I am researching Thomas, Samuel, and Jonas Lock. I believe the 3 men were brothers or
first cousins. They appear to have removed from KY to Orange County between 1810 and 1820
and were in the 1820 Orange County census, but not in the 1830 census. However, the wives
of Samuel and Jonas remarried in 1825 and the wife of Thomas was in the 1830, 1840, 1850,
and 1860 censuses. She never remarried. All three men had minor children in 1820. I
suspect that they died as the result of an epidemic or some type of disaster or accident
that occurred before 1825 when the wives of Jonas and Samuel remarried. Unfortunately, we
have been unable to find probate records for the men. I have three questions:
1.. Since the men had minor children, I am wondering if anyone knows whether guardian
bonds for this time period still exist, and if so, where they can be found. Salt Lake
City has not microfilmed guardian bonds for the county. A book has been published
regarding guardian bonds, but the earliest year is 1848, too late for this researcher.
:-)
2.. Is anyone on the list aware of an epidemic or disaster that occurred in the area
during this timeframe?
3.. Does anyone know whether the county had newspapers during this time period? (Or
whether Washington Co. had newspapers? Thomas' family lived near Washington Co. and
his wife and mother-in-law were members of the Lost River Baptist Church in Washington
Co.)
Any help or other suggestions would be most appreciated. Judi