Mystery #1 Where is Nancy Evans Swearingen's daguerreotype???????? Remember that a while back I tried unsuccessfully to track down a daguerreotype of Nancy Evans Swearingen. She was the daughter of Hugh and Lavinia and she married Joe [Joseph] [von] Swearingen. The daguerreotype was supposed to be in the possession of a Leoti Mize of Sarasota, Fla... who passed away. I was unsuccessful in contacting Leoti's son who might have had information on that. Mystery #2 What happened to Duke Swearingen? Remember also that William Edgar Evans [WEE] paper that I've placed on our website. In it he says on page 27: [Renee: Can’t figure out who Charles and Duke are below.] Nancy Swearenger was the mother of nine children: 1. Sophia [Patten] oldest and last to die. Died 8 years ago. 2. Duke. He went away when young, and was never heard of afterward. 3. Charles. Was killed by cutting a tree. 4. Hugh. Reputed father of Mrs. Morton. 5. Albert G. 6. Drusilla. 7. John. 8. Andrew. 9. Nancy Well, I have just come across the following and I wonder IF it refers to this same Duke: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~henryhowesbook/pike.html <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Ehenryhowesbook/pike.html> " In the days of flat-boating on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the mysterious disappearance of men who had started for New Orleans with cargoes of produce, was no uncommon occurrence. It was the custom to take a cargo down the rivers, and if the pioneer merchant had escaped the perils of the river and successfully disposed of his cargo, he had a still greater peril to face when, with his gold on his person, he journeyed on horseback toward home. The Mississippi country was infested with robbers and murderers, ever on the lookout for unwary victims. The SWEARINGEN Mystery.—A black mystery to this day enshrouds the fate of Duke SWEARINGEN, who succeeded Gov. LUCAS in his mercantile business at Piketon. About 1823 SWEARINGEN started for New Orleans with a flat-boat load of flour and meat. After he passed out of the Ohio into the Mississippi he was never again heard of. When the time had passed when he was due at home, his friends at Piketon became uneasy about him. Weeks and months passed, and no word was received from him. A search was made for him up and down the river, and at New Orleans, and he was advertised for, but Duke SWEARINGEN was never again heard from. Shortly after Mr. SWEARINGEN’S disappearance another merchant of Piketon, Mr. WILLARD, forever disappeared after a manner identical with the circumstances surrounding SWEARINGEN, becoming lost to the knowledge of his friends." a little earlier on the same site, the following is found: "A late writer states: Piketon was surveyed and platted by Peter DUNNON, a Virginian and a good surveyor—as surveyors went in those days. The court-house was not built at Piketon until about 1817, and prior to its completion court was held in a stone building near Piketon, owned by John CHENOWETH. The court-house built at Piketon, which is still standing, was of brick. Among the earliest settlers in and about Piketon, were Jonathan CLARK, Charley CISSNA, Major DANIELS, Joseph J. MARTIN—who was for years Lord High Everything of Pike county—the BRAMBLES, MOORES, BROWNS, SARGENTS, PRATERS, NOLANS, GUTHRIES and the LUCASES. Most of these families first came into “the prairie” about 1797, but the LUCAS brothers came later. Robert LUCAS, one of these pioneers, afterward became Governor of Ohio. His brother founded the town of Lucasville. About 1820 Robert LUCAS was conducting a general store at Piketon, which he afterward sold to Duke SWEARINGEN. In 1829 LUCAS was elected to the Legislature from Pike county, and thus began his political career." ------------------- This makes me a bit curious and a bit confused... when WEE refers to Duke.... would that be the same as the Marmaduke who has gotten so much press over the years? Maybe some of you out there who know more than I about these matters can explain..... Finally.... Mystery # 3...Where is the powder horn? Remember that I was in search of the Revolutionary War powder horn which belonged to Edward Evans. The last anyone knew, it was owned by Robert Evans Campbell [a lawyer and judge] of Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio who passed away on 3 March 1936. Still haven't found it. Still a mystery. R PS.... just thought of something....I really don't know how to use Craig's List. Do you think there is a way of putting "Searching For" notices on Craig's list to see if anyone might have heard of the Nancy Evans image or the powder horn?