[Nowhere Man]

Why would they tip toe around it? -

I really have no idea why my grandmother was so tight lipped about it. I think it is kind of dumb, but she was a very private person in a few things, especially financial matters. I know after that, she was raised by her aunts and uncles and so on. She was 6 at the time, and she remembers her father leaving her about that time, maybe a little before. Come to think of it, I have a lot of "black holes" in my family history, I wonder if I have "UFO roots." I like that term, "UFO roots" means that you are so unsure of your family background, sometimes "you got to wonder if your ancestors were kicked out of a UFO." B-) I've also seen the term used by those who have come from aliens and/or claim to be, but I mean it in the former where there are times I wonder where I came from. B-)

[durasell]

The world took a double hit at that time. The first "modern" war and then 1918 flu. Welcome to the 20th century!

[Sloth]

there are times I wonder where I came from. B-)

A good handle you picked, then.

[Aliska]

I have a lot of "black holes" in my family history,

We all do. As to your concerns regarding where you came from, I believe you will find your answer in Chaucer's "Wife of Bath's Tale." I've read several versions of Chaucer, including some of the original, but one of the translations sums it up, for Christians at least, "In Christ we have our true heritage."

If you don't like that, maybe you are a lost tribe descendant :-). There are undoubtedly more lost tribes than the ones in the bible.