Hello Everyone!
My name is Nina Harkey and I am new to this list, but not to Genealogy.
I have a little bit of a research problem and am hoping someone on this list may have a
suggestion.
I am adding my grandchildren's line and have hit a brick wall.
Their grandfather is James R Tressler and it seems no one knows much about him. They
claim he was an adoptee. I have found a Lyal Tressler in. to a Carrie Shearer in this
county. In the 1930 census they have an adopted son, James R Tressler. This same James
enlisted in 1943. we have a picture of him in uniform, WW2. I think I have the right
James although family story is he was born abt 1930ish and called a woman named Marvel his
"mother". There is a James Otha Tressler and his wife Marvel in Fulton County,
Ohio in 1930, no child. Plus, if he were born after 1930, even after 1925 he would have
been too young for WW2.
In any case, I see there are births on line up to 1920 for the county. Unfortunately I
need abt 1922.... I have no birth date for this James but 1930 census he is 8. I am
thinking he was not adopted, as such, but rather was an illegitimate child of Carrie
Shearer, the wife of Lyal Tressler and he adopted the child at marriage. Just a guess.
The child was born abt 1922 and they married in 1925.
What is the best way to go about seeing if this Carrie had a child in 1922. In 1922 I see
she registered to vote. <;-P. And if not, is there a way to see if this child was
born in this county at all? Both Lyal and Carrie lived there long before they married. I
myself am an adoptee and know the laws are funny state to state, what does Indiana do with
adoption records?
TIA,
Nina
Oh, and this James "ran away from home" in 1974. Left his wife and children and
no one heard anything about him until abt 1998 when apparently some official letter came
in the mail. He was a trucker, seems his truck was found, somewhere in New York, all his
belongings in it, wallet, everything. There seems to have been talk of a death
certificate but I cannot find any information of the sort. No one in the SSDI seems to
match.
Problem is, this family knows little about their relatives so I have no clues being handed
me, starting totally from scratch.