MyIndianaHome.net

I've been trying to find the date and place of death of my great grandfather for many years. He is William Andrew Duke, born 16 February 1852 in Xenia, Ohio, where he is listed in the 1860 census. By 1870 at age 18, he was a farm laborer living in the household of John Powlott.

On 25 October 1879 in Grant County, he married Harriet (Hattie) Elizabeth Fagan. Their 2 children were born in 1880 and 1882 in Marion, Indiana. According to family members, Hattie's mother strongly disapproved of her marriage to William, and so Hattie remained in the household of her mother without her husband.

William appears in the 1880 census living with his mother in Xenia, Ohio, and working as a stonecutter. He did keep in contact with Hattie, as their second child, my grandfather, was born in Marion in 1882. This is the last I have found of William, and I have searched everywhere I can think of for 40+ years.

His brother said that William had worked for the same man for many years, and that he died in a "county home." This was probably in Indiana, but we don't know for sure.

So my question is this: Did Grant County have a county home or county farm in the late 1800's and early 1900's? And if so, are there any existing record?

Hoping somebody can help me solve this mystery!
Ruth Ann Russell