To the Surrogate of the County of Yates

The petition of Jonathan Champlin of the town of Milo County of Yates & State of New York respectfully shows
that he is the only brother of Jeffrey H. Champlin
now deceased as your petitioner verily believes –

That the facts and circumstances upon which
your petitioner predicates his belief of the death of
his said brother are as follows:

In November last the
said Jeffrey left the town of Milo & County of Yates
of which town he was then an inhabitant, for
the then territory of
Kansas for the purpose and with the intention
of spending the winter or some portion thereof in the
said territory. That your petitioner received some
several letters from the said Jeffrey after he left and
after he arrived in the said territory, the last
of which was dated the 11th day of January 1861.

That at the last named date the said Jeffery
was near Emporium in said territory (now state) as
will appear from the said letter which is hereto
annexed & to which your petitioner begs leave to
refer. And your petitioner further shows that
after the receipt of the last named letter
another letter was received from
the said territory of Kansas by a neighbor of your
petitioner to the effect that the said Jeffrey on or
about the 14th January last attempted to go on foot
from Emporium in the said territory to Chelsea a
distance of about fifty