I am having a problem locating my Grandma's people. If there is anyone out there that has the means to help me it would mean more than you know! She was born Myrtel May Wilson on Sept. 6, 1884. She was given away to a family named Charles and Martha Cox when she was very little around the age of 4. My Dad said she was born in Lima Ohio but they show no record for her birth so I was thinking that since she was given away in Anderson Ohio, maybe she was born there? We do know for sure that her mother was born in Ohio and so was she as well as her father was born in Indiana. We dont belive her father married her mother but if so, he left soon after as her mother gave her up because she was raising her on her own. Can anyone help? Ive tried all I know to do at this point and if by some grace of God someone else doesn't find her, then she is lost to history. Thank you for you time in reading this. ..Jeff Bright

Look for Myrtel in the 1890 census. If she was fostered out, rather than adopted, she should be listed by her name, Myrtel Wilson, in the census. If she was adopted by the Cox family, she may be listed as Myrtel Cox or given another name. In the latter case, look at the Cox household to see if there is a daughter about the same age. DON'T assume that if there is a girl about the same age that it is your Myrtel, because they may have a daughter about the same age, but it is a possibility that you would want to check into further. Myrtel would not be listed as a head of household so don't be discouraged if you don't find her in an index. Rather she would be listed in someone else's household (probably Charles Cox's), just like employees and indentured servants were. Look in the 1890 census index for Charles Cox and the corresponding microfilm. If you know of any alternate spellings/forms of Cox, be sure to look for those too. If she is not in the 1890 census, try the 1900 census as she would be about 16 if born circa 1884. (Do you know at what age she married? I have seen marriages of young girls as early as 14 years old. She wouldn't be in the 1900 Cox household if she married before 1900.) If the Cox family moved after Myrtel joined the family, but stayed in OH, a census index would give you some other locations to search microfilms. If they moved out of Ohio, you are looking for that needle in a haystack. In this case, look for sites that the Cox neighbors or other relatives moved to; this will increase your odds of finding them. A tedious process with no promise of success. But if she is there, the time and effort will be worth it. Patti