Frederick -- Runaway/Missing in 1879

Frederick's short autobiography noted how he'd run away as a teenager and began a western trek across the United States -- first to Wisconsin (joining the loggers out there), then in Minnesota and the Dakotas, over to Montana, Wyoming, and finally Utah. I'll get to posting on his reported trek in the future. Of note is I discovered an article in The Boston Transcript dated June 3, 1879, that looks to corroborate Fred's story, and no doubt had made his parents sick.

While it could be Fred was "just missing," it looks highly unlikely given Fred's reported sudden departure. Fred did note returning at least twice back to Boston while traveling in the Midwest US, which explains as well while you'll see him listed in the 1880 census (enumerated on June 5, 1880; just over a year later) as a "Student" back in Boston:

I can only imagine the heartache this caused his family. On the flipside, what was it about Jamaica Plain and Fred's family that made him want to leave, and head "West of Eden" (Jamaica Plain was known for its arboretum and beauty, called the "Eden of America")? His sisters were nearly all married, his father was trying to get him to get involved in business (can we imagine anything less of an immigrant father). This is an interesting question in Fred's life, that doesn't have a clear answer just yet.