Thought you all might be interested in this. It was part of a newsletter I receive from the New England Historical Society. Stacey Little-Known Facts About Santa and Friends We all know that Santa Claus makes his permanent residence in the North Pole with Mrs. Claus and the merry elves. We also know that once a year he and his pets take a "working vacation." Occasionally, though, Santa has stayed in his summer home long enough to be placed in a public record. For instance, the 1930 census has forty-two-year-old Santa Claus living in Marshall, Missouri. This entry is especially revealing as it not only gives Mrs. Claus's first name (Mabel), but the names of five sons and one daughter. If Santa were forty-two years old in 1930, he would not likely be living today, so it stands to reason that one of these sons took over the Santa duties after his death. Santa's occupation is given as farm laborer - ho, ho, ho - a toy farm, perhaps? Santa also got into a spot of trouble when passing through the state of Arkansas. He is found in the Fort Smith Criminal Case Files on Ancestry.com, which notes the jolly one was cited for a liquor violation in 1881. The database is described as "[consisting] of criminal court cases of such famous outlaws as Wyatt Earp and 'Cherokee Bill' Goldsby. Many of these 50,000 cases were heard by the famous 'hanging' Judge Isaac C. Parker, appointed by President Grant to bring law and order to the territory of Arkansas." Liquor violations were considered misdemeanors, resulting in a sentence of a year or less. It is not known how long Santa was in the clink, if at all, but it goes a long way toward explaining Rudolph's nose. Speaking of the red-nosed flying machine, a Rudolph Claus is listed in Tiger Fork, Missouri, a mere 120 miles from Santa's summer home in Marshall. Perhaps, after suffering so much humiliation from the other reindeers, he decided to run away from home for a spell. The Midwest, and specifically, Missouri, seemed to be a popular place for our friends. In the 1860 census Frosty Snow is found in the Show-Me State town of Granby, which is about four hours away from the "world's corncob pipe center," Washington, Missouri. Frosty was born in Kentucky in about 1814 but is not found on any censuses until 1860. As Kentucky does not offer the ideal climate for snowmen, it stands to reason that Frosty was packed in ice and moved up north shortly after his birth, staying there until he developed a permanent layer, before venturing to Missouri. Of course this is all theoretical and primary sources still must be checked (twice), but if I were you, I wouldn't spend too much time on it - the holidays are fast approaching!