This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: yongguang Surnames: Shields Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.illinois.unknown/12813.1.1.3.1.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I obtained the 2 death certificates from IRAD, but neither had any other names on them then the deceased's, the undertaker's and the attending physician's. They did, however, include a date for the move from Ohio to Illinois (1856), which explains why they weren't in the 1855 Illinois census. They also have a town of birth for Margaret Shields (the mother, married name) in Ohio - it looks like Zenia, Ohio. This seems to be a misspelling - Maybe Xenia, Ohio? I have attached the file. Maybe someone else is better than me at reading bad handwriting. The land records link does not include Springfield, which is where Margaret and her daughter Ella lived. I've sent a request to "find a grave" for a picture, but no response yet - the log books were interesting, but did not include any family names or new information either. Microfilmed newspapers do not cover the time and place of Margaret Shield's death, or her daughter's. I'm going thru the list to find if there might be a physical copy of the right date somewhere for the obit. http://sangamon.ilgenweb.net/ info does not seem to have what I need either. I am looking for Margaret Shields' maiden name, as Shields is her married name. I am also looking for her husband's given name. Summary of basic info that I have on this branch: 1822 Margaret Shields (married name), may have been b. Xenia, Ohio about Sep 1822. 1851 Ella J Shields was b. Ohio about 1851 1856 They moved to Springfield, Illinois 1856 or 1857 1878 Ella J Shields married Frank L Smith (born Ohio) in Madison, Illinois Jun 29, 1878 1880 Census describes Margaret Shields (married name) as widowed, living in Madison, Illinois. 1886 Margaret Shields (married name) dies in Springfield, Illinois 1887 a daughter is born to Ella J and Frank L in Springfield, Illinois. 1899 Ella J dies in Springfield, Illinois 1900 Frank and children live in Springfield, Illinois 1920 Ella J's child (my ancestor too)now lives in Tacoma, Washington. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago I think...and apparently did not address it correctly because I just found it in the "I want to go out but the machine won't accept me like this" box. I'm sorry about that...but maybe it is still "good" to think about for your project. Kristy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't have any real information for you...but I do have a few "questions" that might encourage research from a different angle. My daughter tells me that, if you haven't found the thing you are looking for, you have asked the wrong questions. She is a master at looking for the craziest thing that could have possibly happened...and is remarkably lucky about finding whatever information she needs to find. So, with the thought that these people did exist, you must not have looked in the "right place" for some reason. Keep trying! 1. Have you looked into the undertaker's records? He will not be available, of course, but it is possible that his records have survived and are stored at some current funeral home. One of the larger homes in Springfield might have information on where (whether) to look for them. Or perhaps some active researcher in the Springfield area could have clues about where to look. 2. Have you tried "Illinois Trails-Sangamon" or "Random Acts of Genealogy Kindness" for a starting point? 3. There are lists of who was practicing medicine where and when. Maybe that would offer a clue. I see that the doctor was named Smith -- perhaps Dr. Jesse Smith was related to son-in-law Frank Smith? It is a long shot...but it could happen. When you are stuck, you look everywhere. The doctor in our early family has signed such documents for the relatives even tho he was probably not doing all their medical work, and probably was not living close enough to make house calls convenient. 4. Did you look in the Xenia, Ohio, area for marriage records? It is early to have recorded marriage certificates but one never knows. Margaret was a mite old to have her first child in 1851...maybe she was married from 7-10 years before that? Ten years before would indicate the possibility of her presence in a "history book" of the area naming early settlers perhaps. (Ohio was settled before Illinois so it also may mean she missed that designation. But some nice family may have had a "Margaret" born in 1822...maybe looking at them would prove useful? 5. I would guess that whoever wrote "Zenia" had heard, but not seen, the word. It appears to me that you have read it as written. Have you done all the searching in Xenia that you did in Springfield? (This is much better writing and clarity than some death certificates, thankfully.) 6. I am not sure what you mean by "The land records link does not include Springfield". Are you referring to the cemetery? There is a famous "Oak Ridge" cemetery in Springfield. It is large and boasts of being the final resting place for Abraham Lincoln. However, every "fourth" cemetery in the world seems to be named Oak Ridge. (jesting...but there really are many) Sometimes a cemetery name that is clear to the neighbors 150 years earlier becomes more and more confusing as areas grow and change and have ever increasing populations. You might refer to some of those funeral homes to see if there are other possibilities in the area. 7. I find it surprising that there were no newspapers published in the Illinois State Capital at the time of Margaret's death in 1886. Our little podunk of 1,000 had one...and sometimes three...in that general time period. Check on that again, by inquiring at Illinois Trails, or GenWeb Sangamon, or such. There are records that tell what newspapers were in existence when. Whether or not Margaret or Ella and Frank were mentioned is problematical... but remember that there were few listings that looked like what we term "obituaries" today. They were rarely in a particularly place and rarely looked like more than "Frank Smith's wife's mother died on Tuesday." That would be mixed in with other important news like "Mable had company" and "Buy your canned peaches at the South Side Market." This requires careful reading to find and "translate" to "Margaret Shields died". 8. Have you looked in the census records in both Ohio and Illinois? Sometimes you get lucky and discover that there are more children to track down. Or perhaps Margaret's mother or sibling once lived with them? Or perhaps Frank had a connection to the Smith family two doors down from them? 9. Many of these searches could be done for Ella, Frank, or their children. Any of their stories in the paper, funeral home, history books, could suddenly present the clue you need to find Margaret. Have you looked for these folks with a simple "Google" search? Have you used other search engines? Have you found a relative who has the clue you need? 10. Think of some weird thing...perhaps Margaret never married? ...perhaps she went by Peggy at times? perhaps Frank went by Francis? ...perhaps she died in the poor house? ...perhaps she was a recluse with lots of money? perhaps ____ ? Good luck! Write to this site when you find your family so we can rejoice with you! Kristy > > Microfilmed newspapers do not cover the time and place of Margaret Shield's > death, or her daughter's. I'm going thru the list to find if there might be a > physical copy of the right date somewhere for the obit. > > http://sangamon.ilgenweb.net/ info does not seem to have what I need either. > > I am looking for Margaret Shields' maiden name, as Shields is her married > name. > I am also looking for her husband's given name. > > Summary of basic info that I have on this branch: > > 1822 Margaret Shields (married name), may have been b. Xenia, Ohio about Sep > 1822. > 1851 Ella J Shields was b. Ohio about 1851 > 1856 They moved to Springfield, Illinois 1856 or 1857 > 1878 Ella J Shields married Frank L Smith (born Ohio) in Madison, Illinois Jun > 29, 1878 > 1880 Census describes Margaret Shields (married name) as widowed, living in > Madison, Illinois. > 1886 Margaret Shields (married name) dies in Springfield, Illinois > 1887 a daughter is born to Ella J and Frank L in Springfield, Illinois. > 1899 Ella J dies in Springfield, Illinois > 1900 Frank and children live in Springfield, Illinois > 1920 Ella J's child (my ancestor too)now lives in Tacoma, Washington.