Hello, Maggie --
Good luck on researching your Wilsons and Warrens! You may have already
tried all of these -- but I thought I'd mention them in case they might help
you.
Can you find the family in the 1860 census -- either IN or IA? Since they
married in 1862, you can hope they lived near each other. Find both
Elizabeth Wilsons with parents in the 1860 census, and also Joseph Warren --
which Elizabeth lived closer to Joseph? This is not definite proof -- but
will give you a family to focus on.
Do you have a death date for Elizabeth Warren? You can request her death
certificate possible from the county health department or IA State Health
Dept. With luck, her death certificate will list parents' names.
Do you know where Elizabeth is buried? Contact the cemetery office and ask
for whatever info they have on her burial. Sometimes they have what is, in
effect, the same info as a death certificate. In other words, it's possible
that her parents' names will be listed. You can also try to contact the
funeral home which handled her funeral (if she died "late" enough and the
funeral home is still in existence.)
Try to find her obituary. It might list survivors -- like brothers and
sisters names. Then you can compare these names to the 1850 census you have
on the two Elizabeths to see which sibling names match up.
If all else fails, you might try to follow *everyone* in the two Wilson
families to see if anything, as you follow them along, would eliminate one.
For ex, in the 1870 census for both Wilson families, is an Elizabeth still
living with them? This one is probably then NOT the right one -- since your
Elizabeth is already married. If you can find a death date for the two
fathers, try to find their wills. The will might list daughter Elizabeth
*Warren* and then you've got the right one. You might also need to follow
*all* of the siblings along. Try to find their death dates then request
obits. If an obit lists a sister Elizabeth Warren, you've got the right
family. Then request that person's death certificate in hopes that this
sibling's death cert. lists parents' names (you'll already know the
father's
name from the census, but the death cert. might list mother's maiden name.)
Good luck on everything! You WILL solve it one day!
All the best,
Sara in Houston