We all have disappearing ancestors. Perhaps times got hard and your lost family went to the county poor house or local almshouse. That's what happened to one of my wife's families during the winter of 1875 in Mercer County, Illinois.

We've posted an article on our website here about locating records of this type. Interesting records which document a socioeconomic class that is sometimes difficult to track.

http://www.rootdig.com/adn/poor_farm.html

Michael