Carolyn Rathert has had a brick wall in Missouri for years. Her great great grandparents, Russell and Ellenor Morris Fuller, appear in the 1860 census there, but no further trace could be found. It took a visit to Carroll County and research in the local library to solve the mystery.
Carolyn had used every online index possible without success. A man volunteering in the genealogy section of the library helped her locate a copy of a Probate File index where Russell was listed. It turned out that the actual probate files were in the basement of the library in a cardboard box! The only index to those files was in the library. Another library-only index contained county marriages, where Russell and Ellenor were listed. Their marriage certificate could then be located in the county courthouse.
Another find was the
History of Carroll County containing a plat map with ownership listed as "heirs of R. Fuller." The index of that book did not include names from the plat maps, so it was necessary to look through the book itself.
Family trees on Ancestry had indicated that in 1850 Russell lived in Ohio and that Ellenor was from Indiana, but there were no sources to prove these were the correct families. Carolyn did use that information to visit another town in Ohio. Again, the probate information was found at the public library. The will stated that "the widow of my son Russell Fuller and his children would receive one eighth of the estate, including the farm in Missouri that she now has in her possession in Carroll County." This proved the connection to Russell and Ellenor in Missouri.
I did condense Carolyn's report, but do talk to her about this research, especially if you have ancestors in the Midwest. The moral to her tale: "If you possibly can, visit the area you are studying and researching." Another lesson: local genealogists and researchers know a lot about the records where they live.
Good job, Carolyn!
