Ella C. Sears is my gr. grandmother.
I have requested copies of the death certificates of Ella "Helen" Cecilia Sears' 2nd husband (Henry Erickson, b. 1873 & d. 1910) and her 3rd husband (Charles Paul Hicks b. 1881 & d. 1914), both of whom died shortly after marrying Ella. I have not yet received the death certificates for each one so that I can discover the cause of death.
In the meantime I have been trying to find any news records or obits for either one but cannot seem to find anything. I am particularly curious about how Henry Erickson died and where he is buried. I do not know where he was born or who his parents were, although I suspect he came from La Crosse, Wisconsin, like Ella.
Erickson and Ella married in Dec. 1908 in Hennepin County, Minnesota and then moved to Spangle, Spokane County, WA sometime between then and March 29, 1910 when he died. Within 6 weeks of his death his widow, Ella aka Helen, is a lodger in a boarding house, according to the 1910 Census, but is using the last name of Hicks. Charles "Paul" Hicks is also listed as a boarder in the same home but didn't marry her until nearly 4 months after the census was completed. According to the census they both claim to have been married for 1 year, which wasn't true as her marriage certificate from August 29, 1910 with Paul shows her name as Helen Erickson, widow. Ella (Helen) was nearly 6 months pregnant when Erickson died. The baby was born after Henry Erickson died but before Ella married Charles Paul Hicks, but the birth certificated claims Hicks is the father.
At some point after Paul and Helen marry they move to Minnesota where Paul dies shortly before their 4th wedding anniversary. Paul is buried in Sweetwater, Tennessee where he was born.
Both of Ella/Helen's husbands died at young ages, which is terribly coincidental. The fact that she was shacking up with Paul within a few weeks of her 2nd husband's death and claiming to have been married to Paul for a year makes me suspect they colluded to murder Henry Erickson. Then within a few short years Paul winds up dead, as well.
What would you do if you suspected an ancestor was guilty of murder but cannot find the proof? What if both men were poisoned but it was not obvious that they were murdered? Wasn't arsenic capable of going undetected? Is it possible that there was never an investigation into either death?
Does anyone have any suggestions of where else I might look for answers?