My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife and infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted a divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever heard from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, 1920 or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft but he's not there either. Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

In article <[email protected]m>, LRESA <[email protected]> wrote: > My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife and > infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted a > divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever heard > from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, 1920 > or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft > but he's not there either. > Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor > would be appreciated. Thanks to all. What was his birthdate and place? This information would be helpful in assisting your search. I did a quick search on Sadie Lester in Richmond, Virginia in the 1910 census, was she still living in Richmond then, and what was her daughter's name?

On Jun 7, 2:49 am, LRESA <[email protected]> wrote: > My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife and > infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted a > divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever heard > from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, 1920 > or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft > but he's not there either. > Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor > would be appreciated. Thanks to all. There is some meaning in the words "abandoned his wife and infant daughter." How do you know this is what happened? Do you actually know more than that he simply disappeared? Do you have any reason to even believe he was alive after 1908? What was his occupation? Did he travel to other towns where he might have died unidentified? Or maybe his wife killed him and buried him in the basement.

"LRESA" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]m... > My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife > and > infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted > a > divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever > heard > from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, > 1920 > or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft > but he's not there either. > Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor > would be appreciated. Thanks to all. If he really didn't want to be found, have you considered that he might have left the country. Have you checked Canada? Of course, his other obvious course of action could have been to change his name. Lesley Robertson

LRESA wrote: > My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife and > infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted a > divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever heard > from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, 1920 > or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft > but he's not there either. > Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor > would be appreciated. Thanks to all. You don't say how old he was so its difficult, but there are two Lester THOMAS's in the 1910 census. One is 30 the other is 20. When you have a first name as a last name it is easy to reverse them and become a new person. In reality though, if he really abandoned them and didn't want to be found, you won't find him. If he fell victim to foul play you won't find him after all this time either. -- Gene Y. n2kvs Researching Young, Zies, Harer & Cox with Legacy Family Tree http://h1.ripway.com/egptech/

just as....my mother's sister left home at 15, and was totally lost track of. there is no evidence that she got beyond where my grandfather traced her, chicago, alive. thus, who knows.........? Gene Y. wrote: > LRESA wrote: > >> My grandfather's brother, Thomas Luther Lester, abandoned his wife and >> infant daughter in 1908 in Richmond, VA . His wife Sadie was granted a >> divorce and custody on grounds of desertion in 1911. No one ever heard >> from Thomas again- not even my grandpa. I can't find him on 1910, 1920 >> or 1930 censuses. He was in the age group to register for WW1 draft >> but he's not there either. >> Any other suggestions on how to track down an early 20th ancestor >> would be appreciated. Thanks to all. > > > > You don't say how old he was so its difficult, but there are two > Lester THOMAS's in the 1910 census. One is 30 the other is 20. When > you have a first name as a last name it is easy to reverse them and > become a new person. In reality though, if he really abandoned them > and didn't want to be found, you won't find him. If he fell victim > to foul play you won't find him after all this time either. > > -- Betti [chinmom] home.comcast.net/~chinmom