Hi Ron,

Thank you for the offer of assistance. I'm fairly certain of my paper trail up to John and Jane Strickland of East Grinstead, Sussex, England and their son Daniel Strickland (b. 1766). However, the other family researchers I've run into have stated that they couldn't find documented proof matching John up to a particular father. Based on his age at death, and their searching through the records, it was put forward that our John was likely the unaccounted for John born to Estmond Strickland of Lightlands, Frant, Sussex. There was no death record for a young John, but there was also no marriage record for him in Sussex, or neighboring counties. A researcher found a marriage record for John Strickland to Jane Finch at Fleet Street Church/Registry in London (think Gretna Green type establishment), which only mentions that John Strickland was of East Grinstead and that Jane was a spinster. There was a Jane Finch born to Richard Finch of Sussex. I have not been able to find a will/probate record for John Strickland, Estmond Strickland or his sons, or Richard Finch to see if the relationships could be confirmed.

From Estmond the inheritance of Lightlands back to Estmond's grandfather William Strickland, ironmonger of London, and his wife Elizabeth Cripse has been well documented. However, as William was in London for much of his life, his birth location is hypothesized to a christening in Alton Pancras, Dorset in 1618.

That is where I'm at for a paper trail. I've found a citation in the UK National Archives for a 90 page book on the Stricklands of Sussex County in the Sussex County archives but have no way to go look at it, and it appears to have been a private printing so I have no way to track a copy down to purchase.

At this point I don't know what other leads to try.