WHAT HAPPENED TO WILLIAM?
William was born on September 21, 1882 in Ohio to David W. Gow and Cornelia E White. In the 1900 census he is living in Geneva Borough Crawford Co, PA. He married Minnie M Gough of England on July 8, 1903. They had two children: Chester D Gow, b. 1906 and Howard W. Gow, b. 1909. The 1910 census shows him living in Youngstown, Ohio with Minnie and his sons. The 1920 census has Minnie living in Struthers, Ohio with her two sons. Census says that she is a widow, William is nowhere to be found.
Family "lore" says that William left town with another woman however I have not found any information that would substantiate that story. I found an article in the Marion Daily Star, Marion Ohio dated August 5, 1919. The article is about the mysterious disappearance of David W Gow. The article mentions a "strange coincidence" in connection to David's disappearance and that coincidence is that his son William P disappeared approximately one year earlier and had not been seen or heard from since. Based on that article, William "disappeared" around August/September 1918.
I found a World War 1 Draft Registration Card for William which is dated September 12, 1918 so it appears that he enlisted and for whatever reason did not want his family to know. He listed his wife Minnie as his nearest relative and her address as 37 Morrison in Struthers. This is the last trace of William that can be found.
What happened to William after he registered? Did he go off to war and was killed? All the census records for 1920 -1940 show Minnie as being a widow. If she were notified by the military that her husband had been killed why would she not let his parents know? David spent years looking for William without success. David died in 1938 believing that William was still living. How would someone go about finding out if he died while in the service of his country? I cannot find any grave site for him, military or otherwise.
Any help in locating any further information on William or on his burial place would be greatly appreciated.