Help me find this family, Silas H Wilson and wife Mary E.

+5 votes
541 views
What happened to them and their offspring? The last I can find is 1870 Casper, Union County, Illinois. Did they leave the state. I know their son died in Stoddard Co, MO but I can't find their burials. I can't find any more census recs for them. I have been looking for them and Silas' siblings; Thomas, David and SJ Mary. Everybody was alive and well in 1870. Can you add anything? I just adopted these profiles and I could use some extra eyes....
WikiTree profile: Silas H Wilson
in Genealogy Help by Cindi Bonney G2G6 Mach 2 (21.0k points)

Speaking as an objective, disinterested, pair of "extra eyes," here is what I see.  Of the people connected in this family, Abraham is the best documented.  The other connected siblings have at most one original source, the 1870 US Census.  The links to Ancestry trees don't work (at least not for me, today).  SJ Mary is the only one with a documented connection to parents William and Mary.  "Parents" here is an assumption, since the 1870 Census did not record family relationships. 

Otherwise, the only thing connecting these Wilsons is their common presence in Union County, Illinois in 1870.  Wilson being such a common surname, this fact falls well short of convincing.  The 1870 Census unfortunately did not report parents' birthplaces, which might have added another point of commonality among them (or not). 

When stuck in a problem like this, I think it helps to step back and examine your assumptions (for example, that they are all siblings).  The profiles contain many statements of fact not supported by the source cited.  For example, David's profile states, "Also in the household [in the 1870 Census] is Cassie Willson, age 65, born Tennessee. At first glance, one might think that Cassie is the mother of David, however what we have for his mother is Mary b 1811-1815 in North Carolina."  On what authority do we have that?  Where is the source?  There may have been a David Wilson, son of Mary, but how do we know this record applies to him?  Perhaps this man was Cassie's son, and not the David you are looking for.  As an aside, FamilySearch has this woman's name transcribed as "Casair," and that is what the handwriting seems to say.  It could be a phonetic corruption of Keziah or some other name.

I've never looked at this family before yesterday, so there is certainly a lot about them I don't know.  Maybe some of these details exist in the Ancestry trees, but if so they mean very little without original sources.  Just based on what I can see at WikiTree, they need a lot of additional research, perhaps starting with a blank sheet and then looking at what is documented and thinking skeptically and critically about what is not.

2 Answers

+2 votes
do you have birth dates?
by Jennifer Wilson-Pines G2G6 Mach 1 (12.4k points)
no, everything we have is on the profile.
+3 votes
I found a Silas h Wilson in MO, age fits, but no child Charles D  listed among children in his will.  Still might be worth a look.

Silas Harrison Wilson Missouri, U.S., Death Certificates, 1910-1969

Silas Harrison Wilson
Death Date   
23 Dec 1919
Death Place   
Crawford, Missouri, USA
Certificate Number    35661

Silas H Wilson
Name   
Silas H Wilson
Residence Date   
Abt 1919
Residence Place   
Steelville, Missouri
Will Date   
24 Nov 1919
Probate Date   
24 Nov 1919
Probate Place   
Crawford, Missouri, USA
Inferred Death Year   
1919
Item Description    Non-Packet
Others Listed  

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5805956:9071
by Sandra Vines G2G6 Pilot (136k points)
Missouri provides free images of death certificates.  Here is Silas's:  https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1919/1919_00037330.PDF

Unfortunately, the person providing the information knew very little about Silas.
Looking deeper into Census records for Silas in Missouri, I don't think he's the same Silas.  It looks like he was born in Missouri, and was a farmer and/or merchant rather than an engineer (as stated on the 1870 Census in Illinois).
There are many Silas H Wilsons out there. But not necessarily the right one!

Related questions

+5 votes
1 answer
295 views asked Feb 24, 2022 in Genealogy Help by Cindi Bonney G2G6 Mach 2 (21.0k points)
+2 votes
0 answers
38 views asked 4 days ago in Genealogy Help by Cindi Bonney G2G6 Mach 2 (21.0k points)
+5 votes
1 answer
588 views asked Jan 19, 2014 in Genealogy Help by David Wilson G2G6 Pilot (123k points)
+8 votes
2 answers
+5 votes
0 answers
86 views asked Feb 17, 2016 in Genealogy Help by Wilson
+2 votes
2 answers
162 views asked Mar 8, 2017 in Genealogy Help by Guy Parneix G2G Crew (320 points)
+2 votes
1 answer
80 views asked Dec 6, 2020 in Genealogy Help by Chuk Wilson G2G Rookie (250 points)
+1 vote
0 answers
53 views asked Dec 6, 2020 in Genealogy Help by Chuk Wilson G2G Rookie (250 points)
+5 votes
0 answers

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...