52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #10: Typhoid Fever Fells William M. McClure

Hubby's great-grandpa William Madison McClure (1849-1887) had been married to Margaret Jane Larimer for only 11 years when he died following six weeks of suffering from typhoid fever. As noted in his obituary from the Wabash Plain Dealer, above, "Will" was a Mason. According to the 1880 Census, he was a worker on the railway.

Will left four children under the age of 10 at the time of his death:

• Lola A. McClure, born in 1877 in Goshen, Indiana
• Brice Larimer McClure, born in 1878 in Little Traverse, Michigan
• Lucille Ethel McClure, born in 1880 in Millersburg, Indiana
• Hugh Benjamin McClure, born in 1882 in Wabash, Indiana

Luckily, the Wabash Plain Dealer reported that Margaret (known as Maggie) had some financial cushion, thanks to his advance planning and his Masonic connection: 

Will McClure had his life insured in the Masonic Mutual Insurance Co for $3,000. The policy was made payable to his wife.

What caused Will and Maggie to move from Elkhart, Indiana, where they married in 1876, to Goshen, then to Little Traverse, then back to Millersburg and finally to Wabash? I know a number of McClures lived in the Little Traverse area, which was in the midst of a farming, tourism, and lumber boom. But why leave to return to Indiana so quickly?