Lost and Found
About a week ago, my friend Pat said she wished she could find her best friend from third grade, Barb Edgar. (Names have been changed for this article.) The Edgar family had then moved from Minneapolis to Kentucky, and Pat completely lost contact with her little friend. I asked Pat to write down what she knew: "Barb Edgar, born 1946. Attended George Bancroft Elementary School in south Minneapolis. Moved to Louisville, KY in 1955 or 1956. Barb and I twirled batons." Not much to go on there...
My husband, who recently located 75 out of 76 of his classmates for a class reunion, checked Minnesota marriage records: Barbara Ann Edgar had married Benjamin Steven Potter in June, 1975. I doubted it was the "right" Barbara Edgar since her family had moved to Kentucky. We found no White Pages listing for Benjamin or Barbara Potter in Minnesota or Kentucky. We found no birth record for Barbara in Minnesota.
Then Pat remembered another fact. She'd visited Barb's (maternal?) grandparents in Nevis, MN. While Pat didn't recall the first names of Barb's parents, she knew Barb's grandfather was George Richardson. That turned out to be critical information.
Going Back in Time to Find Someone Today Checking the 1930 census, I found George and Inga Richardson living in Nevis with their daughter Ruth (born in Wisconsin about 1923) and son Ivan (born about 1921). Ruth Richardson Edgar was likely Barb's mother although I found no marriage record in Minnesota. I assumed Barb's parents married - probably in another state - during WW II. That may have been where Barbara was born. I found no lead in Kentucky and MANY death records around the country for Ruth Edgar. Searching MN death records, I found Ruth's brother Ivan died in 1932, her father George died in 1960 (in Nevis), and her mother Inga died in 1980 (in Hennepin County). I planned to look for Barb's grandparents' obituaries.
When I picked up the search a few days later, I realized I'd overlooked a clue. Inga died in Hennepin County. Might that mean her daughter Ruth had moved back to Minneapolis? I quickly found a MN death record for Ruth Edgar (born Sept 1922 and died March 1987 in Hennepin County). When I googled "Ruth Edgar, 1987, Mpls", I got a lucky break. Ruth was buried at Ft Snelling Cemetery.
Looking at Ft Snelling burial records, I found Ruth buried next to Wilbur Edgar, who died in 1991. Armed with the date of Wilbur's death, I made a quick trip to the history library. In minutes, I found Barbara Potter listed as informant on Wilbur's death certificate. Potter? As in "Mrs. Benjamin Potter", from the 1975 marriage record? The death certificate showed Barbara with a Massachusetts address. A few minutes of researching newspaper microfilm disclosed Wilbur's obituary. His only surviving child was, in fact, Barbara (Mrs. Ben) Potter!! But the White Pages showed no Ben/Benjamin or Barbara Potter - of the right ages - in Massachusetts.
When I googled Benjamin S Potter, however, I found a link to a college professor by that name in New Hampshire. His photo indicated he was probably in his 60s. A White Pages search showed a phone number for Barbara Potter (wife of Benjamin S), living in a small town in New Hampshire. Bingo! Yes, we found the "right" Barbara. Will Pat and Barb renew their friendship? Will they get together and twirl batons? Time will tell.
