On January 2, 1796, a marriage license was issued to Moses and Margaret's daughter, Nancy (now 28 or 29) and Thomas Pritchard (28). Thomas Pritchard was born in Fairfax County, Virginia in 1768. His ancestors came from England (Welsh) and settled in Jamestown in 1610. His brother, John Pritchard, saw three years of service in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Shortly after this marriage license was issued, Moses died. It is not known how he died, or the exact date, but he was about 53 years old. It could have been an accident or a sudden illness. Sudden death was no stranger to Allegany County's villages and farms. Nearly every issue of the weekly newspaper reported farming or hunting fatalities, back yard mining or timbering accidents, infant deaths, deaths at childbirth, suicides or accidents by drowning, hanging, or shooting. Communicable diseases like measles, smallpox, and scarlet fever were frequently noted. Consumption, typhus, and a variety of intestinal troubles also took their toll.
That a family would unexpectedly lose some members was accepted as a normal course of life. It was the custom for the pioneer families to stop the family clocks and turn all mirrors and pictures to the wall after the death of a family member. The body was laid out on a table in the dining room for viewing and the family received friends. Before burial the body was dressed in a white shroud (by the family or neighbors) and laid out on a special cooling board. Coffins were constructed by cabinetmakers, or a family member, from solid cherry or walnut. An 1827 bill from a store in Flintstone charged $11.28 for a coffin, ten yards of crepe, eight yards of cambric for a shroud, one pair of stockings, one ball of cotton for a pillow, and fifty springs and screws. No doubt, Margaret Titchenal did or arranged all of those things for Moses.
His death may have been the cause of the delay of Nancy's marriage to Thomas Pritchard until February 26th, 1796. After their marriage, they settled three miles west of what is now Bloomington, on a farm (occupied by a Joseph Meyers in 1937).
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