Sometime after 1915, and probably in Oneida County, NY, my aunt married a man named Thomas Stickler. About the time he died 11 April 1929 in Philadelphia, PA she discovered his true name was John Lumsden Aynsley. I have a letter dated 5 June 1929 which says in part: ...Many thanks for sending diary. It brings back memories of 30 years ago. We conclude you received the letter giving the reason for Jack takeing the name of Stickler which will put your mind at rest... and is signed "Nellie" The printed stationery on which the letter is written has the following printed on it: 11 Arundel Square, Barnsbury, N. 7 telephone - North 1140. Consultations 9:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. I have another letter on the same stationery dated 27 September 1940 signed Harry Aynsley. In it he says Nellie died "4 years ago last May". And that his son, Robert has been in the Army Dentist Corps and had arrived home safe and sound from Dunkirk. He mentions someone named Doris who is apparently a daughter or sister. I also found a photo of a tombstone which I seem to have put in a place so safe that I may never find it again. I had entered the information on it into my genealogy program, however, and I believe these are the names which were on it: John Lumsden Aynsley b 1840 died 1 February 1884 interred 1884 Highgate Cemetery Sarah Elizabeth Aynsley (his wife?) Emily Roe Aynsley b 1867 died 23 March 1902 interred in Malta Gerty Aynsley b 1878 died 14 January 1892 Thomas Stickler/John Lumsden Aynsley was a Boer War Veteran and was 46 at the time of his death, so if the above listed JLA is his father, he was born close to the time his father died. I posted this message on London-L a while ago, and someone suggested that possibly the name change was the result of his being adopted by a Stickler family. It's certainly a possibility, but then why didn't my aunt know? HIs brother was still called Aynsley, and the letter sounds like they grew up together. I have no diary, and no letter explaining why the name change. Mary H maryh@telenet.net

Yesterday i put a mystery on the site to the whereabouts of my uncle ALBERT ( ALFRED) HARRIS b 1888-90 nNow i want go back to his father & my grandfather. His identity remains a mystery. i meant him once when i was 3 & he died when i was 4,in 1940. As strange as it seems ,older siblings in my family did not remember his first name. I have heard that he was born in Branch cty MI in the town of Coldwater,MI. i estimate his birth around 1860-1862. They find no records. My father & some of his brothers/sisters were born in DeKalb county ,IN in the town of Butler<IN> The family lived in Detroit or surrounding suburbs in the 1905 to 1970, but all attempts to locate any descendants or obtain vital records has been futile. Also attempts to reach known cousins has not materialized. Excuses range from lost in fire or records that old no longer are available. My grandfathers'first wife was a MARTHA or MARCIA ? HARRIS who died in 1910 or before. NO one has ever mentione whether he remarried or not. JUST WHO WAS MY GRANDFATHER & WHOM ARE OTHER DESCENDANTS? WHO WERE HIS PARENTS? Other names within this family are HURSEY(HERSEY) BAKER . Also A gentleman of polish descent whom married a cousin in MI? in the 1940-early 50's. Apparently he had an operatic voice.He worked for the transit authority in Detroit or Grand rapids,MI. He was well known on his bus route for his singing while driving. I know this is strectching it,but these are the only leads i now have that could shed light on this missing HARRIS line,hopefully. Richard Harris Charlotte N.C.

Hi Dian, I have a theory for you as I have run into this problem before. I suspect that the person who gave the information for your father's death certificate either did not know him very well or simply could not remember your mother's correct name. Someone who was under the stress of the moment may have just said the first thing that came to mind especially since they both begin with a "B" and have more than one syllable. My mother who is 84 years old has always said to beware of the information on death certificates because she clearly remembers that relatives gave any answer that they could think of at the moment... (she is the one who is still talking about John Kelly, Baltimore MD, and the missing linen napkin, and she is going to be interested in knowing that so many people disappeared) And we know that your mother was not 10! (Iowa!) Good wishes, Dian...that death certificate must have been a real surprise. P.

Hello to Everyone, I am new to this list and I hope I may get some help in solving a very old family mystery. My Uncle William McMenemy was born 1906 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He came to America as a young man and lived with his Aunt Mary Hutcheson in Brooklyn. He got a job as a conductor with Brooklyn Rapid Transit. I have a certificate that states he was a member of the Employees Benefit Association dated October 1923. When William's father John came to join him in New York, William disappeared. No one in the family has had any news of him since. Maggie

Hello quick note to all as well as the questioner. The Social Security Administration does not give out SS#'s for living people at least they are not supposed to. You don't want to know what one could do with that info. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Have you tried looking him up on the Social Securtiy Death Index? I just tried it, didn't seem to get any listings. This is odd. You can access the death index via ancestry.com on the web. I know that the armed forces will usually give you a copy of a service record but you have to prove lineage and death of that person.

UNSUBSCRIBE You have a very nice listing. I took the time to read the posts for a couple of days. It's generating more mail than I can handle right now. Please take me off the list. Thank-you BeeBalmRed@aol.com

On Fri, 19 Jun 1998 23:39:10 -0500 Dian Granberg <irish@arn.net> writes: <After many years of searching I found out my father, Edward Carl Gaughan, died April 24, 1940 in Sacaramento, CA. He was only 20 years old. My mother Betty Jean Nelson Gaughan was in DesMoines, IO at the time of his death.> Are you saying that your mother had you when she was 10 yrs. old? WOW!!! _____________________________________________________________________ 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]

After many years of searching I found out my father, Edward Carl Gaughan, died April 24, 1940 in Sacaramento, CA. He was only 20 years old. My mother Betty Jean Nelson Gaughan was in DesMoines, IO at the time of his death. Here is the mystery; on his death certificate it states the wife's name as Bernice Gaughan. Have searched CA & surounding states for a marriage certificate, but haven't found anything. Who is Bernice? Would like to find her or information about her. She was probably young & remarried. It's possible that I might have a half-sibling. A little more information: Edward was in the Army & stationed at McClellan Field, Sacaramento CA. McClellan Field is now McClellan Air Force Base. Dian Gaughan Granberg

Forwarding for Audrey Please do not reply to Nicole: Looking for my mother's birth father - John Joseph Steven BARRY (or BERRY)- Also went by the name of Joseph Bernon. DOB 1883? - place Ohio, Illinois or Penn. DOD unknown, but probably after 1960, and possibly in Stockton, CA. Parents John Joseph BARRY (or BERRY)born England, and Anna NUNN, born England. He came from a large family - possibly 13 children. Some sibling's names: Michael, Patrick, Nora, Kate DOM (1st) 10/24/1908 in Stockton,CA to Florence Edna Salzgeber (he used the name of Joseph Bernon) DOB 5/11/1889, Ione, CA DODeath 3/10/1967, Stockton, CA DODivorce approx 1911. One child - Marguerite Lillain Berry, DOB 7/23/1909 (my mother - always went by the name of Margaret Lillian Stevens, her step father). DOM (2nd) 7/3/1912 in Fresno or Visalia,CA to Ybeltje (aka Edith) Rypkema DOB 6/8/1889, Sugartown, PA, DODeath 11/4/1979, Mobridge, SD DODivorce 6/27/1917 in Pine County, Minnesota. One child - Bertha Anna Berry DOB8/7/1914, Stockton,CA Possible 3rd marriage to a Mrs. Cerney. Last known residence in Stockton, CA - lived with a Mrs. Rose on Clay Street (possibly a boarding house) probably in the 1960's. Mrs. Rose had a daughter born about 1909. Gave his occupation as plumber or metal worker. Both families of 1st and 2nd marriage have been trying to find info on this "man of many faces and lives". Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you for any information and/or referals you may provide!! Audrey in California

Killed in a train wreck? My great grandfather was Joseph Glenn Turner born maybe in Kansas in 1883 or before to Orson A. Turner and Syrelda Anderson. He had a brother Orson Oliver Turner (born in Philo) who died in Springfield in 1949. Joseph married Helen Grace Toland on May 17, 1903 in Greene County, Missouri. My Grandmother, Agnes Maude Turner/Dowdy and daughter of Joseph and Helen, always told us her father was killed in a train wreck- he was working for the railroad. The was that Joseph's body was badly damaged and the only recognizable thing on the body was the shoes and Helen couldn't positively identify the shoes as belonging to Joseph. So a couple years later Helen wanted to remarry and obtained a divorce from her dead husband just to be on the safe side. Well I obtained a copy of the divorce decree from Greene County dated November 1912. The divorce was trial by jury and according to Helen, Joseph abandoned her and her daughter over a year before and had become addicted to habitual drinking. My family was shocked as they had always believed the train wreck story. Joseph Glenn has not been heard from since about 1911. Where did he go and what happened to him? Michelle Roberts Gurley/Mullings in Blount Co. Ala/Greene Co. MO Lewis/Toland in Penn/Ohio/Greene Co. MO McKee in TN/Greene Co. MO Dowdy/Edwards in Chatham NC/Carroll & Washington Co. VA/Greene Co. MO Elrod/Davis in Wayne&Warren Co. KY Payne/Day/Greer/Moretz in Wilkes Co. NC Chandler/Gott/Rogers/Patterson/Kirkpatrick/McCurdy in Greene Co. MO

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EXCELLENT THINKING FOR ALL CONCERNED. Alice

Hi All, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have put a copyright on this list which includes all postings to the list. Before you get in a huff, please, let me explain. I have put the copyright to protect us all. I have become aware of people joining lists in order to obtain material for various publications of all kinds. I know I do not want my hard work used without my permission and I'm sure most of you feel the same way. I do want you all to know that I have no intention of using your postings without YOUR permission. I am in the process of creating a web site to go with this list. However, I will NOT use any material from this list without first asking the person who posted it first. If I am contacted in order to obtain permission to use anyone's post, I promise to immediately forward the request to the person who posted the information. I have included the note I put in the welcome message advising of the copyright. ----------snip------------- *****NOTE This list and all posts contained is copyrighted by Nicole Burgess. No post may be used for any purpose without my written consent or the consent of the person who posted the message. ----------snip------------- Also, I don't want anyone to think that someone on this list is trying to use our postings. I have NO indication of that happening. I just want to be careful. I hope everyone understands the reasons for my actions. Any comments, suggestions, moans, groans and sighs can be sent to my address, as always. I would particularly like suggestions for the web page. I really do think of this as a group effort. Smiles, Nicole Burgess

My grandfather, Richard Bailey Hoover (born Bailey M. Hoover, b. Braxton County, WV, 1888) willingly disappeared in 1930 from Weston, Lewis County, WV. His parents were Jesse and Amanda (Bolton) Hoover. Jesse's father was James Hoover. He was married to Mamie Estelle Williams, had two children: Lucelia and Ormal (both deceased). He had operated a garage in Weston with his brother-in-law and lost everything in the depression. Family tradition says he went to Texas, Ohio or Pennsylvania. I would love to find out what happened to him.

-----Original Message----- From: Michael <wolfie@naxs.com> To: GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-L@rootsweb.com <GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Friday, June 19, 1998 6:02 PM >Would love help in trying to find out what happened to my grandfather, John Lafayette "Fate" O'Dell b abt 1870/71 in Washington Co. VA---father & mother James A. & Sarah O'Dell. He >left his family in VA Jan 22, 1914. He gathered all his children together >and told them he wouldn't be back again. He had gone off in the past for >weeks at a time before returning. The last time he was home he stayed hid >most of the time in the house or attic if someone came around. They >remembered him and my grandmother having a big argument the night before he >left. Years later a sister in Bessimer, AL said he stopped by there and told her he >wasn't returning to VA. That was the last they heard. When they grew up >and questioned my grandmother she would just say, it's best to let sleeping >dogs lie. She would never tell them anything. > >I thought perhaps he had another family somewhere. I've tried to locate him >but so far I have had no luck. > >Thanks for any help you might give. > >Judy >

Hello! Yes, I, too, have noticed that men tended to "vanish" in the late 1800's-1900's. Not only do I have the missing John Kelly on my mother's side, but my husband's side also has a missing male adult. This man who was a widower with young children, left them in a relative's care, and never returned. Decades later, his children received a few of his possessions in the mail and this is how they learned that he had died. In both of our cases, the families passed along, through the generations, the idea that the men may have hopped a train. Freight trains ran pass Clifton Park in Baltimore, Maryland where John Kelly was living when he disappeared. In the case of our missing, John Kelly, could anyone described the lifestyle associated with the digging of artesian wells in the early 1900's. Were there groups of men who traveled from site to site? Was it dangerous work? Many thanks. Pat Platz austpat@prodigy.net

My father BENJAMIN HARRIS b 1893 in Butler,IN,DeKalb county, talked often about a brother whom one day as a teenager left his home in Wayne County,MI., & was never heard from again. At one point he was said to have been seen in Wisconsin in the early 1900's. Another family rumor was "maybe"he joined the army & was killed during WWI. No record of this has been found nor investigated. ALBERT or to some, ALFRED HARRIS was born around 1888-90 in either IN or in Coldwater,MI,the second son of ? HARRIS & his wife MARTHA ? HARRIS. It remains a mystery today & as the last surviving HARRIS male in this HARRIS line ,i would like to find out any info that might exists to his past & any descendants. Just what did happen to ALBERT (ALFRED) HARRIS??? RICHARD HARRIS CHARLOTTE,N.C.