Until about six years ago I hadn't heard of Elizabeth and Israel Wood. In fact, when I found a very short obituary for their son, William, I discovered a local mortuary had handled the arrangements to transport him back to Missouri for burial. To follow up on William I visited the mortuary and discovered they still had the handwritten card on file. William's parents were listed as Isa Wood and an "unknown" woman. William had three adult children living in the area at the time he died. They even knew that he had been survived by a sister. The idea that they would not know their grandmother's name irritated, then saddened me. I decided right then that I would find her name and never allow one of my ancestors to be identified that way again.
It took another two years, at least, to track down Elizabeth and Israel. To start with I found Israel and a marriage record for his wife, Elizabeth. Then I found documentation on Elizabeth's death, before William's birth. Back to the digitized records.
What I know now is that Israel was married to two different Elizabeths. My great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Durant Wood, was Israel's second wife.
One of the first treasures I found in a photo albumn given to me by my Aunt Twyla was photos of Ellizabeth and Israel, labeled in beautiful handwriting on the back. "Elizabeth Durant Wood, Israel Wood's second wife, Earl's grandmother". She's not unknown anymore!
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