Lucretia Marshall - Confused Identities?
Lucretia's Date of Birth
An 1850 census record shows Lucretia's age as 13. Assuming this is a correct report of Lucertia's age on the official census date of June 1, Lucretia would have turned 13 sometime before 2.Jun.1837 and after 1.Jun.1836. I have not been able to find any documents or records providing any further information.
However, on Ancestry.com there are a number of family trees that show our Lucretia Marshall 1) as born in January 1837. This more specific information may be based confused identities as follows:
1900 Census Record
Some family trees include as a supporting document a 1900 census report for St. Joseph City in Washington Township, Buchanan County, Missouri which lists a Lucretia B. Marshall. age 63, born Jan 1837 in Ohio. This Lucretia is in the household of F.B. Williams and his wife Lizadora, and she is shown as having the relationship of mother-in-law to the head of household. 2)
Whose Mother?
Based on other census records and documents, I am pretty sure that F. B. Williams is Frank B. Williams, born 16.Mar.1861 in Illinois and died 11.Nov.1931 in Saint Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri. 3) His wife Lizadora isn't the right age to be a daughter of our Lucretia, but perhaps it was inferred (e.g. by Ancestry.com's algorithms) that Frank had been previously married to our Ida Blizzard, who died, and that it is her mother (our Lucretia) who is in the household of F. B. Williams in 1900.
Elizabeth Dora Marshall and mother Lucretia Belle Shreve
But here's the problem with that: In 1895, Frank B. Williams married Lizzie D. Marshall 4) who was the daughter of Alfred Trimbal Marshall. Alfred had married Lucretia Belle Shreve in 1859, and she became known as Lucretia B. Marshall. 5) 6) So it seems the person in the 1900 census record is not our Lucretia but rather Lucretia Belle Shreve Marshall.
Lucretia's Date of Death
There is a record showing that in 1866, Jacob Hoober (guardian) requested a military pension for minor children of Samuel Blizzard, who died in military service during the Civil War. 7) This suggests that Lucretia died during or before 1866. There also is a census record for 1870 showing what seem to be Lucretia's children, Sarah Blizzard (age 13) and John W. Blizzard (age 10), in the household of Robert Cisnna in Salem, Pulaski, IN. 8)
A number of family trees on Ancestry.com show that Lucretia died on 24.May.1862. This is more specific than any information I have found. Some of the family trees showing this date have been created by descendants of Lucretia. I communicated with one of these and learned that the date in their family tree had been copied from another family tree. It seemed to fit with a Civil War draft registration record showing Samuel Blizzard as single, so it was assumed to be correct. 9)
The date may indeed be correct. It seems, though, that there were two men named Samuel Blizzard for whom similar Civil War draft registration records can be found. Both men were in active military service as of 3.Mar.1863 and both were in the 114th regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Army. One was a Samuel Blizzard from Monroe Township in Pickaway County, which is where census records put our Samuel Blizzard in 1850. He is described as a age 22, born in Ohio, and serving in Company H, Regiment 114, OVA. His occupation is left blank and marital status is not shown for men on this record. 10) and the other was a Samuel Blizzard from Range Township in Madison County, OH. He is described as age 28, single, occupation laborer, born in Ohio, and serving in (Company blank), Regiment 114, OVA. 11).
To be continued…