How much evidence provides a conclusive link?

I am a stickler for proof. I do not add individuals to my tree unless I feel I have substantial proof to place them there. I even have a "test" tree where I place individuals that don't have quite the provenance to belong to my family. A bit much, perhaps, but if I don't get it right (or pretty damn close) who will?

Charles M. Webb is one such ancestor...or rather, his parents are. I have conclusive proof that Charles M. Webb is my 5th great-grandfather. I have a copy of his probate documents from Shelby County, Indiana that clearly list his children as Jesse M. Webb, Rene M. Webb, Charles M. Webb (my 4th great-grandfather) and James W. Webb. Charles M. Webb, Sr., died in 1845 and Gerrard Spurrier was named as guardian for his minor children.

One paragraph in Charles Webb's probate documents references monies earned from the sale of four slaves, a woman and three children, in Orange County, Virginia. The slaves were part of the estate of Mary Webb. Charles inherited the monies from the sale of the slaves, but being deceased the money was added to the trust of his minor children. There is no further mention of Mary Webb, except for that she lived in Orange County, Virginia. She is obviously a relative of Charles Webb, but how are they related?

Once they grew to adulthood, the Webb children moved to Ray County, Missouri. I have in my possession a letter to Rene M. Webb in Richmond, Missouri, from William C. Moorson, dated November 16, 1858. The letter is postmarked from Orange, Virginia, and tells Rene Webb that his uncle Jesse has passed away. The letter goes on to state that B.B. Almond was in the process of refuting Uncle Jesse's will on the grounds that he was not in his right mind. The letter's author, William Moorson, lists several witnesses that were willing to state Uncle Jesse was indeed "sane" and indicates that Rene knows the gentlemen:

It states: "I think you and your brother Jesse and Mr. Spurrier were acquainted with William M. Reynolds and James B. Moore." I believe this to be proof that Charles M. Webb, Sr., had a brother Jesse living in Orange County, Virginia.

I was able to find a Jesse M. Webb living with a Mary Webb in Orange County, Virginia on the 1850 census.

This Jesse would be an appropriate age to be a sibling of my Charles M. Webb. Note that Mary would more than likely be his mother and that her property is valued at $990. Quite a large sum for the time.

Are these my Webbs of Orange County, Virginia? I have not yet tried to locate the probate documents for the Mary Webb listed in Charles Webb's estate, so I do not have proof via court documents. But what if there is no proof of her connection? Is the above enough proof? Not for me...what are your thoughts?

The problem with Louisa Watson Webb is that she is from Nebraska

Louisa Watson is a conundrum. I cannot find her anywhere and right now she is my biggest brick wall. As I was browsing through my tree a few days ago I noticed one of my many dead ends. You know the kind, you look at a pedigree and it just stops...while it's fellow lines continue on. Well I despise those dead ends, especially when I am at my wits end to resolve them.

The problem with Louisa is that she is from Nebraska. Nebraska is a beautiful state and I especially love Peony Park (is that still there?). But I don't like the issues I am having with early record searches there. I found Louisa on her daughter's death certificate and that was the first, and the last, time I saw her in print. Her daughter was Ella Caroline Webb, born 1864 in Wahoo, Nebraska (according to her death certificate). Ella's death certificate states that her father's birthplace is Kentucky and her mother's was Wahoo, Nebraska. The problem with being born in Wahoo, Nebraska is that it did not exist when Louisa was born, which I'm conjecturing was between 1840-1845. In fact, Wahoo didn't exist until 1870, long after Ella was born as well.

I know Ella's father was Charles M. Webb, who was actually born in Indiana. I have been able to track Charles through census records from age 10 to 86, except for 1860. In 1850 he was living with his mother in Indiana and in 1870 he was in Ray County, Missouri with 6-year-old Ella. Apparently, a lot happened to him in those 20 years. He never remarried and his death certificate lists him as widowed, a good indication that he and Louisa were actually married...but you never know. Nebraska is not on the route of travel between Indiana and Missouri, so what led Charles there? And more importantly, where is Louisa?

Here is what I have tried:

• I contacted the Saunders County Museum and Historical Society, where Wahoo is located and they were unable to find any record of a marriage for Charles and Louisa. Because Saunders County was formed from Cass County, they suggested I try there.
• I contacted the Cass County Historical Society, but they found no record of Louisa's headstone or anything about her in their newspaper indexes. Of course, the newspaper for the area didn't begin printing until 1865 so that may not have helped anyway.
• I contacted the Cass County Clerk, who would have had any early records for the county, but she found nothing. She suggested I contact the state archives, but they only maintain birth records from 1904/1909 to present.
• I also sent an email to the Nebraska Historical Society to see if they had any early records for Cass County, Nebraska. I have yet to hear back from them.
• Looked at FamilySearch.org and found no microfilm options for Cass or Saunders Counties that were helpful. A search of Nebraska marriages came up empty handed as well.

So now what? Louisa's maiden name was Watson and I have found several Watsons in the Saunders County area, but there is no way to determine if they are her ancestors. Her husband, Charles, left a document trail of censuses, but not much more, so I found nothing on Louisa there. I'm at a loss and looking for tips. Any help is appreciated!