Joan Rachel Darr - my brick wall ?!

[*Sandra*]

George Alexander Cramer and Maimie M Cramer - the obit for Mamie mentions 2 foster daughters. 

Mamie - http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39975685

George Alexander - http://www.rootschat.com/links/0q3j/

Sandra

[flopster]

Joan certainly seems a tough one..

ok, I am starting to get confused, so what do we have for sure?
Her name was definitely Joan Rachel Plunkett Darr , as given in her obituary
She was born about 1915 in York, PA
1920 census: There is no Joan or Rachel Darr, Olevia and Edward Darr are living alone, There is a Rachel R Plunkett (no Joan) living with her father Henry, mother (could anybody read her name on the census?), and siblings.
1930 census: Rachel is living with the Darrs and there is also no sign of her siblings going by the name of Plunkett
She has 2 boys with somebody called Myers
1940 census: again no sign of her and her sons are living with the Darrs.

What happened to the Plunkett parents? Who was Mr.Myers? and where is she in 1940?
I have never done research for the PA area before and google hasn't been too big a help, are there any old newspaper archives online I can look at? Is there any way I can find out if she was adopted?

[*Sandra*]

Reply 13 gives the parents names as in the City Directory - Henry and Charlotte. Perhaps both parents died, hence the adoptions 

It will probably be difficult to get information on the adoptions, perhaps Shelly will be able to give you a more positive answer on that 

Family search will show you what marriage/death records are currently available in the USA -

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&region=UNITED_STATES

Pennsylvania death indexes cover the years from 1906 to 1961 - there is a tutorial on the link below to help you

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,582973.0.html

There is more than a good chance that the Plunkett children have been found in 1930, albeit under adoptive name.

Did you notice that there were other Myers family on the same census sheet as the Darr family in 1940 ?

Marriage of Henry Plunkett and Charlotte Younker -

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VFSL-65P

Search U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/

 
Thank You
Sandra

[flopster]

Thank you so much..
I am rather positive now, that this is the Joan (?) Rachel I had been looking for.
Henry Plunkett also appears to have been married before to Ida Fuller in 1808.
And I discovered he was arrested for desertion at least twice in 1911 and 1914.
Also just came across a Henry H Plunkett who died in 1925, so Im assuming thats him.
Charlotte s death I have not been able to find.

[plunkettsall]

I am wondering if you continue to work on this piece of your family puzzle as I see that you haven't posted in a few years.  I came across your post this evening and want you to know that Rachael Plunkett was one of my brick walls for many years.  She is my aunt; my mother's (Beatrice Valentine Plunkett Cramer) sister.  I never met her because she died before I was born, but I have connected with other members of the family who have helped me to fill in some of the blanks.  If you would like some more information about this branch of the Plunketts, please post again.  I am more than happy to share the information that I do have.  And, by the way, Rachael changed her name to "Joan" at some point along the way.  I believe that her adoptive parents changed it but I am not sure.  I await your next post.  Plunkettsall