Seeking ANY information about a Pierce B. BISSELL family in the 1850 census Joliet, Will Co. We have the data from the census entry itself....and know he moved there in about 1849 to early 1850 from Rock Island....and just as mysteriously moved back to Rock Island Co in about 1853. His wife was Sarah (nee VANBOSKIRK/ VANBUSKIRK). I suspected a relationship with the David RICHARDS family next door....esp through the wife Mary A...as possibly his sister..but recently found records indicate her maiden name was LARRAWAY....she and David both being from Herkimer Co, NY. I guess I shouldn't still rule her out...there are many coincidences going on here....Pierce's mother could have remarried to a Larraway and had Mary A. Our search is ultimately to find the parentage of Pierce B. Bissell...born about 1817-20....possibly Michigan...but also possibly NY. There are no clues of his sibblings other than the slight one for Mary A. mentioned earlier. We have wondered if Pierce moved his family to Joliet because of family....possibly an aging mother, the possible sister connection.....whatever...it remains a mystery. So many of the names on the pages surrounding Pierce's 1850 entry have appeared to look promising.....but we don't have family enough info to even discard them. One more piece of evidence.....when they did move back to Rock Island Co....in the next census of 1860....Sarah was head of household...Pierce was listed....with the occupation of a peddlar....but the addition notation, "insane due to religious excitement". Though Pierce had previously owned property in Rock Island...making government land purchases in about 1839 Oct.....the land was sold before the move to Joliet and he never owned land again that we know of....all family property was in his wife, Sarah's name from then on. We suspect that he became affiliated with one of two churches while over in Joliet....either the Mormans....or a church known as the Swedenborgian church. There was a MARTIN in Joliet....he appears in histories and biographys of Will Co or Joliet history...he was a developer/industrialist...and was extremely wealthy for the time. He gave most of his vast wealth to the SWEDEBORGIAN CHURCH upon his death. It is possible that Pierce has a connection somehow to this family..possibly to a dead Uncle of Martins.....and that the move BACK to Rock Island was an attempt to keep Pierce from giving away the family money. We have yet to find anything on the dead uncle either...those reords probably being back in NY in an unknown county. Sorry for the long post....this is a search of over 30 years...with many people's efforts....we're all tired...and would like an early Christmas gift....some little tidbit of info on Pierce to unlock the mystery. Julie Ann (Bissell) Tupker