Hello Listers: I was very interested in the recent post from the Democratic Standard, 1874 regarding Supposed Death of Essington Hammond. My great grandmother, Elizabeth Hammond Rhodes, was Essington's sister. The last sentence was very intriguing. "It is the general supposition on the part of the residents of the county capital that the W. H. Hammond referred to is no other than Essington Hammond, Esq., late of Sarah Furnace, this county, whose recent failure and mysterious disappearance has been the subject of much comment, and is still fresh in the mind of our readers." Does anyone know what the recent failure was or know anything about the mysterious disappearance orhave any knowledge about later information that supposedly was coming by mail about this incident? Is anyone else researching this particular Hammond family? Edna