On March 1 1916 Charles and Eliza Gray adopted Charles Leslie Peterson in McLean County. They were both 54 years old at the time and had lost two children. In the 1920 census, Charles is living with them and is 7 years old. Interestingly, in the 1910 census, Charles and Eliza also had a nephew and niece living with them: Chancy Peterson (15) and Pearl (13) Peterson. In 1900, this brother and sister lived with Oscar and Christina Peterson in Iowa, another uncle and aunt of the two children.
A 1935 death record for Chancy Peterson indicates that he was the son of John Peterson and Lovina Killion. He died in Ridge Farm Vermillion County. (Eliza Gray, before she married Charles was Eliza Killion.) How is it that the older Peterson children lived with the Grays before their younger brother was born?
Unfortunately, Charles Peterson's life did not go smoothly after his adoption, because his adoptive parents died within months of each other eleven years after adopting him: Charles Gray died in April 1927 and Eliza died in June 1927 when Charles was just 14 years old. I found no obituary for Charles and Eliza's obituary did not mention the younger Charles or the children that they lost before 1900.
The question though is where did Charles Leslie Peterson come from? Was he a brother of Chancy and Pearl? If so, where were their parents in 1910? A son of Chancy?
A second adoption took place on this date. Robert and Carrie Balke adopted Bernice Volkman, a 6 year old girl. Robert Balke was a German immigrant from Bromberg Stadt and was a cabinet maker. He was fifty years old when they adopted Bernice and Carrie was thirty nine. They had no children of their own and must have been thrilled to adopt a little girl. In 1929 they moved to Peoria and Robert died there that year. Carrie became a seamstress and Bernice, who had graduated from Bloomington High School, was working as a cashier in a store. The BHS yearbook indicates that Bernice took classes in shorthand and typing. A few years later Carrie and Bernice moved to Moline and then Rock Island. There were no records of Carrie's death or Bernice's marriage.