WY-NE Francis Pickett 1922

It is not certain what the motivation for leaving was, whether to look for work or actually desert his family,

This thread is to Hopefully gain some outside knowledge of my missing Great Grandfather , Francis Pickett who left his home and my 3 year old grandmother, in Talmage, Ne in the year 1922.

shortly after his abandoned car was found near Cheyenne Wyoming.

I have done some death records searches, and gravestone views with nothing solid. I know it's a long shot but who knows. Maybe I can get a lead here.

I'm doing this for my Father. We speak of this not so frequently but enough to know it bothers him and he would really like answers.

Thanks for any tips you can provide for my quest.

Sticking this here

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?surname=pickett&given=Francis

You don't have any old pictures of him, by chance, do you?
How old was he when he went missing (approx).
Sorry your family has gone through this!

Is this the family of Pickett? The mother is living in Talmage with her parents and three daughters in 1920. She is listed as widowed.

Was Francis born in Missouri?

http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi?surname=Pickett&given=FRancis

Your family story indicates Francis left in 1922, but the Census lists Willa as widowed in 1920, indicating he left in 1920 at the latest.

Any idea where Willa & Francis met & married?

Was Willa a Bohlken prior to the marriage, and that's why she is with the Bohlken family, or is she boarding?

I've worked on genealogy for many people over the years. There may -- or may not -- be much information about Francis available.

http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.pickett/1488/mb.ashx

Do you have a middle name for Francis?

What kind of work did Francis do? Owning a car in this time period was not common.

Today, it's about a 2 hour drive from Topeka to Talmage. In the 'Teens, a much longer trip!

https://ocgsne.org/index.php/18-townships/61-village-of-talmage

Might find useful information in the county history, you'll likely have to read many entries. I've edited one of those!

Rosalyn tells us that, yes, Willa Bohlken Pickett is correct:

https://familysearch.org/search/rec...s~ +surname:Pickett~ +spouse_givenname:Willa~

I do not have a subscription to Genealogy Bank, sorry.

In the 1910 Federal Census, she is listed as L. Willa Bohlken:

https://familysearch.org/search/rec...a~ +surname:bohlken~ +spouse_givenname:Willa~

There is no Pickett family on the Bohlken census page, or the page before but there on page 6 is Farm Laborer Francis Pickett, born in Nebraska to parents born in Missouri:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJR-NTW?i=5&cc=1727033

He's 16, so was born about 1894. Now Francis was probably out in the fields when the census taker came to the house, so Mrs. Ida Biere probably answered the questions. His status in the household is "laborer," so he probably isn't related to either of the Bieres'. Francis can read & write, but hasn't attended school this year.

Uhmm, yeah, I like to do this.

Are there newspaper accounts of finding the car in Wyoming?

The OP is now a former member. I guess no questions will be answered. How strange.