Time for Week 32 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge! As noted in my first post of this challenge, I am starting with my most ancient known ancestors.

This week’s ancestor is Mārtiņš Baburs, born January 9, 1844 and died 1870. He is my great-great-great-grandfather, by way of my paternal grandmother’s paternal grandmother Karoline Matilde Baburs.

Mārtiņš Baburs was born to Ādams Baburs and Anna Ronis (Bonis?) on Suntaži estate in central Latvia. When he was very young, they moved (back?) to Stopiņi estate, where there were other known Baburs, who could be family members, since this name is extremely uncommon in Latvia.

Mārtiņš married Ēde Jansons on October 16, 1866 in Ikšķile, which is not far from Stopiņi. Soon afterwards, they moved to Rīga, where their daughter Karolīne Matilde was born in 1867/1868 (depending on the calendar being used). The Rīga tax lists attest to the fact that his parents and brothers also moved to Rīga, probably around the same time.

Mārtiņš died in 1870, but where, on what date and how, I do not know. His death is not recorded in the RÄ«ga JÄ“zus church (where other family events such as KarolÄ«ne’s baptism and his father Ä€dams’ death are recorded) or in the IkÅ¡Ä·ile church. He died at the age of 26 – that is certainly the youngest death of an ancestor that I have. Had he been recruited into the army, and died there? Was he the victim of some sort of workplace accident? A disease of some kind? I want to know. I’ll have to consult all of the other RÄ«ga churches for this time period, to see if for some reason he was recorded there instead, then expand out from there. Possibly also check military recruitment registers, to see if he was called into active service, but the Russian Empire didn’t have any wars going on that I’ve been able to find at that time. So for now, it remains a mystery.

Do you have an ancestor who died young, but can’t find why? Maybe we can help each other! Leave a comment below!