Grant family historian Mary McCague, in her 1926 compilation, said Peter married a Helen and had two children, Donald and Essie. McCague was Peter's niece and seems to have gathered much of her information from family members. I have been trying to verify some of the information with records and have come across a mystery.

There is a Peter Grant, b. Ill. c. 1846 with wife Helen (b. MI c. 1851) and children Donald (b. IL c. 1877) & Essie (b. IL c. 1871) in Iowa in 1880; his parents are both stated as being born in Scotland (tho his mother was born in NY of Scottish immigrants). In 1900, Helen (b. MI Dec 1850) is with Essie (b. IL July 1871, now m. to Patrick Hickey) and Donald (b. IL Jun 1876) are in Missouri; Helen lists her marital status as widow. Meanwhile, Peter is alive and listed in the 1900 census in the household of his sister, Lilly Steiner and her husband, and he is listed as widowed. Lily was also listed as Peter's next of kin in the Leavenworth Home for Disabled Veterans where he was during the 1910 census and where he died.

Could Helen and Peter have agreed to be dead to each other? Did Mary McCague identify the wrong Peter? There were certainly enough Peter Grants around, but in 1926, it is doubtful that McClague made the mistake through perusing possible matches in census records. If anyone knows about Donald or Essie, or Peter, I'd be pleased to hear of any information.