TWO sisters have travelled thousands of miles to the North-East

in a bid to trace their roots.

Val Perriman, from Deloriane in Manitoba, Canada, and Kathleen Chadwell,

who lives in Minot in North Dakota, USA, arrived in County Durham last week.

It is the first time the sisters have visited the region as adults

and they have spent their time trying to trace their family history and meet long-lost

relatives.

Their father Dennis Crowe, now 71, lived in Tow Law until the Fifties but

at the age of 19 he emigrated to Canada to take up farming.

He married and built up a farm which now covers 5,000 acres and is run by Mrs Perriman

and her husband Rick.

Mrs Perriman, 44, said: "We started tracing our roots a few years ago, gathered some

information and then stopped.

"This trip has enabled us to meet our father's cousins and niece in person and see

photographs and records in libraries that we couldn't access back home.

"It will be a surprise for our father when we tell him what we've done and I'm sure he

will be thrilled we've seen the places and met the people that make up his past."

She was also delighted that her two daughters, Heather, 21, and Beth, 17, could travel

with them to see where their grandfather was raised.

Kathleen, 47, found much of their family history from the internet with the help of

northern genealogist Geoff Nicholson, who has an intense knowledge of the area.

The women stayed with their father's cousin Arthur Wilkinson, and his wife Brenda,

at Harperley Hall, Fir Tree, before flying home last Saturday.

Mr Wilkinson said: "It has been wonderful to see Dennis' family and important for us

all to keep in touch."

Anyone with information on Dennis Crowe should email Kathleen Chadwell

at kathychadwell