Which of your ancestors have disappeared?

[KathMc]

I didn't find anyone in the 1870 census fitting the bill, but there is an Edward Martin in Bodie, Mono County, California in the 1880 census. He is listed as a teamster and miner and a widower. I am not sure how to prove this, but if it helps, here is the link for the county library:

http://www.monocolibraries.org/

They might be able to guide you in the right direction. It very well could be a wild goose chase.

Kath

[Keesa]

What a novel idea, this forum! I have a disappeared g.grandfather, Frederick Carter. He left Leverington Cambridgeshire in the fall of 1858 for the goldfields in Victoria, Australia and never returned. There were two letters to his wife Sarah, the first describing his sea voyage to Melbourne (he arrived Christmas Day 1858 on the "Royal Charter"). The second letter in Apr. 1859 detailed his adventures in the goldfields at McIvor. He is not listed as a passenger on the Royal Charter.
Have to think that he was deliberately covering his tracks.

[KathMc]

Keesa,

Do you actually have those letters? What a wonderful thing to have. We have rumor of a letter my gr gr grandfather wrote to family in England in 1888 or '89 and supposedly a few older relatives saw it, but I think if it actually did exist, was burned in my mom's cousin's house fire. He was the collector of that generation.

Kath

[derryphilip]

Hi

What a great idea, i have part family that is missing there are five child that have gone awol and as yet i can find no trace despite RC chasing them for me I would love to know where that black hole is so that I can pull them out.

Vanessa

[Keesa]

Keesa,

Do you actually have those letters? What a wonderful thing to have. We have rumor of a letter my gr gr grandfather wrote to family in England in 1888 or '89 and supposedly a few older relatives saw it, but I think if it actually did exist, was burned in my mom's cousin's house fire. He was the collector of that generation.
Hi Kath
Yes I actually have copies of the handwritten letters as well as copies of a typed translation that another relative kindly produced some years ago. The second letter is incomplete but there are about 10 pages readable. I keep feeling that the last few missing pages might provide the clues that I need to determine what happened to him, but unable to determine what happened to those pages or who might have them.
Regards Keesa
Kath

[downside]

Cheer up Parish

made me feel ashamed to be British.

The British are really great at nicking stuff.

During the Tudor period our pirates were reclassified as privateers and they really managed to annoy the Spanish by nicking their fully laden treasure ships on the way back from South America - resulting in the Amada.

Our boys did a good job in capturing as many French ships as they could during the Napolionic Wars.

Let's face it we were excellent at nicking other peoples countires e.g. North America, India, Australia, New Zealand and large chunks of Africa etc.

Maybe you missed the episode in the BBC series Coast where they recreated a method of deliberately luring boats onto rocks off the coast of Cornwall.  It was a practice the locals used to indulge in from time to time.  Salavging and smuggling are part of our heritage.

downside

[liverpool lass]

I have four doing the disappearing act...
Murdock Mckenzie, b 1850 in Paisley, married Agnes Ballantyne. By 1881 Agnes is living on her own in Glasgow with the children. No sign of her in 1891, the children are in Liverpool with relatives, no sign of Murdock. In 1895 Agnes emigrates to USA, she is now a widow, children stay in Liverpool, no death record for Murdock.

Agnes remarries in the States c1902. Husband Hubert Wood disappears off the face of the earth (no death record) and she is on her own again by 1910.
Is she putting them under the patio do you think?

We can track Agnes right up to 1930 in Massachusetts then....nothing!

Finally, Dorothy Boyd b 1860 in Liverpool reportedly went into the Asylum some time after 1895 but she didn't die..... or I can't find the record.

Any ideas??

[hiraeth]

ROFL !!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wow liverpool lass that is quite a list - I think your AWOT (Ancestors WithOut Trace) cases need to go to the top of the list of RC Most wanted! 

You don't just need help - you need an INTERVENTION 

Wasn't there a woman in the States a few years ago they called the "black widow killer" because her husbands kept on dying and/or disappearing    I'm not sure but I think she is now on death row 

[MarieC]

Yes, hiraeth,

I think Liverpool Lass takes the prize so far!!!    I'm sure she doesn't think it's a laughing matter, though!  Was Agnes a murderer??   

Kath, thanks for having a look around for Edward Martin!!  He can't be found in England or Australia between 1851 and 1881, so I do wonder if perhaps he did get gold fever and go to California!!  Just a few questions of clarification, if I may:

*  was the age of the man you found on the two censuses right for someone born in 1806? 

*  was the one found in 1880 born in England?

*  did the 1860 census say he was married?

*  are there any death indexes that could be checked?

This could be a wild goose chase, or it could be him, depending on if the details stack up.  It's starting to get really interesting for me!

Thanks again, Kath!! 

MarieC