see https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79375055/joel-lake [my note - William J LAKE below is a son of Joel LAKE according to the findagrave link above - MEL] from https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/1niybyd/comment/ney8ix3/?%24deep_link=true&context=1&correlation_id=4ee89076-1508-52a6-96d8-98fd9d24bfeb&ref=email_comment_reply&ref_campaign=email_comment_reply&ref_source=email&%243p=e_as&_branch_match_id=1497236858600843987&utm_medium=Email+Amazon+SES&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA32OQW6EMAxFT8PsgBkCFCqhqlI1PUYUiAFrQhI5QcCmZ69pp9tKtvT9%2FL%2FlOUYfXvOcQGuMmfI%2BM2gfufBvSVEK34FU4cLSEU5olZErmW4%2BU4l4T4o717Zt2TM%2FuIUBcX%2BCBWXcdLBmuoCNgeXN4tEfmlWcQRr1ABlWsmoBRhaOBndxXhV8uCpKDeDl%2BVAiPiKtbKoHZyPskcHtZyICoyI6K1EzLAGa9vpSp7fq2qRVoeq0rXWTts2oW12U%2FQg95whGNsOi0Mjne5LAm%2BN3Jwe1eIWT%2FdcU3EoD%2FFkuX8yACO0ke3JbAOruyMzt31bhL0xmAQAA theclosetenby on reddit.com I don't have any Lake ancestors, but one of my ancestors remarried to a Lake. Her third husband was William J Lake (b 1818 KY - d 1898 MO). They had 3 children together and were very poor. Their daughter, Cora, was married at 15 to 21 year old George Staffelbach, who ended up committing a series or murders with his brothers under the direction of his mother. Cora eventually was one of the women to report it, and she testified against the family. I don't know much about William's line though, as he isn't my ancestor. Yes - I've had a hard time with this family due to a variety of factors. there's some info on his findagrave page that I haven't confirmed myself but they provided sources for where to find it: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78605104/william_j-lake I know he was married at least once prior with children, but I haven't researched that. He married Margaret E Ham. Margaret's father was named James Ham from Virginia (I can confidently tie her to a sister.) Margaret was born in Tennessee but their family moved to the Ozarks b/t 1855-1860 (Richland, Madison, AK on 1860 census). She married John James Adkins in Mount Vernon, Missouri (still in the Ozarks), who I believe was AWOL from the civil war (Union), and who I think was already married to someone from home. They had a daughter, Catherine Bell Adkins (my ancestor), and then must have split up. Shortly after, she married Ancel Daniel Terry in Arkansas, and they had 4 sons. Her daughter grew up with Margaret's sister in Mount Vernon. He apparently died, though I haven't found out when, and she married William J Lake on 14 Oct 1877 in Christian County, Missouri. In 1880, they're living in Mount Vernon. It's a messy census and was indexed wrong, as the Terry boys' names were written in over the dash. There's a Stephen W Lake that I assume is William's son from a prior marriage. William and Margaret apparently marry again Sep 30, 1892 in Mount Vernon, Missouri. I'm unsure why. Perhaps one of their prior marriages caused an issue? They had 3 children: Cora Victoria Lake (1877-1954), Robert Harrison Lake (1879-1960), and George Walter Lake (1881-1949). All 3 were born in Mount Vernon, Missouri. William died in 1898, and the information on his findagrave page is helpful. The referenced newspaper should be on newspapers.com. His daughter Cora had a son with George, and they moved to Kansas, where George's family was murdering people. George apparently took the child to Mount Vernon and had him adopted out as a baby (stories in newspaper vary). His name became Charles Denver Barger. There's a book about him - really heartbreaking life. Apparently he was the most decorated WWI soldier in the US. Cora remarried, I believe twice but it's a little unclear about the second marriage which, if so, was short. She married Ed (Casper) Rolleg and they had no children together. She went by Mabel, as to try to make it impossible for her ex's family to find her if they got out of prison or if a brother went after her. The newspaper eventually referred to Cora as a daughter instead of daughter-in-law. I believe both of William's son had children, but I haven't researched them as much yet. Overall, I don't know when he moved to Missouri other than it being before he married Margaret in 1877. Sorry I can't help more with that. His find a grave page though is a good place for some clues to verify that info!