If your ancestor’s widow survived him, ask yourself the following questions:
- Could she have applied for a widow’s pension based on his military service?
- Could she have applied for a military land warrant based on his military service?
- If her husband owned real property, how was it disposed of after his death?
- Did the wife get a life estate in any of her husband’s property?
- Did the wife get married after her husband died?
- Did the wife move after her husband’s death to live with a child a distance away?
One response
My great grandfather outlived his wife. I finally found him in a census list, living with one of his married daughters in a different city.
I located a widowed greatgrandmother in a City Directory (from the late 19th century), running the family tailor shop with her widowed sister in law.
My theory is never rule out the unexpected…