Hello, I've been doing research on-line long enough to know that, after 1930, it's almost possible to track down a relative ! But, I'd like to ask a few, general questions to see if there is any hope ! I have an uncle who "left town" "disappeared" around 1949/1950 - never to be seen nor heard from again ! His name was Silas Dean LEWIS (Jr.), and he was born in Somerville, MA, in 1923. He abandoned a new wife and a baby in Somerville. Through the Internet, and the SSDI listings, I was able to find out that Uncle Dean died in Phoenix, AZ, in 1996. More on-line investigating allowed me to obtain a copy of his "death notice" which showed that he was "married with children" when he died. Because the son listed had the name, TROUTMAN, I guessed they were his step-children. I've been trying to find out how to correspond with the step-son or the 2 step-daughters for a couple of years with no success. And, the Funeral Home in Phoenix would not respond to my letters. Two months ago, someone suggested I write a letter to the Funeral Home and ask them to "forward" one of my letters to the "contact" for my uncle in their records ! In Friday's mail, the step-daughter had written to me ! :o) It was only a 2-page letter, but it was full of information I did not have. It turns out that my uncle -- who they knew as "Si" LEWIS, had only moved to Phoenix around 1983. And, 2 weeks after meeting their mother, the couple went to Las Vegas to marry (1985). So, they only knew my uncle from 1985 until his death in 1996, and, yet, they took care of his funeral needs. The more important information was that it was their understanding that "Si" had moved there from Florida ! And, that he had had a 30-year marriage to a lady in Florida ! But, that's all she knew ! She said she does have the FL wife's obituary, but it is put away in boxes as she is moving this summer. She also said that it was their understanding that "Si" worked for a "Sheriff's Office" while in FL. (He worked as a Security Guard, etc., while in Phoenix.) I already know the answers to my questions, but I thought I would ask anyways ! Is it impossible to find out where in FL my uncle lived from ~1950 until ~1980 ?? And, is it impossible to find out which Sheriff's Department he worked for -- not knowing which towns or cities he lived in during those years ? Thank you for your time. Betty (near Lowell, MA) FYI: Now that I have found out that my uncle had a 30-year marriage in Florida (possibly longer), I have become suspicious ! If he "took off" around 1949 or 1950, and he lost his ("2nd") wife around 1982-1984 in FL, and he had a 30+ - year marriage with her, then my wild imagination wonders whether it was a woman from Massachusetts ... whom he took off with ! The other impossible task is finding out about the Mrs. ____ LEWIS's death in FL around 1982 to 1984. There are "many" LEWIS deaths in FL. (The step-daughter in Phoenix might be able to find the obituary -- in the fall -- after she unpacks from her move !) FYI: Silas Dean LEWIS's father was also Silas Dean LEWIS, and I'm finding out from his step-children that he also was known by different names to different people: "Cy" LEWIS or "Dean" LEWIS (in Springfield, MA, area). Uncle Dean disappeared around 1949, and his father died in 1961, so they probably never saw each other again ! Another similarity is that the father, "Cy" LEWIS, divorced his first wife in MA in 1935, remarried in 1936 to a woman with school-age children, and then remarried in 1952 after his 2nd wife's death. And, the 3rd wife had adult-children, who would have been his step-children.