Sherrington Parish Registers - DOWNING (DOWNYNG), 16th century

[dukewm]

In reply to Sir Rob,
I am VERY interested in your connection to "Lieutenant" John Downing, who married Catherine Browne.
Not to confuse you but the "Lieutenant" you mentioned actually attained the rank of Captain, and he was the son of Lt. John Downinge (1571-1629).
Capt. John married Catherine Browne, daughter of Sir Valentine Browne, FIRST Baronet of Molahiffe, County Kerry, by his second wife, Juliana McCarthy.
Sir Valentine Browne, 2nd Bt, was Catherine's older 1/2 brother, by the 1st Baronet's first wife, Lady Ellice FitzGerald, dau of Gerald FitzJames FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond.

Capt. John and his wife, Catherine (nee Browne), had at least three sons, Maj. John, who was a Capt. when he joined in the Horse Guards of Charles II in 1660, Robert, who joined the Horse Guards in 1667, and Richard, who made a Will dated 5 Jun 1707.

Lt. John Downinge, son of Arthur Downinge of Lexham, Norfolk, was a soldier adventurer of some notoriety, and the first of his branch to go to Ireland.

I would love to hear about your branch and how you connect to Capt. John.
I have much to share and you may have found some of it in this thread, but I'm going to post an update as a reply to "Olden Times" based on research of the past several years.
Please stay tuned.

[dukewm]

In reply to "Olden Times" Paul,

I have a copy of Edwards book and can confirm/agree with your details found in the last chepter of the book.

On your Part 3 "Observations", I'm assuming you refer to some of the info I may have asserted in the earliest parts of this thread, although admittedly, I have not reviewed them recently.  and some of it may have come form other replies.
Notwithstanding, it has been several years since these comments were made and I have conducted pretty thorough research in the interim.

Firstly, I'll agree that the "John" baptized in Chichester 1578 is certainly NOT the "John" we are interested in.  With that, I'll copy a set of notes I've written that addresses much of the points of concern, to wit:

Apparently, this must be posted in "parts", so here goes: all Footnotes in last "Part"

Notes on Lt. John Downing

The English soldier-colonist and Government representative, John Downing, who possessed a commission of martial law granted
to him by the provincial governor, Lord President Sir Henry Brouncker, was "a prominent local resident" in the village of Clonshire,
County Limerick, when on a Sunday morning at the beginning of April 1606, two mentally handicapped jesters, or "idiot fools",
straggled into the village and caught the attention of Downing, who had them arrested and immediately hanged.
One of the jesters was employed by the regional magnate, Donough O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond, and the other by the County Clare Knight,
Sir John MacNamara.  The hangings enraged Thomond, MacNamara and other Gaelic leaders, but also alarmed senior crown officials such as
Sir John Davies, the Solicitor General, and Sir Nicholas Walsh, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.  Within days, Thomond had Downing
indicted of treason on charges of murder.[1]
In defense of Downing, it should be noted that the terms of his commission as County Provost Marshal required him to "stem the tide of lawlessness
by attacking the free movement of the poorest social groups".  As well as being required to seek out and kill men who had borne arms
in the late war, he was also empowered to execute by martial law "masterless men" and "vagabonds", or wanderers of no fixed abode. [2]
It was Brouncker who got enraged at the trial's verdict (guilty of treason), based on the duties of his commission, and saved Downing from sentencing
when he stormed out of the court, thereby forcing the judges to suspend proceedings.[3]

The trial of John Downing took place at Limerick Crown Court on 12-13 April 1606, during which time his reputation for ruthlessness,
was brought up.  He had served the crown as a Lieutenant in the English army at the close of the Nine Years War (1594-1603), and played a
prominent part in "mopping-up" operations after the Siege of Kinsale.  On the 12th of June 1602, he had been sent to Dursey Island,
where he and his fellow commander defeated the rebels after a two-hour fight the next day (13 June), compelled them to surrender,
and led them away to the English camp where they were executed.
A more detailed description of the assault at Dursey Island, can be found in Pacata Hibernia, Vol II, pp.195-196.
Lt John Downing was sent to Dursey Island by Sir George Carew under the command of Capt. John Bostock in HMS Pinnace with four other boats and 160 men of foot.

Downing was described as "approaching middle age, probably a native of Suffolk and a one-time client of the Elizabethan Earl of Leicester".[4]

see Part 2

[dukewm]

Part 2

"While his kinsman Thomas Downing appeared as a new settler at Bearehaven in Co. Cork, Downing had stayed close to Barkeley at Limerick." [5]
Barkeley was Sir Francis Barkeley (Berkeley), John Downing's former Captain, then Constable of Limerick Castle, a kinsman of the Lord Lieutenant,
Earl of Devonshire, a war hero who possessed a large plantation estate at Askeaton (Askettin), County Limerick, and a seat on the newly revived Munster Council.
On the 20th October 1590, Barkeley was granted 7,000 acres of land that was confiscated from the Earl of Desmond and distributed among the "undertakers". [6]
John Downing continued to live in County Limerick until about 1617, farming the rectory of Ballintankard in the deanery of Kilmallock. [7]
After 1617, if not a little earlier, his interests had spread to neighboring counties. He had become a tenant of Sir Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork,
of the 'five quarters' of Ballysaggart in the Parish of Lismore, County Waterford, an estate comprising 1,000 plantation acres that straddled
the River Blackwater. [8]
By 1619, he was erecting a new 'stoan howse' at Ballysaggart [9]
At the time of his death, he was residing at Ballymanagh, County Tipperary, a townland near Clonmel, now known as Monkstown.
According to an abstract of his Will, he owned a middling but substantial farm there.  In addition to the main part of his estate, that passed to
his eldest son and heir, Robert Downing, the Lieutenant was able to leave the land of Pobalfentarragh, 20 milch cowes, a longmare, the sorell geldings,
and 100 sheep to his wife, together with various silver utensils.  For the record, Pobalfentarragh (alias Pobalnaskagh) was a townland in County Limerick
near Clonshire, sometimes also known as Finniterstown.  Lastly, the Lieutenant also attended adequately to the material needs of his second son, Thomas,
to whom he bequethed 100 young stock, two yearlings, 100 sheep and a black mare. [10]
Lt John Downing died peacefully in his bed at Ballymanagh on 3rd June 1629 and was buried inside Lismore Cathedral a few days later.

see Part 3

[dukewm]

Part 3

UPDATE: in May of 2018, during my visit to Ireland, I toured the areas in Counties Tipperary and Waterford where Lt. John and his descendants lived.
I walked the south bank of the River Blackwater on lands adjacent to St. Mary's Abbey and came to the conclusion that Catherine Downinge (nee Travers), widow of Lt. John,
crossed the river just upstream of the abbey where two tributaries enter the river opposite each other, which would create a shallow ford by virtue of sediments
washed into the river on both sides. It was there, in the old "peppers orchard" that Tibbot Butler's men tracked her down and "stab'd & cutt her till she died" in 1642.
The sister historian at St. Mary's confirmed there was an old orchard behind (upstream of) the abbey.
I visited the Lismore Cathedral and bumped into the current "minister" of the church, who advised me that there was only one known person buried INSIDE the cathedral, and it was
NOT Lt. John or his son, Robert, the Coronet killed in 1642.
I walked into the pub at Ballysaggart, the only commercial business in the small village, and asked if anyone had known of any old ruins of what may have been Lt. John's Ballysaggart "stoan" house.
No one was aware of any, but we must remember the "estate" was 1,000 acres straddling both sides of the river.  The terrain is steep, rising from the river to the village on the north bank.
The village is a good mile or more up the road from the R666 road that runs along the north side of the river, and we know that Catherine crossed the river from her house, which was being ransacked,
to the south bank, so we know the house was somewhere on the north side, probably closer to the river than the present day pub and village.
It would take some time and effort to search the hillside for ruins but I'd be willing to bet, there are at least foundation ruins there somewhere, and probably near the aforementioned tributary on the north side,
wherefrom Catherine would have taken a likely direct downhill approach.
We also toured the area around Pobalfentarragh (Finniterstown) tracking what would have been Lt. John's leasehold, and found that there is a village by the name of Kilfinny just 1/2 mile south of the present day
pub/restaurant.  Hickson's Old Kerry Records claims Capt. John Downing of County Cork, or Waterford, married "Annabella Travers", dau of "Traverse" of Killfallyny, Co Kerry. 
We know Mary Agnes Hickson was referring to Capt. John Downing, son of Lt. John, because she lists his two sons who served in the Horse Guards of Charles II.
Capt. John Downing (John the 3rd, later attained the rank of Maj.) joined the Horse Guards in 1660.  His younger brother, Robert, joined in 1667.
We know Hickson had Capt. John's wife incorrect, because he married Catherine Browne, dau of Sir Valentine Browne, 1st Baronet of Molahiffe, County Kerry.
Catherine (NOT Annabella) Travers married Lt. John Downinge of Ballysaggart and Ballymanagh, and was Capt. John's mother.  We know this because Thomas Downing,
Capt. John's younger brother, named her as his mother who was killed in the Butler raid of 1642 in depositions given 24 Nov 1652.
We know from the Edward's book, that Lt. John served in the household of Lord Robert Dudley when he was Governor at Flushing in the Low Countries, 1587-1588.
We also know Edwards places THE SAME "John Downing" in Ireland and "credits" him as a junior officer in the Dursey Island massacre of 1602.
And we know that Lt. John was the 2nd cousin twice-removed of Sir Richard Wingfield.  His grandmother, Elizabeth Wingfield, was a 2nd cousin of Sir Richard.
She married Jefferry Downinge, Lt. John's grandfather and father of Arthur of Lexham, Norfolk.
The only "John Downinge" of East Anglia who would would have been of an age suitable to serve in Dudley's household by 1587, was (Lt.) John, born about 1571.
We know he was the first child and we know Arthur married Susan Calybutt in 1570.  By 1587 Arthur had 12 children and had been granted arms (in 1576).
We know that Richard Wingfield served under Sir John Norris in the Low Countries during the same period (Lt.) John was there.
Sir John Norris led a 2,900 man expedition into Ulster in June 1595 to subdue Hugh O'Neill, who had been declared a traitor.  Wingfield was one of his commanders.
We know that Lt. John served under Capt. Francis Barkeley (Berkeley) at Kinsale in 1602, and that Barkeley had been granted 7,250 acres at Askeaton in 1590,
under terms that he build over 50 freehold houses thereon.  Askeaton is close enough for Pobalfenterragh to be encompassed within 7,250 acres.
We know that "George" Downinge was Associate Chief Tenant at Ballykelly, about 12 miles northeast of Derry City in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, by 1619.
We have ONE source that names George as a son of Lt. John, but that source is a private publication that has not been corroborated.
Lt. John names THREE sons in his 1629 Will, Robert, his heir who was to inherit "Fever'agh" (Pobalfenterragh), John, and Thomas, as well as ONE daughter, Ales,
presumably a minor who was to have her marriage approved by Robert.

see Part 4

[dukewm]

Part 4

PUTTING PIECES TOGETHER, based on the updated information and subsequent research:
It is my theory that -
- it is likely Dudley would have known of Arthur and Arthur would surely have been agreeable to sending John off to serve such an influential host
- it is quite possible that Lt. John went to Ireland with Wingfield and served directly under Barkeley during the campaign into Ulster.
- it is quite possible Barkeley offered a freehold to Lt. John after the Ulster expedition, which placed him at Pobalfenterragh in 1595.
- Kilfinny is quite similar in sound and spelling to the town of "Killfallyny", the home of "Traverse" as described by Hickson, and it is 1/2 mile from Pobalfenterragh.
I believe Lt. John met ALL of those presumptions and married a local girl, Catherine Travers of Kilfinny, County Limerick, by about 1596, and had by her,
two sons, Robert (b. 1597) and George (b. 1598) before he went off to war, under Barkeley, against the rebels and their Spanish allies at Kinsale in 1601.
- Although Lt. John does not name George in his Will, he also omitted his daughter Katherin, who was then married and cared for by her husband Edward Croker.
Holding faith in the ONE family source, we stay with the belief that George was omitted from the Will because Lt. John gave him the 3,000 acres at Ballykelly as his inheritance
shortly before the Fishmonger's took control of it and offered him the Associate Chief Tenant's position as compensation.  This is based on the unproved assumption that
Lt. John was offered land at Ballykelly in lieu of pay for his services to the crown during the O'Doherty Rebellion of 1608, under the command of Sir Richard Wingfield.
Lt. John simply preferred Munster to Ulster and gave those lands to his second son, then omitted him in the Will.

[1] Regions and Rulers in Ireland, 1100-1650, David Edwards Ed., Four Courts Press, © 2004, p.237
[2] Ibid., p.244 ; from (CSPI) Calendar of the State Papers, Relating to Ireland: 1603-1606, p.470
[3] Ibid., p.256
[4] Ibid., pp. 238-239
In footnote 7 on page 238, it says, "Downing appears in the records as a servant of Leicester in 1587, when he served in the Earl's
household at Flushing, where Leicester was stationed as Governor of the United Provinces.  He accompanied Leicester home to England in December 1587:
S. Adams (ed.), Household Accounts and Disbursement Books of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1558-61, 1584-6 (Camden Soc., 5th series, 6,
London 1995), 438, 441.  The Downings were middling Suffolk gentry, and early in the seventeenth century several of their number became involved in
English colonisation projects in Ireland and the New World: R. Thompson, Mobility and Migration: East Anglican Founders of New England, 1629-40
(Amherst MA 1994), 37,; J.J. Muskett, Suffolk Manorial Families (Ipswich 1900), i, 97.  A junior member of the line called 'John Downing, gentleman',
clearly a younger son, was included on a commission of escheat for Suffolk in 1584: PRO, C66/1229, m.3d."

The following is from Wikipedia: The Siege of Sluis (1587) - 12 Jun to 4 Aug
Here I will note that Flushing where Robert Dudley was stationed is actually 'Vlissingen', Netherlands, on the north side of the mouth of the
River Scheldt, downstream from Antwerp.  On 12 June 1587, Don Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Flanders,
laid siege to the strategic deep-water port of Sluis, defended by English and Dutch troops under Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and Governor-General
of the United Provinces.  Sluis is located on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, south of the River Scheldt and about 13 miles southwest
of Flushing (Vlissingen).  Flushing could be reached by sailing down the River Orwell from Ipswich and crossing the Channel in a southeasterly direction.

[5] Ibid., p. 240 ; from J. Appleby (ed.), Calendar of Material Relating to Ireland in the High Court of Admiralty Examinations, 1536-1641
(IMC, Dublin 1992), 297
[6] Sir Francis Berkeley of Askeaton, by Thomas Johnson Westropp, 11 March 1902, p. 125
www.limerickcity.ie/media/046%20vol%202.6%20Berkeley%20Askeaton.pdf
[7] Regions and Rulers in Ireland, 1100-1650, David Edwards Ed., Four Courts Press, © 2004, p.261
Downing was still in Limerick in June 1617: Esmond to Boyle, 13 June 1617 (Chatsworth House, Lismore MSS, Vol .
A summary of this letter can be consulted in the Calendar of Devonshire (Chatsworth) MSS: Lismore Papers, 222, held in the National Register of Archives
in London (NRA 20594).
[8] Ibid., p.261
If the lease at Ballysaggart renewed by his son, Robert, in 1635, was a 21 year lease, it's possible John Downing first went to Waterford in 1614.
(NLI, MS 6142, fol. 27)
for the Blackwater reference see: NLI, MS 6242, fol. 89; Civil Survey, vi: Co. Waterford, 5
[9] Lismore Papers (1st series), i, Grosart (ed.), p. 224
[10] Regions and Rulers in Ireland, 1100-1650, David Edwards Ed., Four Courts Press, © 2004, p.261

[SirRobHiFi]

In reply to dukewm

Thanks for such a quick response, unexpected as this thread had gone quiet.
I have leaned much from this thread and your latest posts contain plenty for me to absorb.

As for my link to the Downings, I struggled for years to even go back the first few generations from here in Ballinamult to Lismore but DNA tests and Ancestry have confirmed those links and beyond.

I came across a pedigree for Rev. Pierce William Drew on other peoples ancestry trees that traced back to Edward I through the Downings but didn't take it too seriously at the time as we hadn't done the DNA tests yet.

My version of this pedigree:

Edward I Plantagenet King 1239-1307
23rd great-grandfather

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess consort of Holland 1282-1316 - Daughter of Edward I Plantagenet King

Eleanor de Bohun Countess of Ormonde 1304-1363 - Daughter of Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Countess consort of Holland

James Butler 2nd Earl of Ormond 1331-1382 - Son of Eleanor de Bohun Countess of Ormonde

James Butler 3rd Earl of Ormond 1359-1405 - Son of James Butler 2nd Earl of Ormond

Richard Butler Sir of Polestown 1395-1443 - Son of James Butler 3rd Earl of Ormond

Edmund MacRichard Butler Sir of Polestown 1420-1464 - Son of Richard Butler Sir of Polestown

James Butler Sir of Polestown -1487 - Son of Edmund MacRichard Butler Sir of Polestown

Piers Butler 8th Earl of Ormond 1467-1539 - Son of James Butler Sir of Polestown

Helen Butler -1597 - Daughter of Piers Butler 8th Earl of Ormond

Conor Groibleach (Long Nailed) O'Brien 3rd Earl of Thomond 1535-1591 - Son of Helen Butler

Donough O'Brien 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron of Ibrickan 1550-1624 - Son of Conor Groibleach (Long Nailed) O'Brien 3rd Earl of Thomond

Margaret O'Brien Lady - Daughter of Donough O'Brien 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron of Ibrickan

Julia McCarthy 1575-1633 - Daughter of Margaret O'Brien Lady

Catherine Browne BEFORE 1627- - Daughter of Julia McCarthy

John Downing Maj. 1645-1692 - Son of Catherine Browne

Martha Downing 1682-1755 - Daughter of John Downing Maj.

William Garde Esq 1702-1791 - Son of Martha Downing

John Garde -1809 - Son of William Garde Esq

William Garde 1785-1845 - Son of John Garde

Mary Garde 1815-1900 - Daughter of William Garde

Henry Edward Fitzgerald 1855-1921 - Son of Mary Garde

Catherine (Kitty) Miller 1901-1988 - Daughter of Henry Edward Fitzgerald

William Tobin 1925-1950 - Son of Catherine (Kitty) Miller

PRIVATE - Daughter of William Tobin

Myself - Robert Thomas Corrigan

We have confirmed back to William Garde Esq (my 6th great-grandfather)
BIRTH 1702 • of Broomfield and Ballinacurra, Ireland
DEATH 23 MAY 1791 • Buried at Cloyne, Ireland

Son of Martha Downing (youngest daughter? of Maj. John Downing 1645-1692)
1682–1755
BIRTH 1682 • Broomfield, Monaghan, Ireland
DEATH MAR 1755 • Cork, Cork, Ireland

Via DNA matches shared by at least 7 people so far.

[SirRobHiFi]

One of the jesters was employed by the regional magnate, Donough O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond, and the other by the County Clare Knight,
Sir John MacNamara.  The hangings enraged Thomond, MacNamara and other Gaelic leaders, but also alarmed senior crown officials such as
Sir John Davies, the Solicitor General, and Sir Nicholas Walsh, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.  Within days, Thomond had Downing indicted of treason on charges of murder.

This part jumped out at me because, if correct, Lt. John Downings son later married Donough O'Briens great granddaughter Catherine Brown:

Donough O'Brien 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron of Ibrickan 1550-1624 (my 12th great-grandfather and descendant of Brian Boru)

Margaret O'Brien Lady
Daughter of Donough O'Brien 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron of Ibrickan

Julia McCarthy 1575-1633
Daughter of Margaret O'Brien Lady

Catherine Browne 1627-
Daughter of Julia McCarthy

If true it would make a nice little addition to the story.

[SirRobHiFi]

Part 3

UPDATE: in May of 2018, during my visit to Ireland, I toured the areas in Counties Tipperary and Waterford where Lt. John and his descendants lived.
I walked the south bank of the River Blackwater on lands adjacent to St. Mary's Abbey and came to the conclusion that Catherine Downinge (nee Travers), widow of Lt. John,
crossed the river just upstream of the abbey where two tributaries enter the river opposite each other, which would create a shallow ford by virtue of sediments
washed into the river on both sides. It was there, in the old "peppers orchard" that Tibbot Butler's men tracked her down and "stab'd & cutt her till she died" in 1642.
The sister historian at St. Mary's confirmed there was an old orchard behind (upstream of) the abbey.

We live a 40 minute drive from here (other side of Lismore) and once this 5km lockdown is over and the weather improves I hope to poke around this and many other locations.

[dukewm]

Hello Rob/Robert ? , as you prefer:

I hope and pray for posts from potential cousins all the time, and therein lies the beauty of such old, seemingly dormant RootsChat threads.

Thank you so much for your pedigree, which has several generations of commonality to my tree, but no common direct ancestors.  I have an Ancestry DNA kit, but not sure we would find any connection, because my (supposed) 10th great grandfather was Lt. John Downinge (1571-1629), father of Capt. John who married Catherine Browne.  So it was a different son of Lt. John who would be my 9th great grandfather, and your branch goes up through the McCarthy line to Edward I.
HOWEVER, we both intersect again at Elizabeth of Rhuddlan through different branches, my line going up through Eleanor de Bohun's younger brother, William (1312-1360).
So perhaps we should compare our DNA results.

On another note, I have significantly differing dates on some of the names in your pedigree, and I'm not challenging anything you have, but I'd like to make sure whether mine are correct or not.

The first thing I noticed was that you have Catherine Browne's year of birth as 1627, and her mother Julia (Juliana) McCarthy as born 1575, which would make Julia about 52 years old when Catherine was born.  Not unheard of, but questionable.  To look at that deeper, I have an estimated birth year of Capt. John, who married Catherine, as 1608-1610.  It's not that Capt. John could not have married a much younger woman, but I'm pretty sure their eldest son, Maj. John, was born much sooner than 1645, because he joined the Horse Guards in 1660.  I have a birth year for Maj. John as 1634, which would make him about 26 years old when he joined the Horse Guards.  That date (1634) is corroborated by Paul (see Olden Times Reply # 50 in this thread), who stated that Maj. John died on 1 Oct 1691, aged 57 years.  In the very next sentence, Paul claims that Aphra (nee Maunsell) who married Maj. John, "died in 1708 aged 68", which would place her birth year as about 1640 and it's unlikely that Maj. John would have married a woman 5 years older than himself.

Secondly, I note that you have confirmed dates for Martha as born 1682 at Broomfield, County Monaghan, and died March 1755 at Cork, County Cork.  That is quite helpful, in that now I must find a way to work her birth year into synchronicity with the dates I have for her older brother Rev'd Richard Downing, whom I have as baptized 1665.  I have no birth years for their other siblings.
Nor am I certain of Rev'd Richard's birth year but keeping in mind, their father, Maj. John was born in 1634, I thought it plausible for his children to have been born in the 1660's. 
The children I have for Maj. John and his wife, Aphra (b. c.1640), are Rev'd Richard, Martha, Thomas, and Frances.  I do not know the birth order, and the only dates I have for any of them other than Richard, is that Frances married in 1697.  It is certainly possible that Martha was born in 1682, when her mother was about 42 years old.  It would seem that Frances was an OLDER sister and Martha was perhaps the youngest child.

As for my own connection to this branch, I must disclose that I have a broken link with my 4th great grandfather, William Downing, who has not been confirmed by any official records but several family records claim he was from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.  We have ONE source that was published for private circulation, that claims the County Derry branch was headed by 'George' Downinge of Ballykelly, who was claimed to be the 2nd son of Lt. John.  Yet George was not mentioned in Lt. John's 1629 Will.  I developed a tree of the descendants of Lt. John in an effort to trace all the branches that could be potential ancestors, although I am fairly certain of my Ulster roots.  The connection to Lt. John, through 'George', is admittedly "thin", BUT, that family history was published with the help of a professional genealogist BEFORE the 1922 fire at the Four Courts Building in Dublin, which destroyed many Irish records, so we have no good reason to dismiss those findings.

Although I have the Ancestry DNA kit results, which I DID submit to GedMatch, I have done NO further investigation into matching anyone other than known close cousins.  It may be a long shot if our only common ancestor is Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, but it may be worth comparing. 
Any suggestions ?
All I can think of is that I could search for your name in my long list of possible distant cousins.
Or is there an easier way ?

thanks, Rick