In a message dated 1/26/00 9:51:26 AM Central Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > > Julie! > I was preparing some stuff for a talk on genealogy that I am giving this > thursday and I ran across > 1873 atlas of will county > joliet > lithographs of > John BISSELL's residence > M.C.BISSELL's residence > Any connection? Did you look at joliet in the census? > Kathy Z. Kathy....thanks for the above info....yes...I am aware of John and M. C. Bissell...and know who they trace back to. Yes, I have looked at Joliet in the census as well...and still do...fine tooth combing so to speak. The above John Bissell...his father Aaron came to Joliet about 1844 and died there. We haven't found his widow Mary, in the 1850 census yet...it would be curious as to where she was.I didn't find her again until 1870...where she appears in the new CD index of Illinois, in Joliet (about 90 years old I think). Aaron Bissell and M. C. Bissell (Martin C. Bissell) were brothers I think (don't have the stuff off the top of my head). Martin was very wealthy...and you can ususally find writeups about him in your local history books on Joliet. He was involved in Canal building...had financial interests in LOTS of places around the country. I believe in Joliet, he may have owned a quarry. I took a bunch of info about him from the Joliet City directories as well....just in case. He had one very interesting quirk...he was a big supporter of a very unusual religion. I can't remember the name of it...but it had a kind of Walden's Pond flavor to it...and was very popular with the ~arts~ crowd and some famous people of the day....Martin had no children of his own..but gave some of his money to neices and nephews...and then the bulk of the money went to the church. Before Martin came to Joliet...in 1850, he had been in Michigan, trying his hand at farming?...and in his household evidently, was a John Bissell born Germany. We think he is the same John Bissell who appears in 1860 McLean Co and then appears in Joliet with wife and kids....I got his probate from Will Co, while I was there. I know his family forward...but NOT who his own father was. This guy is a bit of a mystery....a BISSELL born in Germany and associated with CT Bissells. It's possible Martin and Mary just took the kid in and he adopted their name. Who knows. In any case....we haven't made a connection to these people...and that's been for the past 25 years. They were the first ~pick~ of the Bissells because of their location. Oh well. Thanks for taking the time to send me the info...you never know when it's going to turn out to be something we had never seen before. If you happen to run across Mary anywhere ..... <grin> Julie Bissell Tupker Unfortunately, we have never been able to make a connection with the above Bissells....and none were there at the time Pierce Bissell was....except for possibly widow , Mary....and we can't even find her anywhere in 1850 , let alone Joliet.