Pat Thank you for your reply. What I hope to find about my grandmother is why she was in Illinois at such an early age,and who she was with at the time. When she married my grandfather she apparently was in Illinois without the remainder of her immediate family. I have found her family on the 1910 census in KY., she however was not with them. When she left my father and grandfather, she left with another man. She left my father tied up all day in a highchair. My grandfather was a loving and good man. She on the other hand was another story. The only thing that ever slowed her down was severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. My father had a forgiving spirit and was later reunited with her. Her last husband was John V. Walker. He died in St. Louis in 1955, she in 1964. She had two sisters and I knew both of them, it seems that none of the sisters got along well. In addition to Jennie Strathern, she had a sister Lena Turner who I grew up around. She died in 1968, she had one adopted daughter, who lived in Texas and I have tried to contact her without any response. I as sure that my grandmother was remorseful about her younger years, but she would never discuss her life. Another granddaughter was raised in St. Louis in close proximity to grandma and she knows ever less than I know about her. I have hired a genealogist in Decatur, IL in hopes they can find her trail. I will just keep my fingers crossed. Miriam ----- Original Message ----- From: <PNUTREG@cs.com> To: <GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 6:22 AM Subject: Re: Missing Grandma! > Hi Miriam > > If they lived in Illinois and your Grandmother was from Kentucky, Was there > ever any evidence that she returned home to her Family? Did she ever show up > on a Census Report in Kentucky? I would check both names as she might of > used her maiden name and I think I would check the State not just the Federal > Census if they have one. But the Federal 1910 or 1920 Census may show > something. She might of been living with a Sister, Brother or her Parents. > > Also, I am not familiar with the Laws of these two states, but if they > divorced did you try getting a copy of the divorce papers? This could tell > alot. Did anyone ever say why she left your Father and husband? There is > probably two sides to the story. I am assuming that your Father never saw or > heard from her and probably only knew what his father told him about what > happened. Remember back in that Era many woman were not educated enough to > go out and get a full time paying job and would of been unable to provide for > a child on their own. Also, there were cases of Mental Abuse and many woman > ran away from a bad situation rather than face it. They did not have many > rights at that time and were not even permitted to vote. So if she had been > afraid of going to Court she might of left thinking she had no choice. > > I did find my Grandmother and I think the Story had alot more to it than my > mother was ever told and that is why I am writing to you and showing Interest > in your Story. I too, never knew my Grandmother, But have found out that she > was not a Bad person as some tried to make her out. She was a good, Church > going woman who had 3 children and no means of support. She left 2 of the > children with her mother and tried to make a new life. She took the baby with > her. Then my mother would not go with her, when she got settled. The father > came and took my mother out of the Grandmother's house and then he > disappeared (still don't know what happened to him) and left her with a > orphanage and my mother was the woman who grew up feeling neglected, unwanted > and Bitter. > > Pat > > > ==== GEN-UNSOLVED-MYSTERIES Mailing List ==== > Please consider becoming a Rootsweb contributor. > > ============================== > Ancestry.com now has more than 200,000 subscribers! To celebrate, > access to ALL of Ancestry.com will be free from July 18 to July 31! > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/freepromo.asp?sourcecode=A11AM > >