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nbcatlover
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Post by nbcatlover »

https://beta.familysearch.org/

The new site has so much more information including 1920s census info.

I just found out the names of my great-grandparents on my father's side because I was able to locate my grandparent's marriage certificate. I had not been able to locate my grandmother through an Ellis Island search even though I knew she entered the U.S. through Ellis Island (all my other immigrant relatives came directly to the New Bedford area on ships). It turns out she arrived in this country at least 10 years earlier than I had been told by an elderly relative. She was actually married here in 1894.

It takes more time to go through the information because the the information is not sorted by type as on the old site, but there's just so much more information.

Check it out if you like genealogy. Need to revisit a lot of stuff.

Here's a Teaser. Check out the 1865 MASS STATE CENSUS for Lizzie. There was an "Elizabeth Morse, age 29" living with the widowed Andrew and family.


Massachusetts State Census, 1865 for Lizzie A Borden

Lizzie A Borden
Age 4 years
Estimated Birth Year 1861
Gender Female
Race White
Birthplace Massachusetts
Marital Status
Residence Fall River, Ward 02, Bristol, Massachusetts
Family Number 626
Line Number 40
Film Number 0953968
Digital Folder Number 4286755
Image Number 00347
Household Gender Age
Andrew J Borden M 42y
Elizabeth Morse F 29y
Emma Borden F 14y
Lizzie A Borden F 4y
Sarah Welch F 21y
.
diana
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Post by diana »

That is a teaser. Sarah didn't have any sisters named Elizabeth -- wonder who she was? That's the summer Andrew married Abby.
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Post by patsy »

Interesting. It says on the actual census that Elizabeth Morse was a housekeeper. Coincidental about the name? Hmmmm

And Sarah Welch was a servant.

I like the prototype at FamilySearch better than the new beta and they say soon they will remove the prototype. Darn!
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nbcatlover
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Post by nbcatlover »

One of the famous Uncle Charles (Morse) from Warren, Rhode Island (Uncle of John Vinnicum Morse) had a daughter Elizabeth. One souce I found listed her birth year as 1838. The 1900 census showed her birth year as 1837. This is very close to the age range for a 29-year-old housekeeper in 1865. (Uncle Charles' wife was Mary Morrison, sister to Rhoda Morrison Morse, Lizzie's grandmother).

She technically wasn't a relative of Andrew Borden and the title of housekeeper implied she was living with the family in a respectable (and possibly paid) position.

She and her sister, Henrietta, commented on Lizzie's demeanor:
Lizzie has always been a peculiar woman and...her entire life had been characterized by the calm and cool demeanor which is considered evidence of guilt by the police. Fall River Daily Herald, August 11, 1892.
See Rebello, p, 230.

I also noted in Rebello, p. 280, that Lizzie's statement of the truthfulness of Emma's accounting of Andrew's estate was executed in the presence of Henrietta Morse.

This would seem to be superficial evidence that Elizabeth & Henrietta Morse had closer ties to Lizzie and Emma than I would have suspected.

Does this seem plausible to you?
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Post by diana »

I like the connections you've made, nbcatlover -- it does seem very plausible.

The girls were young enough to need a housekeeper before Abby arrived to take over, and maybe Lizzie's grandmother thought her niece, Elizabeth would be a good fit.
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nbcatlover
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Post by nbcatlover »

Actually, Gramma Rhoda had already died, but Great-Aunt Mary (Charles' wife) might have thought it was a good idea.

Of course, there could be other Elizabeth's who were not related. It just always struck me funny that the newspapers quoted Elizabeth & Henrietta Morse so quickly...like there were people in Fall River who knew that they had first-hand knowledge of the Borden household.

It's is still all speculation on my part, not proven fact.
diana
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Post by diana »

Of course! Anthony was married to Hannah Chase Almy by then, right?

Anyway – speculation or not – I still like it. :smile:

The Lizzie Borden Sourcebook has a more complete version of the interview with the Morse sisters which somewhat softens the “peculiar woman” quote:
Two cousins of the murdered Andrew J. Borden and his wife, living in Warren, were seen and talked at some length about the murder. They were Henrietta and Eliza Morse, and are cousins of John V. Morse.
Henrietta Morse took the initiatory in the conversation, and was loud in her denunciations of the manner in which the character of John V. Morse and Lizzie Borden had been handled. She was positive that neither had any hand in the horrible deed, and was equally positive that, when the guilty party or parties were discovered, it would be found that they were outside the family.
As regards the conduct of Lizzie Borden since the murder, she stated that Lizzie had always been a peculiar woman, and said that her entire life had been characterized by the calm and cool demeanor which is considered evidence of guilt to the police. She stated that she had known the family almost as well as her own, and that to her knowledge there had not been anything wrong or any trouble with any member of the household.
” (Kent: p. 48)
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Kat
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Post by Kat »

Good stuff you guys! :!: Thanks!
I'm always glad to see more family info- these Bordens did not live in a vacuum (as we used to stress on previous Forums and message boards.)
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nbcatlover
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Post by nbcatlover »

The Sourcebook statement does soften the remark, but there something about the work "peculiar" that wants for more explanation beyond cool and calm.
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