Good afternoon! This is my first posting to this list and I am hoping that you can help me solve two family mysteries. The first family mystery is in the McCoy branch of my family. My great-grandfather had a son, (my great-uncle) born in 1868 in Washington, D.C., James H. McCoy. James shows up as a two-year-old on the 1870 Census of Washington, D.C. However, by the 1880 Census, James has disappeared. He does not show up on the Mortality Schedule and there is no death certificate on him that I can locate between the years of 1870 and 1880. I'm puzzled as to what could have happened to him at the age of 12. How could he vanish without a trace? The other family mystery is on the Waterholter side of my family. I recently discovered that the sister of my great-grandfather was institutionalized in Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. from 1912, (at the age of 50), until May 9, 1942 when she died at the age of 80. She is buried in an unmarked grave in the Waterholter plot of Rock Creek Cemetery. However, when I've asked my remaining Waterholter relatives about her, no one has heard of her. It appears my grandparents took that information to the grave with them. I have been unable to gain access to the hospital records at Saint Elizabeth's so I have no idea about exactly who this mysterious ancestor, named Emma Waterholter was, who was responsible for institutionalizing her, what was the reason for confining her for thirty years, and why she was buried in an unmarked grave in the family plot? Why was she never discussed by my grandparents? Who was this mysterious Emma Waterholter born in 1862? Can anyone help? Thanks! Pat McCoy

I received this on the Martin-L list and thought it right up our alley so to speak. Hello Seekers of Martin, > Hello Seekers of Martin, > > Here's a mystery with very few clues. Perhaps someone with Martins in > the west will have come upon this. > > It seems that during the teens or early 20's, two little Martin girls > (twins?) were kidnapped and killed, left either in the trunk of a car or > along side a road in either California, Montana or South Dakota. Their > father was my great uncle, Eddie E Martin. The supposed perpetrator of > the crime was a Hollywood actor. This is all I know of the story. > > This branch of the family has been very difficult to trace. They are: > > Albert Martin b. Dec 1857 MN d. Dec 1936 Hoquiam, WA > married Sarah Jane Stevens b. May 1866 MN d. March 1935, Hoquiam, WA > -Amos James b. May 1887 MN d. April 1848 MN > married Ethel Crowson > -Eddie E b. April 1889 > may have married several times > -Cora May b. July 1892 MN d. April 1954 MN > married Alfred Crowson > -Pearl G b. Oct 1894 MN d. Sept 1935 WA > married Simon Payne, a minister in WA > -Rennie C b. Dec 1897 MN > married Lillian ? Olsen > -Myrtle Abby b. Feb 1899 MN d. April 1990 MI > married Robert Lamphere > -Floyd b. April 1902 MN d. Aug 1934 WA > married Lelah Hendershot > -Reuben b. Aug 1911 > married Pansy > > If you can help, I'd appreciate it > > Janis > > -- Mailto:Norahiatt@sprintmail.com Andrew Manar Where are YOU??? http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/h/i/a/Nora-Ann-Hiatt-WA/

Was there an obituary? Chuck

My grandfather's brother, Sprian Hall Byrd, was born either May 13, 1894 (on headstone) or on March 27 (on death certificate) in Hancock Co., TN. I have found information on the family in Hancock Co., TN, Claiborne Co., TN and in Bell Co., KY, which is where Sprian's parents both died. On Sprian Hall Byrd's death certificate (Dec. 18, 1924) it states that he was stabbed to death by parties unknown on a train near Paducah, KY. I can't imagine that there wouldn't be a news article on him, but have not been unable to find anything on this death or the story of his death. I know there has to be something. Anything guidance or help would be appreciated. Pat ---------- > From: GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-D-request@rootsweb.com > To: GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-D@rootsweb.com > Subject: GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-D Digest V98 #39 > Date: Monday, July 27, 1998 4:46 AM >

I have another mystery. My g-g-grandfather was murdered in either sw Arkansas or in nw Louisiana. The tale on that is that he happened to overhear some counterfitters talking about a plot. They waylaid him and murdered him on his way back home. Any place I could find out about this? He died in 1848. Charles Daugherty (Son of James Daugherty & Lettie) b. 1812 Lawrence Co., Alabama (Miss. Terr.) d. 1848 Arkansas Barbara Rivas sayona@telepath.com

Hi My grandfather had an albino brother, William Osborne Daugherty, b. 1873 Fannin Co., Texas. Sometime around the turn of the century, the family moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Then one day, William Osborne just up and disappeared. My grandfather and his father thought he may have gone to California. Since my grandfather was an undersheriff in McClain Co., OK., he wrote to law offices all over the west, asking about his brother. He never got any news. Then the family story says that one day, he looked at his father and said "Osborne is dead". And his father just nodded and agreed. They never knew anything about him. I think he had been gone for about 10-20 yrs. I've never been able to find out what happened to him. No one in the family ever heard from him since his disappearence. Barbara Rivas sayona@telepath.com

If I were you, this is what I would try if possible to do so. 1.) Try to locate a death certificate on him. After 7 years he would have had to have been declared dead whether a body was found or not. Give them any information that you may have on him. They can do genealogical searches for, I think, a period of five years of certificates. 2.) Maybe put an advertisement in the paper that is now circulating in the area he disspeared from, asking people to give information to you that may help.. who knows, it may have been the 'talk of the town' and someone may know something that will give you a lead. An ad such as this should not cost very much to put in for a few days - sunday papers are best if they publish daily papers - more people are known to read the Sunday paper than any other day. 3.) Question and double-question any and all of your relatives. Get them talking about the past, it might jar their memory and something might come to mind that they had not thought about earlier. 4.) KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! :D I hope this gives you some ideas. Cindy Johnson COMSU@aol.com wrote: > > My grandmother told us this: > > Her father, ROBERT MCCOY, b. in IND.--Marr. CORINNA PEARMAN in Meade Co > KY in 1857. Owned three boats which traveled the Ohio, Miss. and Ark rivers. > The > boats were used by the Confederates in Civil War. Immediately after the war, > Carpetbaggers asked ROBERT to show them a shortcut to the river (always > assumed it was the Ark. river-don't know- They lived in Dewitt, Ark Co > Ar--LaGrue > Township-Ar census-1860.) ROBERT never returned. > > My grandmother was well read and intelligent. Also a devout christian. I have > no > reason to doubt her story. I need to find some shred of evidence to back it > up. > Is there someone out there who can advise me? Arkansas Gazette suspended > publication for 2 years during Civil War--possibly during this time. > > Stymied--please help, > > Sue > COMSU@aol.com > > ==== GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES Mailing List ==== > Support Rootsweb! Visit http://www.rootsweb.com ! > To contact the owner use, dwburgess@worldnet.att.net

My grandmother told us this: Her father, ROBERT MCCOY, b. in IND.--Marr. CORINNA PEARMAN in Meade Co KY in 1857. Owned three boats which traveled the Ohio, Miss. and Ark rivers. The boats were used by the Confederates in Civil War. Immediately after the war, Carpetbaggers asked ROBERT to show them a shortcut to the river (always assumed it was the Ark. river-don't know- They lived in Dewitt, Ark Co Ar--LaGrue Township-Ar census-1860.) ROBERT never returned. My grandmother was well read and intelligent. Also a devout christian. I have no reason to doubt her story. I need to find some shred of evidence to back it up. Is there someone out there who can advise me? Arkansas Gazette suspended publication for 2 years during Civil War--possibly during this time. Stymied--please help, Sue COMSU@aol.com

Layton Mercer b1877 in Douglas Co., NE. Family moved to Council Bluffs, IA in 1883. This is my grandmother's brother. The family story is he disappeared. My father, brother and nephew carry his name, Layton, as their middle name. His disappearance bothered my grandmother till the day she died. He disappeared about 1898, and one story is that he was married and had two daughters, leaving them behind..however I can find no evidence of this. He supposedly went on an errand one night and never returned. Any info out there on Layton Mercer? Cindy

I am looking for any information concerning my grandfather Frank DARROW, he was born May 13, 1883 in Fort Dodge, Webster, IA. His mother was Telitha Anna (Annie) COLVIN and step-father was John Henderson DARROW. He married Lillie Mae PAULEY Feb 25, 1907 in Red Lodge, Montana. He had a daughter Anna Caroline born Dec 29, 1907. His wife died in May 1908. After the death of his wife, he left his daughter with his wife's parents, James and Candace PAULEY. Frank disappeared from Carbon County, Montana in late 1908 or early 1909. His family never heard from him again. Did he have a second family? If anyone has any knowledge concerning this man, would you please contact me? I've been trying to find my grandfather for 25 years. Sharon Reinhardt

In the mid 1930's Lucile Deloris Foster Smith left her husband and two very young children and disappeared from Portsmouth, Ohio. I have been searching for over two years to answer the question of her disappearance and solve this mystery for her children. I am the daughter-in-law of Richard Foster, son of Lucile. In my two years of searching I have gathered information on her and learned a lot about her that no one knew. I have even gained access to her Social Security Number, which has still not let me to the answers. By all information this woman is still alive and in 1992 she did update her files with the IRS under the name of Balzly. Please take a look at my website with the information that I have been able to obtain and the full story of her disappearance along with her last known picture and see if you can help us unravel this family mystery. Lucile is out there somewhere and someone knows her!!! Please help if you can! <A HREF="http://www.angelfire.com/ky/lostseekers/index.html"> Debi Foster Catlettsburg, Kentucky

I have information re: his death in Pittsylvania Co., (Cowlick Creek--yet to be located on any map) VA in 1833. His "killer" was his brother, Armistead. It seems like this would have made the news somehow but this is about all I know. Armistead just dropped out of sight after the death. Someone located an Armistead on the CSA of MS pension records of 1910 but he would have been pretty old by then, by my guess about his age. His parents were Phillip and Nancy Parker Craft, married in Pittsylvania Co. in 1798. His aunt and uncle were George and Permelia (Milley) Parker (sister to Nancy) Craft, married in Pittsylvania Co. in 1803. Grandparents were George and Louisa Wood(s) Craft of Sullivan Co., PA, where Phillip and George were born, in 1760 and 1765. I'd love to fill in the big question about young George's death and what happened to Armistead afterward. Any answers appreciated. TIA Cheryl Craft McCallister _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

When I first started working on family history, the first question my uncle asked was "have you found a relative that got hanged?" The first time he meantioned it I thought he was refering to the old "horse thieves" that exists in most any family. Just before he died, he told me something that my grandpa had told him. Otto Pruitt was born in Oswego KS in 1899. He was the child of Annis Martin and her husband Thomas Benton Pruitt Jr aka Ben Pruitt. Ben died when my Otto (my grandpa) was just 8. Annis and her two children lived with her inlaws after his death. Mary Pruitt, her mother in law died in 1909. Thomas SR died in 1913. Grandpa told my uncle about a man that would come to the house when he was a boy always at night. He always had a lot of money and was always gone in the morning. This went on for a while and then the visits stopped for a while. One night the visitor stopped again. This time he had no money and had been very severly beaten. Again, he was gone in the morning and never seen again. Was he a relative of Annis Martin? She was an only child born to her father Isam Martin and his wife Ellen Crain. Was he a Pruitt? I don't see how this could be as Thomas Sr was orphaned at age 9 and came to Ks with his aunt Ellender and her husband John Wilkens. The rest of his siblings stayed in Fayette CO IL. Who was this late night visitor? Nora -- Mailto:Norahiatt@sprintmail.com Andrew Manar Where are YOU??? http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/h/i/a/Nora-Ann-Hiatt-WA/

Hello, Most immigrants 'Americanized' their names after living for a while in the US. This does not mean that the pronunciation of the name changed, just the spelling. I guess it was some immigrants ways of respecting the country that they lived in. Others changed it because that is the way it was spelled from when they first came over. You have to understand that most people could not speak English when they arrived here. When asked their name, they said it, and it was spelled how it was pronounced. Simple as that. :) I hope this helps clear up that mystery! Cindy Johnson L E Willet wrote: > > Can someone unravel this mystery? > My great grandparents, Joseph and Madeline Ouellette, along with my > grandparents, Joseph Trefflie and Louise Ouellette, left Canada around > the 1840's and moved to L'Erable, Iroquois Co., Ill. > Then on to Kankakee, Ill. My father was born in Kankakee in 1905, but > his last name is spelled Willet. > Can someone tell me when or why the spelling was changed and who changed > it. > It all happened between 1870 and 1905. > On the 1870 Iroquois Co. census, the name is still listed as Ouellette. > Any information will be appreciated. > L E Willet > > ==== GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from mail mode, send a NEW message to > GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-L-request@rootsweb.com > In the body of the message, put the word "unsubscribe" (no quotes).

Help!! Can someone help me locate the name of the ship, the dock or the date that my GGGGGGG Grandfather landed in Fauquier Co., Va. and became one of the original 42 inhabitants of the Germanna Colonies? John Kemper arrived in Germanna, as a single 22 year old, in 1714. But from that point, I cannot document his marriage. I have a list of his decendants, including myself, but cannot find his wife, or when he was married. Any info will help and be appreciated. Thank you. Arlene

Can someone unravel this mystery? My great grandparents, Joseph and Madeline Ouellette, along with my grandparents, Joseph Trefflie and Louise Ouellette, left Canada around the 1840's and moved to L'Erable, Iroquois Co., Ill. Then on to Kankakee, Ill. My father was born in Kankakee in 1905, but his last name is spelled Willet. Can someone tell me when or why the spelling was changed and who changed it. It all happened between 1870 and 1905. On the 1870 Iroquois Co. census, the name is still listed as Ouellette. Any information will be appreciated. L E Willet

Hello, I am listowner for an adoption list about Alabama. BAMAdopt has over 75 members and we are growing. I invite any of you with geneological mysteries involving Alabama to send them to me and I will post them on the BAMAdopt list. Maybe we can solve some of these!! Barbara McMullen

Hi, I am looking for the death place of my 2nd Great Grandfather Peter WHISENAND. Two different books on the family also 2 different sources give the story as follows. Peter left home about 1850/51 to go to the gold mines in California. He sent some nuggets home and in 1857 the family got a letter from him saying he found his gold and was heading home. The letter got home but Peter did not. According to the story the family searched and found he died in the Mountain Meadow Massacre. I am searching for the proof of this story. If I find the proof Peter's name can be added to the Monument that is being put up for the victems in the Massacre. The letter was reported to have been in the procession of Peter's granddaughter a Sarah Louisa WHISENAND. She married Keller LONG b 1866. d 1919 md 1875 to Sarah Lousia WHISENAND. One daughter born Eunice LONG she married James KURLIN(KIRLIN). They lived in Indianapolis, IN.... They had one daughter Martha Jean KURLIN.. They lived in Inianapolis, Indiana. I hope someone can help me to search. I am trying to get the census for Calif. for the year 1852. Any suggestions would be appreciated.. Thank You, Shirl

I am looking for information about relative Salli (Salomon?) Wolf[f] of Holland, who with his wife was murdered trying to escape to neutral Spain. The trial was in France (Paris?), in 1946 or so. It was a notorious international news and the story was made into Charlie Chaplin's movie, Monsieur Verdoux. The real man was a killer, in the early 1940's. He lured wealthy European Jews with promises that he would smuggle them to safety. Once in his houe (chateau?) he murdered them, took their possessions, and dissolved their bodies in acid. He was tried for murder after the war. Some people have told me this occurred in Alsace. Others in the south of France. Some have told me his name was Landru, this is probably the most accurate information: << . . . trial in april 1946 . . . . Docteur Petiot was a physician born in Auxerre (1893?). . . . During WW-II he had his practice in a mansion rue Lesieur in Paris in the 16th arrondissement (town district) . . . . Between 1942 and 1944, he had promised to several Jewish families . . . . to help them to escape from France. Dr Petiot advised his victims to . . . take only precious items as gold, jewellery, foreign currencies. >> All were murderd in his basement; I believe he dissolved their bodies in acid. My father's uncle, Salli (Salomon?) Wolf(f) and his wife (name?) were among his victims. I believe they had been living in Holland. Salli's wife was the sister of the wife of Nobel-prize author Shai Agnon. I'd appreciate help from anyone who has information on how I can trace Salli Wolf's family through reports on the investigation and trial of this "Monsieur Verdoux" whoever he was in real life. Thank you Michael (Manfred) Bernet ************************************************************************* seeking also: Bernet/K�nigsh�fer/Altman(n)/Wolf(f) families from Frensdorf, Bamberg, N�rnberg, Hirschaid, Weldhausen, K�nigshofen, F�rth, Frankfurt am Main (all in Germany); Kattowitz (Upper Silesia/Poland); and Newcastle upon Tyne/Gateshead, (in UK). Also any likely relatives in Israel or USA.

I am wondering about a strange occurance in our family's past. My ggrandfather Thomas William Barrett was born 1831 in Brazoria, Texas when it was the old Mexican Municipality. He had one sister, Elizabeth, born 1830. Their parents were both dead by 1852. Elizabeth m Reuben Wier, a "plantation owner" and they moved to Mexico as did many people after Texas became a country and then a state. She died childless, 1873, in Tuxpan, Mexico according to the deed papers that we have found. Thomas died in 1884. After he died, a woman, Aunt Elizabeth, came to visit him and was furious because my ggrandmother had not notified her that her brother had died. My grandfather always said his Aunt Elizabeth came to visit so we were astonished to learn she had died ll years earlier. Who was the mysteruous woman? Joyce Speer Moore