To discern the truth in regards to most mysteries, it is always a good idea to do what I call 'Cross-Sourcing'. This technique includes analyzing the same situation from multiple angles or sources. It is always easier to see with two eyes rather than just one.
I was able to use this technique today actually while researching the Texas Conrad Holzgraf clan on Ancestry.com. I had found the name Christine Holzgrafe in the past as a 58 year old 'servant' in the house of Louis Mittendorf. Who was she? How did she get there? I could find no other records for a Christine Holzgrafe anywhere on Ancestry.com.
Utilizing the cross-sourcing technique, I got on to familysearch.org where I looked up more information on Conrad Holzgraf. To my surprise, I found something I hadn't seen before: the marriage record of Conrad Holzgreve to Christine Spicker, 19 April 1857. According to a family tree on Ancestry.com, Johanna, Conrad's first wife, had died on 28 September 1856. Since Conrad himself passed away on 16 January 1858, neither Conrad nor Johanna appear in the 1860 US Census with their children. Instead we find Christine Holzgrafe, the second wife and widow of the late Conrad Holzgrafe.
"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1).
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