Unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries abound. Are you a part of the answer? KEEP IN MIND - families tend to pass pictures and family histories down through daughters, not sons; all the information I have ever found about this Fox family has come from ancestors of daughters not sons. Thank you for taking interest in family history!
Not listed in any particular order
The William Madsen Bunch Letter
William Madsen Bunch 1849-1932 was married to Mary Francis Parks-Clark-Bunch. William was 3 when his mother Phoebe Fox-Bunch (sister of Ephraim) and father George walked from Missouri to Oregon in 1852. One of his daughters named Mary Josephine married William Emery Eggers. The family was once in possession of a letter written by William Madsen Bunch in which are a few sentences of recollection about the families trip across the Oregon Trail. Though I am privy to some of the information the letter contains, I am seeking to connect with whoever is in possession of this letter and hope to get a copy for my collection of artifacts and information.
If you have information to the whereabouts of the William Madsen Bunch letter once held by the Eggers family, please contact me through the link at the top or bottom of the page.
Where in the world is George and James Fox?
Ephraim Fox had two sons that disappeared. The first was named George W., born 1849 in Missouri and the next, James Marion, born 1853 in Oregon. These sons grew to adulthood in Linn County, Oregon with their family. George appears in the 1850 census with the family in Macon Co., MO. Ten years later, in 1860 both brothers, just boys at that point, are listed in Brownsville, Oregon along with the rest of their family. In 1870 the boys have grown to young adults yet still live at home. This is the last time either one are listed anywhere. After 1870, they simply disappear.
Every combination of their names has been researched extensively in every state west of Missouri, including north of the states in Canada. Their names are common, making their identification even tougher. If the boys lived and had children, there might be someone out there who has not yet had a DNA test that could both tell them who their family is and solve this mystery.
Did the boys leave to seek riches in mining camps and boom towns? Did they go to Canada, Montana, California? This is a mystery I have spent full days for weeks investigating. If you see a connection between this information and your own family history, please let me know and let’s corroborate and solve this mystery!!
The Turner Mystery
Andrew Jackson Fox was born 1844 and always claimed his mother was a Turner, however there are no documents to prove his father Ephraim was married before Frances Louisa “Lucy” Wells, in 1846. In fact, on the Genealogy Trails page of this website there is an image of Ephraim’s application for war pension benefits and it asks him to list his wives. He only lists Lucy and Liz. Oddly enough, DNA is shared between Frances Louisa “Lucy” Wells’ father and I, but not her mother. It is almost as if Andy’s mother were a sister of his fathers wife Lucy. But then why would her name be Turner? It is a strange situation.
In the Bessie Fox Files my grandmother also claims Andrew’s mother was named Turner. I tend to believe it. But who was she??
Rogue River Indian War Memorabilia
I am in possession of a letter written by John Wesley Fox in 1899 on behalf of his widowed mother who was too grieved from the loss of Ephraim to compose the note. It specifically mentions Indian War memorabilia when John writes his mother is too upset to part with at the time. Does anyone have any information about this wonderful treasure??
