Re: Burials of unknown persons
ADAMS
Posted By: Mary Meyer (email) In Response To: Re: Burials of unknown persons (Sharyl Ferrall - Clayton co. IAGenWeb coordinator)
Date: 1/9/2020 at 14:06:10
Hi Sharyl:
Thank you so much for your reply.
I had not found the Elkader article but was not surprised by its implications. The same allegations were made in an article in the Clayton column in another newspaper.
I do have the pension records for Moses's widow. 1901 was only the first time she applied for a pension. It appears she filed at least five times, and as least as late as 1923. She was left destitute when he disappeared and had several small children and struggled desperately to raise them. She did finally receive a small pension. Moses had never applied for a pension and by 1923 he would have been 75 years old, so the government must have finally been convinced that he was dead.
Moses was working for the Diamond Jo company at the time he disappeared and was carrying a payroll for the company. The speculation was that he had been robbed and murdered for that money, but obviously not everyone thought that was the case. Apparently his family heard at a later date that a body had been found, and there was speculation that it might have been Moses, but there are no other details about the time and place, which was why I was inquiring about burials of unknown persons.
I appreciate your help. If you have other ideas about how to research this knotty problem, I would appreciate hearing them.
Thank you.
Mary Meyer
Clayton Queries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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