Investigating Strange Circumstances

I have a great-uncle who disappeared.  Family tradition stated that he disappeared while selling Bibles home to home.

This intrigued me and made me wonder what happened. So, I began digging deeper.

So, how did I dig deeper?

We need to dig deep to find our missing relatives
  • Checking the census records, I discovered he’d worked as a miner, but had been unemployed for three months the year before.
  • I began to research mines in the area he lived and discovered a wealth of information I did not know.
  • I searched mine accidents, to determine if he’d disappeared in one of these. Many times names were not given of those killed, so I could not rule this out as an option.
  • I searched for a death certificate but found none.
  • I went back to the newspapers of that area and searched from 1910-1920 for missing people, mining accidents or bodies found in that area. I found nothing conclusive.
  • I read on the life of a door to door Bible salesman.
  • I conducted Google searches for missing people in the area this uncle lived

 

missing relatives leave a hole in our hearts

Sadly, none of my searches turned up any concrete evidence about what happened to this uncle, but my mind did not stop.  I began to create my own hypothesis, which included.

  • He had a heart attack, stroke or health issue and was not found
  • Foul play or harm was brought to him
  • He fell or tripped and died
  • He may have fallen into a hole in the ground and could not get out
  • He could have been killed in a mining accident {but it’s more likely the family would have been aware of this}

 

So, all of these are hypothesis to work with.  I don’t know if I will ever find the answers, but sometimes the fun comes in the hunt.

What strange circumstances have you researched?  Did you have concrete answers?

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