Lorrie The Waukesha Freeman began publishing on March 29, 1859. Waukesha also had a number of other papers during this period which published for short periods of time. It appears that one of the most successful of these other papers was the Waukesha County Democrat. I checked both the Freeman and the Democrat for an obituary of Nelson Howard but did not find one in either paper. During this time period both papers were primarily filled with canned material from out east and local ads. The Freeman is indexed until about 1880. I also checked the index for reference to a Nelson Howard. There were a number of Howards listed. A Howard family was quite prominent in the Town of Lisbon but came to Lisbon in the 1870's from England. I also check the 1880 History of Waukesha County but again without success. The story is not over. The index of probate records for Waukesha County lists petition for administration being filed for Nelson Howard on December 31, 1854. You have a date. The copy of this record is available at the Area Research Center of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at the Golda Meir Library at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. You can contact them by going to the website for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and looking into area research centers. I will also try and check at Prairie Home Cemetary. Although a grave there may be unmarked, the cemetary maintains a list of the names and certain details of the burials. ( I found out about my mother-in-laws three siblings who died as infants this way). The Cemetary may be able to provide the actual date of death for Nelson Howard. Its records may also show family members who are buried close by and through their obituaries or other biographical materials, further details about Nelson may become available. Hope this helps Susan

Susan, I need to look at Freemans for obits when I am in Wisconsin later this month. Can you tell me where you accessed this archive? Also, are the probate records at the Milwaukee Urban Archives for Waukesha County, or what? Indexes to probate records? Thanks for the info. Penny Ziemer Ford