How To Build a Case When There Are No Records

 If this has not happened in your research yet, it will! I came across a name in a half-brother's obituary: Upton McBee. I'd been avoiding looking at this half-brother because the father is unknown, and I thought the research would be messy. But I waded in anyway because Hamiltons keep popping into my McBee families, and here was another. 

Part of the obituary wouldn't fit in the screenshot. Here is the entire text: 

GEORGE W. HAMILTON, one of our oldest and most highly respected citizens, died at the home of his son, George, Saturday morning January 21, 1928, after a comparatively short illness. He was born in Pleasanton, Iowa, January 9, 1853, and was 75 years and 12 days old at the time of his passing. 

On December 31, 1874, he was united in marriage to Miss Lilly Jane Henderson. To this union nine children were born, of whom two sons and one daughter prceded the father to the Great Beyond. The faithful wife preceded him in death some 15 years ago. 

He was converted in 1897 under the preaching of Rev. Obediah Moon and united with the Christian Church and remained steadfast until called to his reward. He leaves to mourn his passing four sons and three daughters. They are:

William H. of Hugoton, Kansas.

Robert and George H., of Cainsville.

Rolla, of Abendale, Mo.

Mrs. Lavina Daugherty, Rogerson, Idaho.

Mrs. Sylvia Madsen, of Des Moines, Iowa.

One half-brother, Upton McBee, of near Cainsville, and two half sisters, Mrs. Louis Craig and Miss Charlotte McBee, both of Cainsville. He also leaves many other relatives and hosts of friends.

The funeral service was held at the Fairview Church conducted by Dr. A. C. Babcock former pastor, after which burial was made in Fairview Cemetery.

Contributed. - The Cainsville News, Cainsville, Missouri, Thursday 26 January 1928, page 1, column 1, George W. Hamilton obituary; Newspapers.com : accessed 24 September 2023.

Upton McBee???

The research on the family in which George W. Hamilton had been reasonably researched, both parents (stepfather & bio-mother, but unknown bio-father) and all the rest of the children found in the census records, but there was  no Upton. Was this the correct family? 

The two half-sisters were indeed in the Israel McBee-Rachel Hamilton family; Louisa May McBee married a Craig, and Charlotte McBee never married and in fact lived with her sister Louisa's family until her death in 1943. 

"Upton McBee" is not found with that name in any census. If Rachel was his mother, he was born by 1880, which is her reported year of death, and Israel reports himself as widowed in the 1880 US Census, but there is no Upton there. Did she die in childbirth, and he's living with a wet-nurse?

So far, newspapers have been the richest source of non-official information. What do you make of these snippets, in date order?

8 March 1894

Bethany Democrat, Bethany, Missouri, Thursday 8 March 1894, page 3, column 7, County Court, Warrants Issued; Upton McBee listed; Newspapers.com : accessed 2 October 2023.

Bethany is the county seat of Harrison County, Missouri, and is where the County Court meets. In a section labeled County Court Warrants Issued, is listed Upton McBee, poor person, $10. I believe this to be the public welfare support of the time. "Under English Common Law, to enter into a contract and be recognized fully as an adult you must be 21 and this was always the case. Warrants as used here is a contract between a person and the court. Here is a quote:

"By the common law, every person is, technically, an infant, until he is twenty-one years old; and, in legal presumption, is not of sufficient discretion to contract an obligation at an earlier age.The ultimate source which is authoritative is Institutes of the Lawes of England by Coke (1628-1644).' The laws on infants are at 171b." Since I did not want to download and search the entire book, I'm trusting the quote in this post. 

So, Upton could not request or cash his warrant until he was 21, which puts his birth about 1873. Unfortunately by 1800, the family had moved south to Missouri, away from the wonderful Iowa State Census. A search of them from the Ancestry Card Catalog for "Upton" gave no good leads.

However, 1873 is a possible birth year and place of birth;  Decatur County, Iowa where his parents were living and residence possibly with his family in Harrison County Missouri by 1894. Both his parents are dead by 1900, and he's not living with any of his siblings from 1900 on. 

13 May 1900

The Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa, Thursday 13 May 1900, page 10, column ; news article in the Davis City column about Upton McBee; MyHeritage Newspaper database; citing Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1791-1963 : accessed 2 October 2023.

While the meaning of the article is not completely clear, what comes through is that Upton spent a lot of time on the sidewalks of Davis City (in Decatur County, Iowa) and perhaps in the jail and courts paying fines. So court records of both southern Iowa and northern Missouri could be useful.

No Upton in the 1870 through 1950 US Census of Population  or any of the non-population US Census [all states], nor in the Iowa State Census included in those years. But he's still alive and in the vicinity in the 1920s...

19 August 1926

The Cainsville News, Cainsville, Missouri, Thursday, 19 August 1926, Page 3, column 2, personals article mentioning Upton McBee; Newspapers.com : accessed 2 October 2023.

Another side of Upton McBee, the attentive brother. Mrs. Wint Craig is Louisa May McBee, who married Iverson Wintford Craig about 1897. 

26 January 1928

"GEORGE W. HAMILTON, one of our oldest and most highly respected citizens, died at the home of his son, George, Saturday morning January 21, 1928, after a comparatively short illness. He was born in Pleasanton, Iowa, January 9, 1853, and was 75 years and 12 days old at the time of his passing....

"He leaves to mourn his passing..." sons, daughters and "One half-brother, Upton McBee, of near Cainsville, and two half sisters, Mrs. Louis[e] Craig and Miss Charlotte McBee, both of Cainsville."

No Upton in the 1930 Census, and no Missouri death indexes for an Upton. No possibilities left in the Ancestry card catalog or indexed FamilySearch records either. There is one other Upton McBee found in Chronicling America, a politician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From those mentions, including the fact that he was a Confederate soldier, I dismissed him from consideration, because their timelines are a complete mismatch. A search of newspapers in both Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank and The Ancestor Hunt yielded nothing. Wikitree, Geni and MyHeritage offered nothing new.

Court records are not searched yet, but if curiosity prompts, I may resort to reading old court minutes. He's obviously an actual person and the little clues are intriguing. 

Please reply with ideas!

Valorie