It sounds as though Elizabeth may have died sometime in the early 1870s. What is your documentation that the children were raised by an aunt? I would see if I could find out what religion they were and if they attended a church there. It may be that the church they attended has some records, if she did die. I would also see what newspapers were published during that time period and then either go to the library and look through some microfilms of those newspapers from during that time period for an obituary. I would also check to see if there was an outbreak of some kind in that area during that time, such as, tuberculosis, etc. If all else fails, you may be able to discern that she died from a disease like that... OR it is possible that she died during childbirth. Notice if there is a connection between the time she disappeared and the date of her last child's birth. You may have to do some digging, but the answer is there, somewhere, if not obvious, then you may have to decipher it from events going on during that time. -- Cheryl Hollingsworth cheryliz@directlink.net "Volunteer of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness at http://raogk.rootsweb.com" --