Ira, the oldest child in the family described in the passage, died in infancy.

The evidence

• “Paul M. was the youngest. The oldest, Ira, died in infancy, August 15, 1829. Mary E. was born September 27, 1832, and died August 22, 1901.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/34b-biographical-2.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 366 / book p. 861

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources