''My paternal grandfather had come to America back in, I believe, the 1880s,'' Clare says. ''I am one of the youngest grandchildren and although named for my grandparents, they had both passed long before my birth.

''Ofsowitz is not exactly a common name, so a cousin from the South African clan would look for the name in phone directories when he travelled to medical meetings. It was when he was at a meeting in Miami, Florida, he found my parents' listing, called, met, and it was obvious from the beginning that we were related.

''I know many of the South African clan have moved to America, but I am going back and forth between America and the UK as I research a book. I don't know the UK Jewish community, but if there is an Ofsowitz, it is likely we're related.''

Clare is the granddaughter of Harry and Rose Ofsowitz and daughter of Samuel and Lillian Ofsowitz.

Most of Clare's book research is in Scotland on one of the Cunard Line ships that was built in Glasgow and later scrapped in Scotland.

Email her at UserCc1839@aol.com or write to her via her sister Paula Joyce Ofsowitz at 1233 Kawana Terrace, Santa Rosa, California 95404, USA.

NIKI Wild of Northern Ireland is tracing her family history.

Her great-grandfather, Lazarus Ordman, was born in 1867/8 and his wife Toby (nee Zackson) was born in 1870/1. They moved to Cheetham, Manchester from Russia sometime in the 1880s.

Lazarus was a tailor/tourneyman. He had two sisters - Rachel, born 1884 and Annie, born 1887.

Lazarus and Toby's children were Yelta (born 1889), Rachel (1891), Matilda (1894), Dora (1897) and Solomon, Niki's grandfather, was born in 1899. Toby died in 1944.

Solomon served in the First World War and fought in the Battle of the Somme.

He then moved to Belfast in 1928 to marry Minnie Brown. They had two sons, Leonard and Victor.

Write to 2A Hazeldene Park, Whitewell Road, Newton Abbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland BT36 7NY or email niki@wild97.freeserve.co.uk

STANLEY Pomerantz of New York is looking for members of the Halkin family.

Stanley is related to Arron David Halkin, born 1887 in Lithuania died 1965 in New York; Shmuel Halkin, poet,author and member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist committee , born 1897 and died 1960 in Russia; author and professor Abraham Halkin, born 1903 and died 1990 in Israel; author and professor Simon Halkin, born 1898 and died in Israel; sculptress Michaela Halkin, born 1920 and died 2004 in Israel; and Israel Halkin brother of Arron and Shmuel.

Write to PO Box 4253, East Hampton, New York 11937, USA or email splp007@yahoo.com

DETAILS of a former opera singer from Hungary are being sought by her daughter in an attempt to build up the family's missing information.

Michelle Nother, of Bournemouth, needs to hear from anyone who knew of her late mother, Edith Weisz, who later changed her name to Pataky, or her stage name Peters.

Edith came to Birmingham before the uprising in Hungary in which her father, Miksa Weisz, was killed outside his kosher butcher's shop. Edith had trained as an opera singer in Hungary and had music studios in Birmingham where she taught singing for about 16 years.

She formed the Coronets concert party in 1954, which ran for a year, and every weekend they would travel to Sheffield to perform in clubs there. She died, aged 44, in 1965, when her daughter Michelle was only nine.

"I have lots of odd memories, but parts of her life are missing,'' Michelle said. "There is even a recording of her and the great tenor Gigli somewhere in the world, but I don't know where it is. I didn't even know she was Jewish until about 15 years ago. It was kept so quiet.''

Telephone (01202) 309979.

JEREMY Goldbloom of Hertfordshire believes his late grandfather, Rev Jacob Koppel Goldbloom, had a brother or half-brother called Pesach Goldbloom who died on September 28, 1961, and a sister called Janie.

Jeremy believes Pesach ran a tobacconists in Ladbroke Grove, London in the 1950s. He has also discovered that Pesach and his wife Celia are buried in Edmonton Federation Cemetery.

A newspaper obituary of October 6, 1961, mentioned Pesach's sons - Alfred, Sidney(Brighton) and Joseph as well as daughters Betty Wynick and Jeanne Marshbaum; also the sister Janie Morgenstern.

Write to 14 Dove Park, Chorleywood, Herts WD3 5NY or email jgoldbloom@hotmail.com

TANIA Goldman of Jerusalem would love to hear from any relatives or anyone who has information on the Goldman family.

Tania, who was brought up in London, is the granddaughter of Jacob and Rose Goldman. They moved to England in 1912 and settled in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. They had nine children - including Tania's father Samuel. Tania never knew any of Samuel's siblings.

Write to 316 /Flat 2, Rehov Dov Gruner, Talpiot Mizrach, Jerusalem, Israel or email pangoban@netvision.net.il

GEOFF Levy of Florida wants to trace his cantor's son - Immanuel Kruschevsky - who emigrated from Hull to South America in 1940/41.

Write to 4201 N Ocean Blvd, # 1006 C, Boca Raton, Florida, USA or email mygeoff@bellsouth.net

JOAN Glanz Rimmon of Los Angeles wants addresses - either postal or email - of family in Liverpool.

She wants to contact Adam Ellis Moss and his sister Haley Moss, children of the late Allen Moss and Lesley Moss, for their cousins Natasha and Daniel Moss, children of Barry Moss of Florida.

Write to PO Box 49456, Los Angeles, CA 90049, USA or email joan@rimmon.com or joangr@aol.com

MARTY Levin of New York is trying to find information on his grandfather, Joseph Levin, who was born in Manchester in the 1880s.

Marty wants to know the names of Joseph's parents or any other relatives. Joseph also had a younger sister named Rachael.

Write to 70 Lyncourt Park, Rochester, NY 14612, USA or email mjl78@rochester.rr.com