Dear Pat: My daughter and I visited the Hoyt Library in Saginaw a few years ago. The librarians were knowledgeable and very helpful. Email them and ask if the city directories for 1898 and 1899 are among their holdings. Back then, city directories gave the occupation and the address of a person. If James' wife was a widow, the directory should say "wid of James". The Hoyt also has an online index of Saginaw County obituaries for some years. The librarian found a 1910 obituary for me. The people at the Saginaw County Courthouse were also helpful. We found an index for property transfers in the 1910-20 range. I am sure that they have the index for 1899,1900, etc. Also try the Detroit Library's index to the MI 1900 census. If he was still in MI, he should be listed. Of course, if you find him in the index, you then have to order the census reel, wait 3-6 weeks, use the viewer at the library, scroll down thousands of names and then try to read the illegible handwriting of the census-taker. I would suggest signing up for membership in Ancestry.com. They have the 1900 census online. You could find him in minutes. You might find a day spent at the Hoyt very helpful in determining whether he "disappeared" or died. Good luck, Maria [email protected] wrote: > > Maria, > We are searching in the same (foggy) area in Saginaw. Here's what I know > about the formation of Saginaw Gear (an extract from Portrait and > Biographical Record, Saginaw and Bay County, MI, 1892, Biographical > Publishers, Chicago, 1892, pp.288-289): > "James McGregor, Sr., learned boiler-making on The Clyde in Glascow, > Scotland...Upon returning to Saginaw, Michigan before 1858, James founded, > along with John L. Jackson, the boiler works known as "McGregor and > Jackson'." From a history of Saginaw County, "In 1899, E. D. Church > purchased of James McGregor [Jr.], his interest in the boiler works of > McGregor and Jackson, and the manufacture of boilers, heaters, tanks, > burners, plate and structural iron was added to their line." Following that > acquisition, the firm went on to become a division of General Motors in 1910. > In 1999, it continued to exist as Saginaw Gear. > If there are employee records, this suggests that they would be held by > General Motors. > James McGregor, Jr. is my great-grandfather and my task is to find where > he disappeared to in 1899. Prior to that time, he was an Alderman in the > Sixth Ward, active in politics, a member of the Masonic Lodge. He was the > spouse of Maude Hall. > Keep me in mind if you find any information about your kin that might be > of help. Thanks. > Pat Hall > Bloomfield Hills, Michigan