I found a couple black sheep! They were on my family tree already but I did not know that they were crooks. It was my great grandfather through my dad's side of the family. He robbed his own father!
Click to easily read:
Clipped from Alton Telegraph, 7 June 1872, Page 3
I always had funny feelings about this branch of the family. Charles was divorced from his first wife. Two of his children from the first marriage were fostered out and allegedly their foster parents hot footed it to California with the children without notice or permission. His daughter from a later marriage (my grandmother) was vehemently opposed to divorce. Charles's father Jacob was a very prosperous farmer and ordained Baptist minister. He also dabbled in politics and ran for school superintendent. He had 16 children and outlived 4 wives, In my childhood, I remember family members talk about a pioneer in the family migrating to Illinois from Tennessee with a new bride and a new mule.
I decided to see if I could fill in some blanks in my husband's genealogy. There is an eBook that has his genealogy from his grandmother back to the the Cherokee connection of Gosaduisga born in 1750. As a young man, hubby's great grandfather Joseph Adam Mitchell went to prison at Leavenworth for breaking in to a warehouse and stealing a variety of items from canned peaches to gold watch chains. Here's his mug shot that I had to use my camera to take a picture of the kindle image. You have to feel sorry for Joseph in a way because his mother died when he was 9 and his stepfather abandoned him and his sister. The kids hunted and cooked small birds until they were placed in an orphanage.
Sharon
