[Granville-Hough] 27 Jan 2010 - Lost Families

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:04:59 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Reply-To: gwhough at oakapple.net
Subject: Lost Families - 27 Jan 2010

JOE SULLIVAN AND MARGARET (BISHOP), GEN 4

    Joe Sullivan (                ) is recalled as a son of Henry Norris 
Sullivan and Maranda (Rollins).  It is recalled that Joe md Margaret 
(Bishop).  Very little is remembered about this family, and Joe being a 
son may indeed be true.  However, the family must first be found in 
records which are consistent with that statement.  It seems likely the 
family left Smith County soon after 1900 and may have moved to Copiah or 
Lincoln county.  

 The Lost but not Forgotten Families.

    Joe and Margaret (Bishop) Sullivan represent a recalled family which 
I have been unable to identify in available records.  How could someone 
live through several censuses, do normal things in life, and get 
married, and leave no records?  There is, first, the census void from 
1880 until 1900, when females could be born, marry, and disappear into 
the records of another surname.  This happened to quite a number of 
female Sullivan descendants, especially those born between 1880 and 
1885, as few waited until they were 20 years old to marry.  Males of the 
same period could also be lost, as some, like Abraham Lincoln, would 
strike out on their own between ages 16 and 20.  So we have this census 
void to consider.
    Then, the other way to get lost was to have a common name, but to be 
actually known and recorded by a nickname, or the reverse, to be 
recorded by the nickname on some records and by the full name on 
others.  Thus, people I knew as T. J., G. W., A. J., J. D, might be 
recorded  several ways.  The census might show T. J. as Thomas 
Jefferson, Tom, or Jeff.  I, personally, learned in grade school never 
to sign my homework as G. W. Hough, as the teacher would then call on me 
as George Hough, to which I would not respond.  I learned to write out 
my name laboriously, Granvil W. Hough.
    So, who was Joe Sullivan?  What was his real name?  How is he 
recorded in the census?  If there was no Joe, what child of Norris and 
Ran Sullivan seems to be missing?  Is there a missing Joe in another 
family?.  That is what we must work on.
-----------------------------------------
Thoughtful prayer by unknown author: 
"May God send you
enough joy to keep your heart singing,
enough sorrow to make you understanding,
enough trials to keep you strong,
enough leisure to refresh your spirits,
and enoough love to make the world beautiful."