A CITIZEN reader from across the Atlantic is calling on people in Preston to help her find long-lost members of her family.

Sherilyn Stedman, from Coquitlam, in British Colombia, Canada, is planning to make a trip to the town in about three months time to trace her family tree.

Before she jets off Sherilyn would love to hear from people who knew her family or can help her track down relatives.

She said: "My grandmother Jane Norris was born a Roman Catholic in Preston on September 2, 1887.

"She had four sisters -- Margaret, who married Jim Spencer; Kate, who may have married a man called O'Neil; Annie, who had a daughter who became a Roman Catholic nun in Holland; and Alice, who had a son Frank Sanke, or Sankey, who became a Roman Catholic priest in London.

"She also had two brothers, Jim and Bob, who died sometime before World War II. "Family lore states that her grandparents were born in Ireland, perhaps County Armagh.

"Jane married James Walsh of Coppull sometime before 1909 and they had a son, Albert, who was born in England in 1909.

"Before her marriage she worked in a cotton mill in Preston and it was still operating when my father visited during World War II.

"James emigrated to Natal, Bristish Columbia, in Canada, in 1905 and Jane followed in 1909 or 1910.

"She returned to Preston twice after World War II to visit her family, perhaps in the 50s or 60s. Jane had six children -- one of whom was my father James Walsh -- before she died in 1972. All her children are now deceased.

"One of her daughters, Vera Chismar, wrote to a relative called Margaret Halliwell for a while and my father talked of visiting my grandmother's family in Preston when he served in the Canadian armed forces during World War II.

"I would love to find out more before my trip to the town."

If you can help Sherilyn with her search write to her at 2735, Alice Lake Place, Coquitlam, Bristish Columbia, Canada, V3C 5W8 or by e-mail on stedham@intergate.bc.ca or call her on 604 945 0995.

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