Genealogy and Missing Family Members Part I – May 2, 2020

This is a broad topic. I am going to focus on two individuals. My mother’s paternal grandfather, Simeon, and his middle son, Hosea.

First, Hosea. I didn’t know about him for decades. To complicate matters, I don’t know if Hosea was his first or middle name. In research, I have come across Hosea, James, and Joseph with the order varying between records. Around 1910 – 1914, newspaper articles reported him missing. He lived in Collinsville, Oklahoma and went to visit his mother in Iola, Kansas area. He never made it. Later updates never revealed what happened. He had children and wouldn’t abandon them.

Someone linked a possible candidate on Ancestry, but no proof as to why they think it’s him. I believe the individual is buried in Indiana.

Next, Simeon is missing for a different reason. He was born 1849 so I am confident he’s dead now. He was last listed in the 1900 census living in Bayou Meto, Arkansas area. Given his last name has been mangled frequently on census records, he could have been in the 1910 census under a mangled name. Most people on Ancestry assume he died 1900 to 1910 because he’s not found on the 1910 census.

It gets interesting at this point as most trees go three different ways – died in Arkansas, Texas, or Canada. Other than the fact he was last seen in Arkansas, none of the theories include evidence verifying where he died or is buried. On my tree, I have him as deceased, but no date or location.

He remarried after being divorced from my great-grandmother. The new wife was of child bearing age and I have a handful of DNA matches in the area. I am hoping one day someone will give me the details on where, when, and burial location.

He moved around a bit so I can believe it’s possible he left Arkansas before he died.