William Cole, the Cambridge Antiquarian, was step-brother to Dr Stephen Apthorp (1707-1790). William Cole's manuscripts are housed in the British Library and include the APTHORP family pedigree starting in the 13C with Meredith ap Owen ap Griffith, one of the Barons of South Wales and ending with another Stephen in 1699. It was reading this document that sparked of my interest in the Apthorp family and I had just two aims: to prove that the pedigree was genuine and to link up the pedigree with present day Apthorps. As my research continued, I found Apthorps (with and without the 'e') world wide and our Apthorp(e) One Name Society was inaugurated in 1987. And - by the way - we are still trying to complete those two aims.