Hi Kathy, I've encountered this. Sometimes someone looks up something, doesn't see anything obvious and tells you they have nothing. Sometimes you need specific time frames or a patient clerk that will look up alternative spellings. For some reason my grgrgrandfather moved to Missouri from Illinois where his wife was still living. He died there but was sent back to Illinois to be buried with the family. There is no headstone and if it weren't for the efforts of a fantastic volunteer there I would never have found them. Another volunteer had previously told me there was no record of this family anywhere! It could be the family disowned him...who knows. I'd try to find his death through the state if possible to see what turns up. And don't forget to ask local libraries if they have a listing of who is buried in the local cemeteries. Sometimes they do and they can give you the info you are looking for! Good luck. Stephanie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Maurer" <maurertk@voyager.net> To: <IALEE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 12:13 AM Subject: [IALEE] Does anybody else have "vanishing" ancestors? > Hello all: > > I have run into a situation where I know where an entire family is buried, > except for the father (James O'Meara). I can't find him anywhere in the > county. His wife and son are buried at Lycurgus, but I find no evidence of > his burial anywhere in Allamakee County. On another branch, I have a wife > who died. (Hannah Garvin/Gavin McLaughlin). The husband remarried. I can > find him, his second wife, and several of his children, but no sign of the > first wife. > > I realize it is possible that the father, above, moved to another county, > but he would have been leaving his wife behind at an elderly age. I also > realize that that first wife may have died elsewhere and been buried > elsewhere, but I find no indication of that, either. These seem the least > likely. what seems more likely is that record-keepers were inconsistent or > inadequate. > > So has anybody else had ancestors who vanished? > > Kathy > > McLAUGHLIN, O'MEARA, DANAHER, FENELON, RYAN > > Also interested in Moroney, Holohan/Holohan/Wholahan, McGuire, Shea and > Shields