Hi all, I have been trying to trace this man on behalf of my cousins, who are his descendants. We have had a lot of success thanks to the skill and kindness of Rootschatters in another thread you can find here:
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=845341.0In a nutshell, Adam was a surgeon and an officer in the Polish Army. He was born in Krakow in 1812, married Maria Bremner in Edinburgh in 1834, and had three children 1835-1844. He then married Harriet Chance in London in 1848, perhaps bigamously. They had a daughter, also Harriet, in France in 1849. The family emigrated from Le Havre to New Orleans, arriving 21 Dec 1849. From there they went upriver and on Census night, 1 Jun 1850, they were in Brazeau Township, Perry County, Missouri.
That's the last we know of Adam, who was still in his late 30s by this stage. His wife headed back to London. On the way she had another daughter, Eliza Jane, in New York in 1852, and when the baby was baptised back in London in Dec 1852 she described herself as a widow. That would suggest Adam died about 1851, but no death has been found for him.
One possibility we have discussed is that Adam deserted his second family, changed his name and headed to the goldfields, or something similar, and that Harriet preferred to say she was a widow rather than a deserted wife. Or that a pregnant Harriet walked out on Adam and took her daughter. But obviously we would prefer to find a verifiable trail for Adam after 1850, rather than supposition. Any help, particularly from Missouri members, would be greatly appreciated. I am in Australia, my cousins are in Scotland and Australia, and we have had help from members in all corners of the globe in the other thread, but no-one from the US Midwest, so we thought we might try posting in here. Thanks, Geoff Turner
