Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mysteries and Broken Limbs . . . .

Combing through online newspapers lead me to examine the too numerous mysteries and dead ends that occur in every family tree. With little effort I compiled a list of names or events that I've researched but have had little or no success either locating graves, documenting ancestry, or constructing the details of a life event. I've searched all the big online databases: Ancestry.com, Find-A-Grave, Familysearch.com, and the newspaper databases too.

  1. George J. Mathews burial location and ancestry. My 3X great grandfather was the focus of my 2013 research. I made some spectacular discoveries about him, his sibling Mary, and in-laws, but could not find his parents nor his place of interrment. 
  2. The Baldwin Brothers (Alleged) Murder of Rosana McKeown.
    Discovered a few weeks ago. I have these same Baldwin brothers as first cousins, four times removed in my family tree.
  3. Sarah J. Criss's maiden name and ancestry. My 2X great grandmother, originally from Alabama. I have her death certificate and have photographed her grave. Cannot find anything on her parents or siblings. 
  4. John Criss's death/burial and ancestry.
    My 2X great grandfather and husband of Sarah (see number 3). I've found nothing on his parents or siblings. I discovered him via an 1895 Galveston, Texas city directory of his widow, Sarah, which recorded his name in parenthesis.
  5. The Murder of Sam Book. I have good documentation on his death and burial, but the circumstances of his death are unknown. Family oral history records him being shot by the husband of a woman with whom he was having an affair. That's murder, which usually gets space in the newspaper, but I've found nothing. C'mon Kansas City Star!
  6. John McKittrick Death/Burial. My 2X great grandfather. I discovered his death date from the obituary of his wife Parlee McKittrick. I don't know his burial location, or any details of his life.
  7. John Daniels Ancestry. My 3X great grandfather, born in Virginia 1808 and migrated to Missouri via Indiana (and perhaps Ohio). Don't know anything of his parents or siblings.
  8. Carl and Elizabeth Schiebel. Children of Odelia Abts, my great grandmother, and her first husband Robert Schiebel. Family oral history claims that Carl drowned as a child. Elizabeth Schiebel died of scarlet fever in Nebraska. I cannot document either of these people, they exist only via oral history (Carl), and from a letter written by Frances Book to an unknown recipient that mentions Elizabeth and her circumstances.
  9. William Abts. My 2X great grandfather died in Nebraska between 1880 and 1885. Can't find a grave, obituary, or any other documentation that would provide a specific date and location. 
  10. Levi B. Thomas Ancestry. My 3X great grandfather. I've found documents and newspapers that refer to him as LB, Levi, and Louis. I've search all of these derivatives to no avail. No information on his siblings or parents either. 
  11. Flora A. Mathews. Family oral history claims she was Miss Colorado (unknown year), and that she succumbed to the elements in a cabin near Conifer, Colorado (also unknown year). She's in the federal censuses, but I've found nothing to corroborate the oral history.
  12. Robert Schiebel. The first husband of my great grandmother, Odelia Abts. Her obituary records his death as 1899, but I've not found an obituary or grave to confirm, nor have I found him in any of the censuses.
Plenty of fun to be had here. I strongly suspect that these are mysteries due to the limitation of the internet. Most of these might be solved by visiting the local museums, libraries, courthouses, churches, and cemeteries where each person lived.

No comments:

Post a Comment