I logged onto Ancestry.com, I have a tendancy to go to that research site first. Typed in *ora Johnson, born 1886, Pennsylvania crossed my fingers spun around 3 times and hit enter. I already decided in my head she wouldn't be there because she never is and I check at least once a week on my few "missing person" cold cases.
What was this? Jora Johnson listed in Milton, Northumberland County, PA. It was just one county over from where I knew she was 10 years earlier. I clicked on the name to bring up the page and my eyes saw "Johnson Zora, 36 years old, single, relation to house: servant, birthplace pennsylvania, occupation Cook at Riverside hotel. Then if you look up a couple lines at the head of the household he was the owner of the Riverside Hotel. So my heart started beating fast, I looked at the clock it was only 9:30pm so I called my mom figuring she was up. She logged on to her computer and brought up the same record and was starting to do the happy dance herself since we both REALLY think this could be Zora.
We then checked the 1930 census and the family is no longer there. Mr Springer who was the head of household had sold the hotel and was now an owner of a gas station. The hotel had changed hands.
I am now going to have to check city directories for every year following the 1920 to follow the owner and his family to see when it was the may have stopped living and working in the town of Milton, Northumberland County, PA.
Well, there she is listed on line 92 of the above page in the 1920 Federal Census, what are your thoughts? Do you believe this could be my Zora or have a just snapped?
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