Dear Marilyn, As far as I can see, Elder is a very unusual last name in Germany, and the same is true for Switzerland. The 1850 US census does have a few German-born Elders, but the large majority of the foreign-born Elders in the 1850 census appear to be Irish. I am sorry, I can't help you any further on that topic... Very sincerely yours, Lars E. Oyane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Aug 18, 2013, at 10:55 AM, Marilyn Demas wrote: > Lars, > May I ask if Elder is a common name in Germany? The reason I ask is that here in Sacramento we had a prominent family named El;ser also, not your Elder, they were in Sacramento in the 1870's, in fact we have an area of So. Sacramento called Elder Creek. I know, there are those of you who believe Elder Creek is named after the Elderberry but it was actually after the Elder family. > marilyn > > > ________________________________ > From: Lars Oyane <loya@online.no> > To: norcal@rootsweb.com > Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 8:59 AM > Subject: [NORCAL] Howard Morton Elder, born FL 1876 - in California 1920 - what became of him? - CADI? > > > Dear Listers, > > I wish to share with you today what may appear as a tragic family quarrel: > > Ferdinand Elder, a highly reputed lawyer, and his wife Caroline nee Emerson were married in MN in 1875, and following a short stay in Duval Co.,. FL they lived for many years in MN before moving to WA, ending up in Tacoma, WA. Ferdinand Elder died in 1915, and by then his oldest son was apparently "dead" to his parents: > > Howard Morton ELDER was born in Duval Co., FL Sep. 1, 1876. He grew up with his parents in MN and accompanied them in the late 1880's to WA. However, some time in the early 1890's he appears to have left home to work on the railroad. He married a 1st time in La Crosse, WI in 1897 to Clara Mathilda Nelson of Norwegian extraction. They had one son, and then about 1902 they were divorced. Shortly thereafter Howard remarried a Florence NN from MN and moved to Yuma, AZ where by 1910 he had become a saloon keeper (Dear Listers, > > I wish to share with you today what may appear as a tragic family quarrel: > > Ferdinand Elder, a highly reputed lawyer, and his wife Caroline nee Emerson were married in MN in 1875, and following a short stay in Duval Co.,. FL they lived for many years in MN before moving to WA, ending up in Tacoma, WA. Ferdinand Elder died in 1915, and by then his oldest son was apparently "dead" to his parents: > > Howard Morton ELDER was born in Duval Co., FL Sep. 1, 1876. He grew up with his parents in MN and accompanied them in the late 1880's to WA. However, some time in the early 1890's he appears to have left home to work on the railroad. He married a 1st time in La Crosse, WI in 1897 to Clara Mathilda Nelson of Norwegian extraction. They had one son, and then about 1902 they were divorced. Shortly thereafter Howard remarried Florence NN from MN, and they moved to Yuma, AZ where by 1910 Howard had become a saloon keeper (http://interactive.ancestry.com/7884/31111_4327231-00146/341155?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3d1910USCenIndex%26indiv%3dtry%26h%3d341155&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord). The WW1 draft record shows him residing in San Bernardino Co., CA, then married to Alma, but by 1920 he was widowed, a resident of Trona, San Bernardino Co., CA > (http://interactive.ancestry.com/6061/4293834-00600/81931585?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancest! > ry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3d1920usfedcen%26h%3d81931585%26indiv%3dtry%26o_vc%3dRecord%253aOtherRecord%26rhSource%3d6482&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord). > > That's the last I see of him! Can you listers please hep this Norwegian relative of Howard's 1st wife Clara Nelson find out: > > * What is really Howard Elder's occupation at Trona, CA in 1920? > > * And, can Howard's death record be found in the CADI after 1920? > > * Or, does anyone have any suggestions what may have become of Howard Elder after 1920? After all he was only 43 years old at the time... > > Thanks a million in advance for any assistance you can possible give me in this matter! > > Very sincerely yours, > > Lars E. Oyane > Geilo, Norway/Bavaria, Germany