This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: sarah1000000 Surnames: Chadwell/Bradberry/Gaylor/Goldston/Ruyle/Ruhle/Rule Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.chadwell/208/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Here's my mystery family: My gggrandmother, Sarah Jane Chadwell was b. Aug 1866 in Brighton, Polk Co., MO. Her brother, William Samuel Chadwell, was b. Dec. 1869 possibly in San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX, according to his family. (I have no proof of either of these births, if I did, I would know their parents names!) These children had a step- or half-sister, Ida Ann Chadwell, who was shot by James Gaylor in 1872 in Polk County, MO and the parents were listed as Martha and William Chadwell. I have a marriage certificate from Bolivar for Martha Bradberry and William Chadwell on March 28, 1870, so that is confirmed. William's deposition after Ida was shot states that Martha had Ida before he married her, therefore, she was either from a previous marriage or illegitimate. The other children were also born before this marriage, so I don't know if he was married before, or she was, or they stole some children in the night and passed them off as theirs! In 1850 the only Bradberry living in Polk County, MO was a 2-year old William Bradberry, living with Reuben and Mary Gaylor, the parents of James Gaylor. There is no sign of Martha and she should have been about 5. It can't be a coincidence that the Gaylor's and Bradberry's are so closely tied, unless they are related somehow. I think this is the connection, but haven't been able to prove it. The father of Mary Gaylor, nee Goldston, had two sisters who married Bradberry's, but I can find no record of children from these marriages. It doesn't mean there were none, it's just hard to find them because they were so long ago! In the 1860 Census of Polk Co., MO Martha was 15, wasn't married and didn't have any kids. She was living with an Adison Low and family as a servant or housekeeper in Polk County. Some distant relatives of mine suggest that she may have married a Rule (Ruhle, Ruhl, Ruyle or a hundred other spellings), I have never found any useful clues along these lines, but it was between census years. The Ruyle name also fits with the Gaylor/Goldston family. I traced William Samuel's side of the family down just so I could find out what story was passed down to his descendants and it is virtually the same. His granddaughter says that the mother, Martha, died fairly young of ovarian cancer or something similar not long after Sarah got married. I know she was alive in 1882, because she gave permission for Sarah to get married to John Bryan in Pleasant Hope. By 1900 there is no one left in Missouri. Sarah ended up in Washington state and William (jr.) moved to Colorado. The father disappeared somewhere along the line. In the 1880 Census, Martha Chadwell was living with a John Brown and family, and several other people, some of whom are listed as insane, poor farm? While there is a story that they all lived in the poorhouse until Sarah Chadwell was 8, that would have been around 1874, not 1880. In 1880, Sarah is living with John Emlet and family, and Samuel (William jr.) is living with Nathaniel Wilson's widow, Sarah Wilson, and family. Sarah Wilson's home is where the marriage of Sarah Chadwell and John Bryan took place. I would appreciate ANY leads with this. I have been searching for years! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.