Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Unknown

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is at it again:

Hey geneaphiles, it's Saturday Night again - time for more Genealogy Fun!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Determine who your most recent unknown ancestor is - the one that you don't even know his or her name. 

2)  Summarize what you know about his or her family, including resources that you have searched and the resources you should search but haven't searched yet.

3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a status on Facebook.

This is a great mission!  This is a great way to snag help from distant cousins who might know something you don't...

My closest Unknown is Albert McMurry.  I know his sons, Robert E. Lee McMurry and James Adelbert McMurry.  These two are pretty well documented.  Albert and his wife, however, are virtually invisible, non-existent.

Robert was born 26 Mar 1870 in Poplar Bluff, Arkansas and died 19 Jul 1944 in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  I'm descended through him on my maternal side.  The 1880 US Census shows Robert in De Bastrop, Ashley County, Arkansas as the nephew of  James R. and Luvenia C. Smith.  Brother James is not listed.  Robert's birthplace is listed as Arkansas, and his father's as Ohio, and his mother's as Arkansas.  Robert's surname is given as McMurray with the 'a'.   By the 1910 US Census, Robert is head of household in Grant Parish, Louisiana, married to Lela L. (Dark) McMurry in 1891.  Parents' birthplaces are not listed.  Robert's is given as Arkansas.  In 1920, Robert has six children at home.  His parent's birthplaces are listed as Ohio and Arkansas for his father and mother, respectively.  They are listed the same way in 1930.


James Adelbert was born 19 Aug 1872 in Arkansas and died 16 Apr 1948 in Pleasant Hill, Winn Parish, Louisiana.  James was ordained a Baptist minister at about age 25.  James was head of his household in the 1900 US Census for Louisiana in Winn Parish, and already married to Clara B. Collins.  He already had 4 children.  His birthplace is listed as Arkansas, as are both his mother and father's birthplaces.  By the 1910 Census, he has nine children.  His father's birthplace is now listed as Ohio.  It's also listed as Ohio on the 1920 and 1930 Censuses.  By the 1930 Census, he has an additional four children.

Here's what's been checked:

• 1840, 1850, 1860 Ohio census does not have Albert McMurry or the children listed. 1850 Arkansas census had no McMurry or McMurray family from Ohio.
   
• 1860 Arkansas and Ohio census do not have Albert
   
• The Arkansas Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications List had no Albert McMurry 1870 Arkansas census had no McMurry or McMurray family from Ohio
   
• 1870 LA census did not list Albert.
   
• 1880 Louisiana census did not list Albert McMurry.
   
• The Louisiana Confederate Veterans and Widows Pension Applications List has no Albert McMurry.

This is one brick wall I could really use some help with!  Everything I've checked, I've used both surname spellings, Ohio and Arkansas. 



This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman