Opps..sorry about sticking the name Edward as the middle name instead of Raymond. That must have been some dyslexia or ...hmmm could have been because I'd been up all night painting rooms. Again, I apologize though for sending slightly incorrect info.

I too had checked the Illinois death database, just in case he was listed, but it's really an incomplete database and it would have been a wild card search.

I also checked to see if James had remarried...or if Minnie had remarried..either as Dupuy or Minnie James in Piatt Co, but nothing appeared.

If you haven't check yet, I still believe it would be good to contact the gen society in Piatt Co to see if they have his grave listed and then see who is buried close to him. That would also possibly give his birth date and then you'd be able to connect him to an 1880 family. The marriage license might also give his age.

If you haven't found Minnie in 1900, I'll try to search for her off and on when I take breaks from painting and cake decorating. No promises of course, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Julie