I believe Michael LYNCH came from Jo Daviess county, IL. Michael bought 80 acres in Lincoln township for $500 in 1868. In 1872 he and Patrick D KELLY (whose family were from New Diggings, WI), who bought the adjacent 80, came to live in Black Hawk county and built houses for their wives and Michael's children. Michael's wife, Mary HARRINGTON (P D Kelly's niece), died in 1877, as did her mother, Mary KELLY HARRINGTON, in circumstances unknown to me. They are supposed to be buried in Eagle township. Michael was still in Lincoln township in 1880, a widower with three children (Mary B, John P and Michael A LYNCH), working as a carpenter. I have found an entry for him, I believe, in Santa Clara county, CA in 1900. If it is him, he was remarried, in about 1881, to Catherine. Is there a kind soul there who could check an index or look in a courthouse record for a Black Hawk county civil marriage record involving Michael LYNCH? Thank you, Kevin Kelly RAOGK volunteer, Columbia, Missouri