I'd be extremely grateful if you could print this letter in your publication so that at least one of your readers might have their attention caught by the Shepherd names below and exclaim: "Oh, that's Granddad he's talking about!" or "That's my Great-Aunt!" or "That's the fellow who used to live down the road back in the fifties!"

My Great-Great-Grandparents were James Shepherd (born 1849) and Jane (Palmer) Shepherd (born 1846). James and Jane Shepherd lived in the village of Staveley, Westmorland and produced 11 children there. Their eldest son was William Shepherd (b. 1873), my Great-Grandfather. In the 1920s, William and his wife Mary Agnes (Dickinson) Shepherd moved from Staveley to Lancaster, Lancashire. Some years ago, I did manage to trace the descendants of William and Mary Agnes Shepherd - in Lancaster.

It's the descendants of nine of William Shepherd's 10 siblings who have so far eluded me. I'm hoping that they too settled in Lancashire. Here's what I know about William's brothers and sisters:

1) Mary Grace Shepherd (b. 1871) married Thomas Jackson Bowness in 1900

2) James Shepherd (b. 1875) married Ann Allison in late 1901

3) Margaret Jane Shepherd (b. 1876) possibly married either William Bathurst or Robert George Birkett in 1906

4) Joseph Shepherd (b. 1878) possibly married Hannah Railton in 1910

5) Tom Shepherd (b. 1880) possibly married either Harriette Duguid or Elizabeth Agnes Knowles in 1904

6) Agnes Ann Shepherd (b. 1881) married Octavius James Clement in Morecambe, Lancashire in 1902, produced a daughter, Florence Clement, in 1904, emigrated to America in 1920, returned to England at some point, and died in Lancaster in 1945

7) Bryan Palmer Shepherd (b. 1882) possibly married either Mary Capstick or Bessie Tatham in 1908

8) Sarah Alice Shepherd (b. 1884) possibly married in 1903

9) George Shepherd (b. 1886) possibly married either Mary Jane Bond or Annie Greenwood in 1909 OR Mary I. Birkett in 1910

10) Edward Shepherd (b. 1889) possibly married Ann Tate in 1907

As I said, I'm hoping that these names ring a bell with at least one of your readers. I'd very much appreciate anyone who now has a bell ringing in their head to contact me by e-mail or regular mail at their earliest convenience!

Thanks very much!

Wayne Shepherd

340 Dixon Road

Apt. 611

Etobicoke, Ontario

Canada

M9R 1T1

e-mail: staveley@pathcom.com