I wonder if someone can help by looking up some of these records - I have been tying up loose odds and ends on Emanuel Mater/Mateer/Matter/Motter. I have several lines of his antecedents going back through Pennsylvania to Germany and Alsace. He was born Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1830. He grew up as the first railroads were built- for a time the MainLine between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh used cars that both ran on rails and floated as barges on the canals. As a sixteen year-old he came to northern Ohio with the first rails of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Emanuel married about 1846. He probably married a daughter of Samuel and Magdalena Graber, in Paint Township. She is not in the 1850 census and must have died when their son Emanuel was born in 1847. The infant, Emanuel, was left with his maternal grandparents while the father went off to work - no doubt on the railroad. I have this census information for 1850, Wayne County Mateer, Emanuel Location : Wooster Page # : 452 He is a single man 20 years in a boarding house. Matter, Emanuel Location : Paint Twp Page # : 102 This one is three years-old living in the household of Samuel and Magdalena Graber( Reported to be Gürne). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here is where I need help: Three census years - two men in each - Emanuel Mater/Ma-otter/Mateer in Ohio, Wayne County, 1860, 1870, 1880. There are two Emanuel's each year- Emanuel born 1830 in PA and Emanuel born 1847 in Ohio. February 13, 1873, Emanuel(probably the son) is reported to have married Julie Matilde Nicot, b: 1853. Reportedly they have a son named , Edward, who dies soon after birth. Is this documented? What a tragedy if this is so. Or is this the father who may have married a second time. The two Emanuel's are probably still in Ohio in 1880 and that entry may clarify this puzzle. I would greatly appreciate your assistance. I will put this story together and when I do I will be glad to either publish it in sections on this list or send to those who might be interested - Best regards Hal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In addition to the census records: There should be a marriage record about 1846. A Baptism of the infant Emanuel in 1847. A death or burial record of the wife in about 1847. One marriage is reported as February 13, 1873 - the age of the bride was given but not the groom? There may be another marriage after about 1850. If there was another death connected with childbirth there should be a record - cemetery records. If so what religion? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a bit confusing - there are surname changes that are hard to believe - if you do find something I would ask that you put it on this Wayne rootsweb so that it becomes part of the invaluable archives of this mailing list. I lost some of the e-mails on this subject from earlier this year and I regret that they were not on the Wayne list - if they had been I could now find them.