Hi Don, Thanks for your help. The info I have for William is as follows. Born 13th October 1822 Portsea England to Jane Hodge(s) and James McCallum. He came to Australia c1840. He married Anne McDermott in Geelong, Victoria, Australia March 28th 1844 (It's possible that he and Anne met on the voyage to Australia) William and Anne had 12 children. James b1845 d 1858, Louisa Jane b 1846, William b1848 d 1858, Patrick Lloyd b1849, Peter b1851, Rose Anne b1853, John b1854, Thomas Elliot b1856, Andrew b1858, James b1859 d1859, William b1861 and James Edward b1864. In 1858 the older boys James and William accidently drowned in dam, they named the following sons after them. About 1869 William McCallum deserted his family. He was last heard from in a letter dated April 13th 1870. he doesnt give an address but suggest should his wife wish to contact to do so by writing to him at the Euraka Post Office Humboldt Bay San Francisco California United States America. He also said in this letter that he did not go by his own name. he could have been using his mothers maiden name of Hodge(s). It's believed he died shortly after which would have been c1872 making him about 50 years old. Another thing is he reportedly ran off with his sister inlaw. She was a Mcdermott. I would love any other suggestions as to where to look for his death. Melissa ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Tunison-Campbell" <soup@humboldt1.com> To: <CAHUMBOL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2004 1:18 PM Subject: Re: [CAHumboldt] McCallum- Help needed > Melissa: > > Do you have a middle name for William? What was his profession or job > skills? > > I have started looking through our local printed indexes, but have found > little of interest so far. There was a child mentioned in one, the > daughter of W. J. McCOLLUM, 18 months old, who died on 19 March 1880 > (Yes, the name is spelled differently). > > I will continue going through these indexes, looking for matches and/or > near matches. > > By 1870 the "Gold Rush" was pretty much over, but a possibility. If I > don't find anything, remind me to give you a citation to a good book on > Northern California researching, and tell you more about Humboldt > County's own prime researcher. > > Regards, > > Don Tunison-Campbell > Eureka, Humboldt County > > Melissa Young wrote: > > >Hi List, > > > >I'm seeking advice on how to start my research in the USA. So far I've only need to search Australia so it's been relatively easy. > > > >My GGGG Grand father (William McCallum) left Australia c1869, he deserted his family. It's known that he travelled to Euraka CA as his last contact was by letter dated 1870. In the letter he says that he could be contacted at "Euraka Post Office Humboldt Bay San Francisco California " > >Its not known where he went after this. > >Could someone offer me suggestions as to where I should look fro more information on this? We assume he would have died within a few years of this letter. > >He could have been using his mothers maiden name of Hodge(s). His wife was Anne nee McDermott. > >Thanks in advance for any help > >_______ > > > >Melissa > > > >0034/2004 > >assilem2@OBVIOUSozemail.com.au <--remove the OBVIOUS > > > > > > > > > > > > > >