b'the theme of counting ones blessings. His thoughts were no doubt constantly interrupted by the sound of the boys shouting and screaming as they played in the field adjacent to the churchyard. From the kitchen he could also hear the laughter of his younger children as they helped Elizabeth in the preparation of the evening meal.Richard as usual had remained at home in his bedroom, his nose buried deep in a book; sometimes Joseph wished the boy would go out more, spend time with his older brothers.He must have dozed off as he sat in front of the warm fire only to be awakened by a hammering upon the door and the sound of that mischievous Butterfield boy shouting at the top of his voice: ReverendThe Shooter family vault.Shooter! Reverend Shooter! Come quick! Come nowher children, dying in 1873 aged seventy-six.Their eldest surviving son Richard Walter Shooter attended St Catherines College Cambridge and was ordained deacon in 1857, Curate of Bishop Wilton 1857- 58, he was a Priest in York 1859, Curate of Skipwith 1858-60, Vicar of Bugthorpe 1861-73. At this point his name disappears from Crockfords Clerical Lists, which could indicate either his death or his retirement from the church.Although I credit Joseph Shooter with the possible authorship of the book The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country, in which he details the religions, customs, beliefs and lifestyles of the natives of that region during the early nineteenth century, it is pure speculation based upon the facts that no other Reverend Joseph Shooter is mentioned in Crockfords Clerical Lists and that the period covered by the book and its publication date fit precisely into Josephs lifespan. Also we are unable to trace a record of Joseph in any office prior to his ministry at Bishop Wilton, other than a reference to him being a school teacher at the age of twenty two at Silkstone Deanery, Doncaster. It would certainly be feasible that this could be due to him being domiciled in South Africa for a period. It is interesting to note that the book at the time of its publication must have been deemed a work of great credibility as excerpts from these writings are quoted by Charles Darwin in his publication The Descent of Man. Were this his book, it would certainly have presented a fitting climax to the life of this man of God, as it was published in August of 1857 just two York Courant Thursday 13th January 1842 months prior to his death. Despite the great personal tragedies, which saw the untimely known deaths of at least five of his eleven children, he nonetheless In June of that year Elizabeth Shooter gave birthretained his faith until his lifes end. It is also interesting to the little girl that they had both desired and namedto note that the restoration of St Ediths, to which he her Sophia. Sadly, to add to their sorrows, the childdevoted twenty-four years of his life, commenced the fell victim to the prevalent high infant mortality rate,year following his death. I would presume that he died dying in May 1843 at the tender age of eleven months.at peace in the knowledge that this crucial restoration Elizabeth outlived her husband Joseph and many ofwas at last to be undertaken.70 BULLETIN 5'