The Search of genealogy, the frustrations are a given. However, that doesn't stop the title of this week's challenge from feeling like a challenge, or perhaps a criticism!
In regard to the large Pearson family, all descendants of the Commonwealth of Virginia, it's a set of in-laws in those Southern Illinois counties that are my greatest nemesis. As I've written previously, Mary Jane Pearson married William A. Hughes, and despite digging as deep as I know to be able and spending a fair amount of money in fees and travel, I have been unable to get much information beyond just the names of William's parents, and those people's fathers. Not much further than names, and the fact that they were early settlers of Southern Illinois. Few siblings, and no further biographical information, leading to several dead ends.
I do know that the above William Hughes was the youngest of three men, 3 generations with the same name. His grandfather, the senior William, appears to have arrived in Illinois sometime in the mid to late 1810's with a son and daughter, perhaps a widower as I've never found trace of a wife, or any other relations in the area. There is another family of Hughes' but there doesn't appear to be a connection.
A few years ago, I spent a fair amount of time looking for his 2 known brothers. It appears possible that all three of them may have served in the Civil War, which killed too many and scattered more as young men saw much more of the country than they perhaps would have otherwise. John and Francis "Frank" were several years older than Wiliam III (who according to some records was likely called "Alex", his middle name, probably to differentiate from his father and grandfather). John Hughes is much too common of a name to pin him down definitively, but I have a probable wife and 8 children attached to him, and squinting closely to see if the descendants of same are showing up in my DNA matches.
As for Frank, there is an abundance of information in the community of Belknap which is barely across the Pulaski/Johnson county line. Descendants of this man do appear to be noted several times in DNA shared matches, making Frank a probable uncle to me, if removed!
Frank was born to William H and Martha (Echols) Hughes in Pulaski County, Illinois. He was the middle of three brothers, unknown if there were additional siblings that did not survive long enough to be recorded, or for whom records are lost. He farmed for his entire life, although the 1880 census enumerates him as an unemployed laborer. He enlisted in 1861 with the 11th Illinois Infantry from Villa Ridge, which is the closest community to his family's farm, with the 11th out of neighboring Union County. He was mustered out after only 6 weeks. He married first in 1873 to Delphinia Narcissa Huffman, but he is listed in this record as "ZT" Hughes. They had 8 children, and he is recorded as "FM" in one birth and "ZT" in another. After puzzling over this and making sure (as much as I could) that Dela hadn't married twice, found that this man's name is Francis Marion Zachary Taylor Hughes, to be affectionately referred to as FMZT. Frank and Dela's last child was born in 1894 and lived only 9 days. It can be deduced that the mother died due to complications of childbirth, certainly not long after, as Frank marries in the spring of 1895 to Theresa Arisa. No further information has been found on this couple. 1900 census does not appear to record them in Illinois or elsewhere. Arisa is an unusual surname and not found in the area, so likely a transcription error. Frank's youngest son lists a "foster mother" in his WWI Draft Registration, leading me to assume from all (missing) facts that Frank and Theresa died shortly after their marriage. Regardloess of their fate, the minor children were seperated.
These Hughes' will continue to be a deep dive, as I tell myself that I WILL find them. Where there's a will, yes?
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