I believe one of my uncles, George Fredrick Bell arrived in SF from England in 1901>1906.My Father,(Edgar Charles) it is said, came looking for him, from England, after the 1906 earthquake. GFB it appears, disappeared from current view, but I have traced him on the LDS database. Bear in mind here, that my father, ECB, would have been 16 yrs old at this time. The real puzzle is how would a 16 yr old have got from england to SF (on the west coast) was there a direct route? What was the 'popular route? i propose checking shipping records when I get more info.....Many thanks to whoever can throw light on this puzzle.. Colin

-- Colin Bell (johncob@ntlworld.com), March 10, 2003