I suggest that you look at the microfilm records in the Family History Library for Union County births, deaths, marriages and guardianship, as well as wills, or if these are not available for the 1890's, write to the Union County Clerk requesting a search of the death records. You may learn that this was not murder, suicide, or accident, but another example of children being orphaned by natural deaths. You might also see if there are any local newspapers for the time period in question, once you determine the year(s) of death of the parents. You are fortunate to have found the surviving children living with their grandparents. I found that the three sons of the Walters family, living in Anna, were orphaned when both parents died of natural causes a few months apart in 1884. The father's will indicated that he wanted part of his estate to be spent to erect a suitable gravestone for his wife but does not mention anything about the guardianship of the boys, the oldest of whom was only 14. Because the 1890 census does not exist, I have not been able to trace exactly what happend to the boys, but since I found them as young adults in the 1900 and later census living independently in Columbus, Ohio, I have surmised that they went back to Ohio to live with their mother's parents or aunts and uncles there. Unfortunately, often Internet searches only give us the starting points, such as where relatives were living at a certain time. To find the actual details usually involves hours of research with microfilm. Karla Walters Bellevue, Washington