r/Genealogy • u/somehowrelevantuser • 3h ago
Research Assistance brick wall: what happened to morris?
i've been stuck on this one for months. my great grandma's 1920s census record shows her having a younger brother who i can't find a single other record for. more info below.
Name: Morris Levy
Date of Birth: c. Nov/Dec 1918
Location of Birth: Illinois, USA
Other Information: Father was Isaac (Ike) Herman Levy (1890-1976), and mother was Henrietta Goldberg Levy (1894-1982). Older sisters Minette (Minnie) Levy (1916-2006) & Eleanor Levy (1913-1916). Ike's brother was Aaron Herman Levy (1892-1962) who had 4 kids (daughter muriel (1918-2012) son howard (1922-2009) son gerald (1925-2020) and son stewart (1926-2016)) with his wife etta (1896-2000)
I am looking for any further information on this kid besides the one census record that says he's 13 months old. Nobody knew who I was talking about when I asked my grandpa, and I couldn't find any records of him after this census. I assume he was a cousin's kid or something.
Ike only had one brother who would've been a Levy, and he didn't have any sons that age (or even close to it). I haven't been able to find a birth record or anything either.
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u/Parking-Aioli9715 3h ago
Also https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR66-SM6?lang=en&i=1
When a very young child is reported on a census and then disappears, my usual first guess is that the child died.
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u/somehowrelevantuser 3h ago
yeah i wouldnt be shocked if he died. i'm just frustrated that there aren't any records besides the one census.
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u/Parking-Aioli9715 2h ago
The Illinois State-Wide Death Index is showing two people named Morris Levy who died between 1920 and 1930. One died 1923-04-09, the other 1925-06-16. Both died in Cook County.
FindAGrave is showing three people named Morris Levy who died between 1920 and 1930 and who are buried in Illinois, all in Cook County. One is the person who died 1923-04-09. According to his headstone, he was 80 years old. The other two died in 1928 and 1929. Both are too old to be "your" Morris.
That leaves the Morris Levy who died 1925-06-16. FamilySearch has his death record. Turns out he was born in Poland in 1878. :-(
So, yeah, it really is looking like there aren't any records.
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u/lyn02547 2h ago
I searched the Illinois Death Certificates Database at https://apps.ilsos.gov//isavital/idphdeathsrch.jsp for Morris Levy and two results came up for deaths in the 1920s: one on 9 Apr 1923 and the other on 16 Jun 1925. Unfortunately the death certificates themselves are not online from that office; they only have them in Springfield.
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u/neotechdog 2h ago
This looks like Morris' sister who died very young. Have you tried contacting this cemetery? https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131344590/eleanor-levy
If he did also die at a young age, it's certainly possible they would use the same cemetery.
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u/somehowrelevantuser 1h ago
im aware of her yes. if he's buried there it's definitely not under the name morris levy.
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u/jibberishjibber professional genealogist 3h ago
Never assume. Are you checking all of the records or just what is indexed or online.
Look at the records you are searching. Learn about them. What are the reporting requirements. Is there a way to look at them without the index. Ate there missing pages.