Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-05-31
MAN WHO FORGOT
HAS z FAMILIES
SONS WHO HAD NOT SEEN HIM
FOR so YEARS, GOT cLEW WHEN
he BEGAN TO TRACE SELF
FLED FROM MISSOURI IN 1860
Union Soldier, Warned Away, Wed
Again; Wife, Hearing RE Was
Dead, Also Wed.

Tulsa, Ok,-After cycling the age,
man in the big leather chair from
various angles of the Hotel Tuls,
htby. one Texan said to another. &"
believe he is the man" They wen
over to the big chair. One opened
small leather case and held before the
eyes of the Old man a dagguerrotypt
or man just under middle age
That's me- said the old man., as he
leaned forward in surprise. where
d you get it? Who are you?"
Don't you know u.s." one of the
younger men asked. The old man
stood up and looked them over. He
shook his head. 1T seems to me that
have seen you before" he said to
one OF them, but | don't place you.
lie was asked again, Don't you know
uS-iather?" He looked again, startled,
but again shook his head.
The younger men were Joseph Rob.
ertson of Floyada and John Robertson
o. Coleman. Tex. Joseph is GO. John
Is So. The old man was Jeremiah C.
robertson of Alvarado, Tex. lie is s..
The sons had not seen him for 80
years. Until short time before thcy
had supposed that he was dead. But
he had only forgotten. lie had lost
himself and his family. The unusual
tning in his strange case, however.
was that he had forgotten two fam.
lilies. Now he finds that he mas 4
family in Texas and one in Missouri
His story, as it is told, goes back TO
the days right after the Civil War
In August, 1866, jeremiah Robertson
was farmer in Greene County. Mo.
not far from Springfield. He had re-
turned from the Union Army to his
wife and four boys, but found Union
veterans were not in high favor in bis
community. -Four OF his neighbors
who had been with him in the Union
army. were mysteriously killed, one
at time, and Robertson was warned
TO leave the country He paid no at.
tention to the warning. Then his
neighbor on the next farm was shot
from ambush at night, and a few DAYS
later another letter. under his door
read: You have II hours to get away
alive"
Robertson went into his yard. A
rifle bullet srazed his head. He ran
into the house, and that night rode
away on his horse, after telling his .
wife that he would send for her ana /
lce boys as soon as he was settled.
Two years later his family heard .
Lhat he had been killed at Pond .
Springs, Mo. Neighbors who went
-cere to see the body told Mrs. Robert
son it was that of her husband.
So. to his Missouri family, he was
lead. Many years passed. Then.
= me time ago, the two sons Robert.
ION, who had moved to Texas, re.
'eiyed information which led them TO
believe that their father was alive,
he story he told to these sons upou
helr discovery of him shows how his
Existence came to be revealed. He
old them:
Il have always had faint rccOllec.
ion that | used to live in Missouri. |
ave no recollection beyond a dav
fhen | found myself riding along a
DAD in Texas. | had an idea then
here l came from or where | was
ding.
During the next year l seriously
going back in the direc-
ION from whence had come and trv.
lg TO md out something about nv.
ELL but did not know where TO make
iqulries, l simply forgot my past"
When Joseph Robertson heard of
no old man, jeremiah Robertson. five
ionths ago, he and his brother, John.
18th wealthy, hired detective to helm
'tablish the identity of the man. In.
estieation revealed that jeremiah
ebertson, on leaving his home. went
rect from Greene County, Mo-. to
oilln County, Tex, and that he lived
lere Is years. 1t revealed that he
arried few years after his arrival
Texas under his own name, and
at he became interested in the cat
Q business.
The dagguereotype of him, which
d to his Identification, was taken in
Mo-, when he was SO years r
d. !
Robetson's Missouri wife married 0
rain and lives at South Greenfield, J
here she has grown children and
yeral grandchildren. The four sons
her marriage to Robertson are
ring, and there are 20 grandchildren /
this branch of the family.
In Robertson's Texas family there =
g 10 children, the oldest man of
. and SO grandchildren.
The two Sons who searched for and
und their father sent for their two
others in the Missouri branch of
family to come and see their par
I, who had then returned from Tulsa
Alvarado. The other brothers are
ven Robertson of South Greenfield,
," and Ray Robertson of Broken
row, Ok.