I get a feeling it was somewhat of a shock more than a surprise to discover his Grandad (and therefore my Gr-Grandad) had another life (and ten kids) before meeting his Grandmother - who knows? Nevertheless, I shall press on regardless in the hope that he / they will respond. Yes, I shall let you know if a breakthrough's been made. Enjoy what's left of Sunday and have a nice week. Gary