Genealogy Jottings

Despite spending quite a bit of time this week on census records for my current research project, I did not discover anything new about my subject, Thomas Sherman of Coles County, Illinois.

Several men named Thomas Sherman lived in Illinois during the life span of my Thomas. If I have identified the correct man, he lived from 1841 to 1912. He resided in Kentucky as a boy, but he had settled in Illinois by 1870. The census records for 1870-1910 tell me this:

1. His birthplace is uncertain, having variously been reported as Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.
2. He worked as a blacksmith in every census year and usually owned a shop.
3. His middle initial was A.
4. He was married three times. Two of the wives were named Mary and Alice.
5. He was a natural-born citizen.

Unfortunately, these records do not tell me what I want to know. The big questions:

1. Did Thomas serve in the Civil War as the family claims?
2. Who was the first wife, the woman who was my great-great grandmother?
3. Why was my great-grandmother, the daughter of Thomas and the unknown woman, omitted from Thomas’ obituary?

I must keep digging if I ever hope to answer these questions. I have done all I can with census records and county histories. Now I must move on to locate other records.