I am searching for any help with the Harker, Harger or Harriger family (there are many spellings) that seems to have been in or near the Wayne Township, Noble County area around 1870. The father was Fredrick..but may also have had the name of Christian or John (I cannot figure this part out) and was born in Germany. The mother was Sophia Elizabeth Uhl and was born in Ohio but was of German descent. I cannot find the family in the 1860 census. The 1870 census shows some of the children being born in Indiana starting in about 1860...but I am not sure if that was in Noble County (I assume so).

By the 1880 census, in Wayne Township, the family seems to be destroyed and I am confused (the last name is spelled Hoeriger in this census). Elisabeth is listed as a widow and is living with only 2 of her children. A couple of them would have been old enough to have been married, but not all of them. In the 1900 census, the mother is living with one of the children, Edith - who married John Collier (Edith may also have had the name Loueda?)...and this census shows that the mother had 10 children but only 5 were still living.

Can anyone tell me if there was an epidemic that went through Wayne Township just prior to 1880? Can anyone provide any insight into this family? It appears that some of them ultimately went to Michigan but some seemed to have stayed in the area according to some of the Indiana records that are online. I am not a direct relative to this family...I connect through Sophia Uhl...but I would like to try to figure out what happened. I would appreciate any help at all. Thank you so much!