July 1, 2008

Dear db,

I'm a BEGINNER genealogist--been doing this about 3 days. I've discovered that my husband is the grandson of Sarah Alice Walls of Bluffdale Township in Greene County, Illinois, born July 15, 1897.

We visited the Greene County Clerk's office today, but discovered that the marriage license for Edmund and Rebecca Smith Walls is recorded, but is missing.

I found Sarah Alice living with her parents and two brothers in the 1900 census, along with her young son, Leroy. Edmund Walls lists that he was born in England in 1840 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1860. He was a naturalized citizen.

The 1910 census shows George Walls living with his elderly mother, Rebecca, and his nephew, Roy Resinger (Kessinger?) age 13. We are certain that this is my husband's father, Roy Walls. Young Leroy (Roy) was born out of wedlock and may have taken his father's name (?) during his teens.

In the 1920 census we located Roy (now Walls again), age 22, living in Carrollton, Illinois with his wife, two children and elderly grandmother, Rebecca.

I can't find any trace of Sarah Alice after the 1900 census.

I plan to make an appointment with the Greene County Historical and Genealogy Society next week for help. We may have a lead on Edmund's burial somewhere near Eldred, Illinois. We have a death certificate from 1907, but the gentleman was 15 years younger than the Edmund Walls we're seeking should have been in 1907. However, he is buried near a George Walls whose dates match those of the George Edmund you've listed above.

Please contact me directly through my e-mail, as I'm not very familiar with the Family Tree Circles website, although I am a member of ancestry.com.

Thanks,
Connie Charlesworth Walls
cworth@frontiernet.net