Cindy Schott wrote: > > My father's uncle Guido Schott was born in 1878 in Douglas County, Kansas. > He disappeared around the turn to the century. Family stories say he either > joined the merchant marines, was shanghaied and sent to the Boer War in > South Africa, or died as a Texas Ranger. Does anyone have any clue as to how > I can pursue this? I have checked Ancestry and a few other genealogical > services online, but have had no luck. Write a real letter to the HQ for the Texas Rangers; they'll certainly know if he was one of theirs! Check the 1920 Soundex films. Every state. The Shang-hai bit, however, is probably wrong.