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I've just stumbled across John Laver Mather aka John Cooper who was awarded the Medal of Honour twice during the 1860s while serving with the US Navy.  There's some secondary information on the web, e.g.:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8040688

Is he likely to have a naval record stored in a US archive somewhere which is not available online?  I wonder how it is known that he changed his name from John Laver Mather?  And he's proving hard to track down in the US census after his naval service and before his burial in 1891 so any help would be appreciated with that!

I think he was the son of John and Susanna Mather who were living in Liverpool, England in 1841 with a 13-year-old son John who was not born in Lancashire.  He was baptised in Liverpool - but not until 1832 - as John Lever or Laver Mather.  The coincidence of the name, his age in the 1841 census, and the fact his brother, William, is described as a seaman when he is listed in North Providence, Rhode Island in the 1850 census staying with his grandmother Sarah Segar/Seager, all suggest this could be a match.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Ruth

This photo on the Italian Wikipedia website apparently came from an album belonging to Florence Cacciola nee Trevelyan (1852-1907) who moved to Taormina, Sicily in the late 19th century.  Wikipedia wrongly identifies the older woman as Queen Victoria (and suggests that Balmoral and Northumberland were a few kilometres apart)! 

I'm not an expert on 19th century fashions.  Do the outfits and hairstyles suggest a decade and a country?  Could it be Florence and her mother (Catherine Anne Trevelyan nee Forster 1815-1877)?  Is it English or Italian?

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Copia_di_La_regina_Vittoria_e_Lady_Florence.JPG

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Ruth

The Cambridgeshire County Council births, marriages and deaths index (CAMDEX - http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/community/bmd/certificate/Camdex/) includes a code in marriage references indicating at which church or registry office/nonconformist district the ceremony took place.  I have pieced together the following partial list decoding those references and post it here in case it is of any help.  If you know of any other code/church matches, please add them below and I will update the list.

The parishes within the current Cambridge Registration District are arranged predominantly alphabetically (with a few anomalies in the Cs), so it may be possible to guess at the location of missing codes.

EDIT:  Grateful thanks to Paula, Dave and Julia on the Eng-Cambridgeshire rootsweb list who have provided many of the missing parishes and suggested some places needing codes (which are listed separately).

Cambridge Registration District   
   
CE001   Abington Piggotts
CE002   Arrington
CE003   Ashley cum Silverley
CE004   Babraham
CE005   Balsham
CE006   
CE007   Barrington
CE008   Bartlow
CE009   Barton
CE010   Bassingbourn
CE011   Bottisham
CE012   Bourn
CE013   Boxworth
CE014   Brinkley
CE015   Burrough Green
CE016   Burwell
CE017   Caldecote
CE018   Cambridge All Saints
CE019   Cambridge St Giles
CE020   Cambridge St Luke
CE021   Cambridge Holy Sepulchre
CE022   Cambridge Holy Trinity
CE023   Cambridge St Andrew the Great
CE024   
CE025   Cambridge St Andrew the Less
CE026   Cambridge St Barnabas
CE027   Cambridge St Benedict
CE028   
CE029   Cambridge St Clement
CE030   Cambridge St Edward
CE031   
CE032   Cambridge St John the Evangelist
CE033   Cambridge St Mark
CE034   
CE035   
CE036   Cambridge St Mary the Great
CE037   Cambridge St Michael
CE038   Cambridge St Mary the Less
CE039   Cambridge St Matthew
CE040   Cambridge St Paul
CE041   
CE042   Cambridge St Philip
CE043   
CE044   Cherry Hinton
CE045   Chesterton St Andrew
CE046   Chesterton St George
CE047   
CE048   
CE049   Trumpington
CE050   Carlton cum Willingham
CE051   Castle Camps
CE052   Caxton
CE053   
CE054   Comberton
CE055   Conington
CE056   Coton
CE057   Cottenham
CE058   
CE059   Croydon cum Clopton
CE060   Dry Drayton
CE061   Dullingham
CE062   Duxford St John
CE063   Duxford St Peter
CE064   
CE065   Elsworth
CE066   Eltisley
CE067   Fen Ditton
CE068   Fen Drayton
CE069   Fowlmere
CE070   Foxton
CE071   Fulbourn All Saints
CE072   Fulbourn St Vigor
CE073   Gamlingay
CE074   Girton
CE075   Grantchester
CE076   Graveley
CE077   Great Abington
CE078   Great Chishill
CE079   Great Eversden
CE080   Great Shelford
CE081   Great Wilbraham
CE082   Guilden Morden
CE083   Hardwick
CE084   
CE085   Harston
CE086   Haslingfield
CE087   Hatley St George
CE088   Hauxton
CE089   Heydon
CE090   Hildersham
CE091   Hinxton
CE092   Histon
CE093   Horningsea
CE094   Horseheath
CE095   Ickleton
CE096   Impington
CE097   Kingston
CE098   Kirtling
CE099   Knapwell
CE100   Landbeach
CE101   Linton
CE102   Litlington
CE103   Little Abington
CE104   
CE105   Little Eversden
CE106   Little Gransden
CE107   Little Shelford
CE108   Little Wilbraham
CE109   
CE110   Lode
CE111   Lolworth
CE112   Long Stanton All Saints
CE113   Long Stanton St Michael
CE114   Longstowe
CE115   Madingley
CE116   Melbourn
CE117   Meldreth
CE118   Newton and Milton
CE119   
CE120   
CE121   Orwell
CE122   Over
CE123   Pampisford
CE124   Papworth Everard
CE125   Papworth St Agnes
CE126   Rampton
CE127   Sawston
CE128   Shepreth
CE129   Shudy Camps
CE130   Stapleford
CE131   Steeple Morden
CE132   
CE133   Stow cum Quy
CE134   Swaffham Bulbeck
CE135   Swaffham Prior St Mary
CE136   
CE137   
CE138   Swavesey
CE139   Tadlow
CE140   Teversham
CE141   Thriplow
CE142   Toft
CE143   Waterbeach
CE144   Wendy cum Shingay
CE145   Westley Waterless
CE146   Weston Colville
CE147   West Wickham
CE148   West Wratting
CE149   Whaddon
CE150   Whittlesford
CE151   Willingham (by St Ives)
CE152   Wimpole
CE153   Wood Ditton
   
Parishes missing codes in Cambridge Registration District   
Cambridge St Botolph   
Cambridge St Martin   
Cambridge St Peter   
Cambridge St Stephen   
East Hatley   
Harlton   
Little Chishill   
Oakington   
Stetchworth   
   
   
Ely Registration District   
   
CATH   Ely Cathedral
CHAM   Chettisham
CHPM   Chippenham
COEY   Coveney
ELMA   Ely St Mary
FOAM   Fordham
HAAM   Haddenham
ISAM   Isleham
KETT   Kennett
LIDM   Little Downham
LIOE   Little Ouse
LIGE   Littleport St George
LIMA   Littleport St Matthew
LITD   Little Thetford
MEAL   Mepal
PROW   Prickwillow
SNLL   Snailwell
SOHM   Soham
STAM   Stretham
STEY   Stuntney
SUON   Sutton
TRIN   Ely Holy Trinity
WENT   Wentworth
WICK   Wicken
WILB   Wilburton
WITM   Witcham
WITD   Witchford
   
   
Fenland Registration District   
   
CWnn   Wisbech area
CW01   Gorefield
CW02   Guyhirn
CW03   Leverington
CW04   Murrow Corpus Christi
CW05   Newton
CW06   Southea Emmanuel
CW07   Tydd St Giles
CW08   Wisbech St Mary
CW09   Wisbech St Augustine
CW10   Wisbech St Peter
CW11   
CW12   Elm
CW13   Friday Bridge
CW14   
CW15   Parson Drove
   
Parishes missing codes in Wisbech area   
Christchurch   
Coldham   
   
CMnn   March area
CM01   March St Wendreda
CM02   March St John
CM03   March St Mary
CM04   March St Peter
CM05   
CM06   Doddington
CM07   Manea
CM08   Wimblington
CM09   Coates
CM10   Whittlesey St Andrew
   
Parishes missing codes in March area   
Benwick   
Chatteris   
Whittlesey St Mary   
   
Register offices / nonconformist districts   
   
CAM   Cambridge
LINT   Linton
R-ELY   Ely
ROM   March (from 1938)
RONW   North Witchford (1837-1938)
ROW   Wisbech
ROWH   Whittlesey

I'm very keen to find the burials of Francis and Jane SELMAN, my 4x great grandparents.  Their surname can also appear as SELMON, SELLMAN, SALMON, SALMAN and SOLOMON.  Their children were born at Bringewood Forge and were christened in Leintwardine, Herefordshire between 1787 and 1803, but a number of family burials were recorded in Bromfield, Shropshire, probably because the church at Bromfield appears to have been nearer to the Forge.

The published Bromfield registers only run up to 1812 and the National Burial Index on Findmypast appears to have very few entries for Shropshire.  Is anyone able easily to check the Bromfield registers between 1812 and 1837 for any other SELMAN burials?  A few of the children moved to Bradley (in the parish of Bilston, Staffordshire) by 1817 but I don't know what happened to their parents or other siblings.

Many thanks
Ruth

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EDIT: 20 Nov 2011 - I've found them in Darlaston thanks to the wonder which is FreeREG!