OK, literally, my brick wall blew up. My great grandfather, Ellis Shaul, has been hiding for many years! I have his marriage records, the birth of his children, his 1900 census records, the marriages of his children, the deaths of his children, the death of his wife, but have not been able to find any mention of Ellis after the 1900 census. The only clue I had was that my great grandmother was listed as his widow in the 1915 city directory for Ludington, Michigan.
Well, Ellis showed up!!! I went back and started over with all the basics. And I found him. He BLEW UP. Yup. In September, 1904, Ellis Shaul, was working at the National Refinery in Findlay, Ohio, when the tank he was working on blew up and shot him 100 feet into the air! (Cincinnati Enquirer, Sep 22, 1904, p 1). He did not survive. The article goes on to state that Ellis was from Ludington, MI and that his widow was wired with the news of her husband's death. A quick, four line blurb in the Sandusky Star-Journal, Sep 22, 1904, p 5, reports Ellis was blown to pieces.
Now, there does not appear to be a death certificate issued in the state of Ohio. I have dug deeper, pun intended, and found Ellis Schaull buried in Find A Grave at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio in September 1904. It makes sense that the body would not have been shipped back to Michigan -- a matter of expense. I have an inquiry into the Find A Grave keeper to verify this is really my Ellis.
KABOOM.
#Genealogy #BrickWalls
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