I have a couple that I can think of off hand.
The first is my 6th ggf on my mother’s side. After serving in the Providence County militia during the American Revolution, his grisly demise was notable enough to be recorded in the History of Marlborough, New Hampshire, published in 1881:
Joseph Follet came from Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1780. He located near the granite quarry and on the the spot where A.G. Mann's boarding-house now stands. He was a very intemperate man, and when under the influence of liquor was so abusive to his family they were frequently obliged to flee his presence for their own safety. Nov 1, 1806 he returned to his home so intoxicated that his wife, feeling that her life was in danger, took refuge in the chamber, drawing the ladder up after her, leaving him sitting before the fire. In the morning, she was horrified to find her husband lying in the fireplace with his head burned off. After the death of Mr. Follet, his widow lived alone for several years, with the exception of a small dog for company, when her son Silas came and took her to his home in Thetford, Vermont, where she died at an advanced age. Four children are listed: Silas, Sybel, Benjamin and Otis.
Joseph died in 1806.
The second character is my 2nd ggf (also on my mother’s side), Abel Boothroyd. Born in Yorkshire, England, he married Jane Heppleston, also from Yorkshire, and had one child, Lucy. Shortly after his daughter’s birth, Abel emigrated to the United States, settling in Providence, Rhode Island. Jane would follow when Lucy Jane was old enough to travel. But when Jane and their daughter arrived in Providence in 1882, Abel was nowhere to be found. The family believed he had gone West seeking adventure.
It took me awhile to figure out what happened to him, but I finally caught a clue and unraveled the full story.
His name popped up in a record in North Dakota, attesting for a Mrs. Eden Scholes. Their names kept on entwining and even though a census record shows her married to a “James A. Day“, a marriage certificate shows her husband as Abel Boothroyd. When he abondoned Jane and Lucy he assumed the name James A. Day, except for some official documents. Newspaper mentions from North Dakota read James Day, but in estate notices after Eden passed on, she is listed as Mrs. Day, AKA Mrs. Boothroyd.
