Hi Alice,

Yes, I have this information, which at least states his age and place of birth. I also wrote to NH clerk, and there is no birth record for him.

BTW, the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) form is could be used as a death record, but it is a fraternity of Union Civil War soldiers. My other grandfather's is completely filled out, of course. But here's why Nebraska is incomplete in that regard:

The first post in Nebraska was chartered at the organization

of the National G.A.R. in April of 1866 at Omaha, Nebraska.

Nebraska was constituted a provisional department on July 10,

1867, but when no reports were received at the national

headquarters, the state was dropped from the rolls. In 1874, a

provisional Department commander was appointed. At the first

annual encampment of the Department of Nebraska held at Omaha,

June 12, 1877,the Department became a permanent part of the G.A.R.

organization. There were twelve local posts were in the state at

that time.

I probably have everything available from the usual sources: Ancestry, Family Search, NARA, Fold3, American Ancestors, Newspapers.com (Extra subscription), and so on. I corresponded at length with a historian from History Nebraska (Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation), and have searched beyond that.I have searched his many siblings to see if he is mentioned in anyone's obituary. I have also searched all cemeteries in every state where he lived or where his family lived, besides FindAGrave.

New information might come from a descendent or a nonpublished source. The rest of his family has extensive records. Sounds like he was the bad boy of the family.

Thanks for your interest!

Best regards,

Mary

Hi Grace,

Yes, I've got all of the properties from the BLM. They were all sold before or around 1863, the last known record of him. I've checked all of the usual places and more, so I think I'd have to receive notice of some unpublished source or something that is not yet online. He appears in the newspapers occasionally, and he held some regional offices. But if a researcher at History Nebraska can't find Nebraska records of him then, I expect he didn't want to be found.

You're most likely correct about the abandonment. It was pretty easy to disappear without a paper trail back then. My paternal grandfather left my dad's family in 1933, and no one knows what became of him. His siblings even hired private detectives in the 40s and 50s. Oh well, another mystery. I too have done my due diligence trying to find him, even DNA. So far, I have no leads on him or a "second family."

I wish the US1870 Nebraska census had a marital status checkbox. At least I'd have a narrower date range. The fact that his wife and children lived with relatives at that time suggests that he died or disappeared before 1870. I've checked all of his children to see if he's on any of there census's, etc., but no such luck. Actually, he doesn't appear in any census since 1860. With my luck, he's probably on the 1890 census that burned!

Sadly, his wife ended up in an "insane asylum" in Wisconsin (with relatives living nearby), which is so sad. The asylum later built on more housing for the homeless/penniless. There's a paupers grave there with about 200 people; only three graves are marked with names. Her death certificate mentions paralysis, so I'm guessing she had a stroke. For whatever reason, her family couldn't take care of her. Poor thing.

Thanks so much for your interest and helpfulness. It's much appreciated.

Best regards,

Mary