OK OK - Elijah Gersham Cravens, 30-40, Okmulgee, 1 Jan 1902

[Gardener1850]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP9137
Elijah Gersham Cravens

Male, White / Caucasian

Date of Last Contact January 1, 1902
Missing From Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Missing Age 30 - 40 Years
Current Age147 - 158 Years

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact January 1, 1902
NamUs Case Created January 5, 2011
Last Known Location Map
Location Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Okmulgee County

Circumstances of Disappearance
The MP was a farmer who lived outside of Okmulgee, OK. He left on horseback to attend a 'Woodmen of the World' meeting and was never seen again (LKA is unknown). A possible DOB of 10-20-1867 was located for the MP during genealogy searches, but is not yet confirmed as the MP's true DOB.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[CastlesBurning]

Never heard of this one til now!

I just Googled "Woodmen of the World" - apparently it is a fraternal society that operates a private insurance company for its members.

WoodmenLife - Wikipedia

Did this perhaps have something to do with Elijah's disappearance? e.g. someone wanted him gone for his money?

 

[artsy_ann]

How can we be certain of his date of disappearance? For one... I've seen that often when they're uncertain of the date a person went missing they will just throw in "Jan. 1" as a place holder. I was trying to find archived newspaper articles about him and had no luck.
What I'm curious about is- where was this Woodmen meeting? I read archived Colorado articles talking about Woodmen of the World gatherings in Colorado that some 10,000 people would attend.
This is probably a stretch- but- on "Jan. 1" 1912 the body of an unknown man was found.
2557UMCO
I figure that either year (1902 or 1912) COULD be wrong... maybe somewhere along the way a 1 accidentally replaced a 0? (or vise-versa)
Maybe someone will have more luck than me with archived newspapers or something I haven' thought of.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Missing Person / NamUs #MP9137
Elijah Gersham Cravens

Male, White / Caucasian

Date of Last Contact January 1, 1902
Missing From Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Missing Age 30 - 40 Years
Current Age147 - 158 Years

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact January 1, 1902
NamUs Case Created January 5, 2011
Last Known Location Map
Location Okmulgee, Oklahoma
Okmulgee County

Circumstances of Disappearance
The MP was a farmer who lived outside of Okmulgee, OK. He left on horseback to attend a 'Woodmen of the World' meeting and was never seen again (LKA is unknown). A possible DOB of 10-20-1867 was located for the MP during genealogy searches, but is not yet confirmed as the MP's true DOB.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I think this case is the oldest I've seen in NamUs.

 

[alb1on]

I have no idea why there are serious doubts about the dob/identification of the missing man. Whilst I am always inclined to be cautious about family trees on genealogy sites, this one seems as strong as you will get. Over 100 trees giving the same information with the dob. But what gives me even more confidence is that his brother also moved from Texas to Muscogee, just down the road in Oklahoma. And some of the information on other family members in the trees, including his son Walter, can be confirmed from other records - including Walter's obituary and burial record from 1978.

It doesn't help find him, but it does mean there is no need to look for information on his antecedents.

 

[DS2021]

I think this case is the oldest I've seen in NamUs.

He is the oldest case in NamUs

 

[?!?]

Bump for Elijah!

 

[friendlysleuther]

bump