Dorthy,
I have a william Lawrence Riley, md. to Louisa Wilcox, who was employed by the federal government in the dept. in charge of Indian affairs. they lived at Henderson, Illinois. In 1866, Wm. disappeared on a courier mission for the US gov..he was last seen in the Trinidad Trading Post never arriving at Rantoun, Ariz. His son,md. Mary Ann McKee. Her father was Allen McKee, mother Harriet Hull. I do not know who John might be or if this is the same Wm. Riley. I am also looking for more info. Hope this helps.
mshirts@mindspring.com