Hiland A. Main occupies an interesting intersection in my family tree. The first we see of him is in the 1860 US Census records as a hired hand in the household of William Reginald Scriven, my 2nd g. grandfather. He is about 18 then. Soon, he goes off to fight in the Civil War in a New York calvary division. The miltary record shows he was married (to a young girl named West) when he enlisted, and then he comes home after losing his arm in battle.
Then comes the interesting part: A NYS 1865 Census shows William as "D" (divorced), but neither his wife, Phinette Scriven, nor their son, Frederick Reginald Scriven, my great grandfather, who was born the same month as Hiland's enlistment. Hiland may have gotten Phinette pregnant, then enlisted to avoid the consequences. A later record shows Hiland and Phinette were married in 1869. I have found the gravesite where the couple are buried together in Berlin, NY. What I haven't found is a divorce certificate for William and Phinnette.
Still, Phinnette's name appears on the marriage certificate of Frederick R. Scriven as his mother and William R Scriven is listed as his father. So, considering the timing of Fred's birth, who fathered him was an open to question--until my Y-DNA test showed matches with only Main family members.
(I'd still like to get that divorce record, though!)
