A Prelude to Season Two: Unraveling the Past
In this special episode of 'Finding Grandpa Charlie', host Erv Lenzy reviews the significant discoveries from season one, focusing on the life of his great grandfather, Charlie Henderson, who faked his death in 1912. The epis...
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Episodes
He Was Supposed to Be Dead
101 - Whispers and Ghost Stories
Ep 02 - Tracing the Roots of a Family Legend
Ep 03 - The Pines Remember
Ep 04 - Silence & Cinder
BONUS - Erv's Podcast Chat
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Recent Blog Posts
Tracing Grandpa Charlie: The Disappearance That Shaped a Texas Family
By Erv LenzyHost of Finding Grandpa Charlie — A Family History Podcast Every family has stories. Some are passed down at the dinner table. Others hide in boxes in the attic. And then there are the ones you have to dig for—the ones that …
Bonham, Texas, 1888: Where Charlie’s Story Begins
By Erv Lenzy Before Grandpa Charlie was a gambler… before he was a ghost… he was just a boy from Bonham, Texas. Not unlike myself. I keep coming back to that. Because when you spend your time chasing a mystery, a missing man, a fake d…
Chasing Charlie Through the Census
By Erv Lenzy After finding “Bachelor Charlie” in the 1900 census, I felt like I was onto something big. It was the first real confirmation that my great-grandfather Charlie was more than just a ghost story. He was real, living in Fannin…
About the Host
Erv Lenzy
I'm Erv Lenzy — podcast host, amateur genealogist, and the great-grandson of the man who vanished.
I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I'm a husband, father, and something of a mental health guru by day. By night (and sometimes weekends), I'm piecing together a century-old mystery involving my great-grandfather Charlie, who may have faked his death and left behind more questions than answers.
Finding Grandpa Charlie started as a family mystery fifty years ago and turned into a full-blown investigation. With a background in mental health, a love for history, and a whole lot of curiosity, I’ve spent thirty years digging through census records, recording interviews of family members, lookingn through legal documents, and even using DNA, all in search of the truth.
This podcast is my way of telling that story. It’s part true crime, part genealogy, and part personal reckoning. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.