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Facts and Events
References
- (III) Ezra Morse, in American Biography: A New Cyclopedia. (New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1916-1933)
Vol 35; p 83.
He married, in Dedham, February 18, 1670, Joanna Hoare, who died in Braintree, Massachusetts, December 21, 1691.
- ↑ Moriarty, G. Andrews. "Joanna Hoar, Wife of Ezra Morse of Dedham, Mass.", in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
Vol. 110, p. 219.
"It seems quite certain that Joanna" was d/o of John Hoar and wife Alice --- whom he married "about 1645".
- ↑ In the probate file for husband Ezra Morse (Suffolk Probate 2000), the administration bond dated 16 Feb 1692/93 is signed by "Johana Mors", described in the bond as Joanna Morse Widow. The same date the judge says "Joanna Morse and Ezra Morse Adm's" swore to the truth of the inventory. How could this be if she died 21 Dec 1691? Nearly every source found confidently shows that Joanna died 21 Dec 1691 in Braintree! (Why Braintree? She lived in Dedham.) Yet, all sorts of wildcard searching (only last name Morse, only first name Joanna, any death in Braintree in 1691, etc.) turns up no death record! Plus there is evidence that she was alive over a year later!
Source:Morse, J. Howard. Morse Genealogy : Comprising the Descendants of Samuel, Anthony, William and Joseph Morse and John Moss : Being a Revision of the, p. 14, says she died "in Braintree, Mass., 21, 10, 1691". [Note: In old-styles dates, the tenth month is December. More info may be found here.] An article in NEHGR by noted genealogist G. Andrews MoriartyS2 dedicated to trying to determine her parents, p. 110:216, says she "died in Braintree, Mass., 21:10mo.:1691". Yet she didn't. Torrey lists her death as 1691 as does Cutter. Source:Tingley, Raymon Meyers. Some Ancestral Lines, p. 248, humorously takes this wrong date and makes it "wronger" by reporting it as "Oct. 21, 1691". How can all these sources, expected to be reliable, show a date so confidently that is clearly wrong?
The clue that solved this conundrum turned to be in the Moriarty article, even though the author obviously did not realize it. He was discussing on p. 217 the widow of Charles Hoare Jr. and mother of the John whom he proposes as Joanna's father, Joanna (Hinksman) Hoare, and says "She died in Braintree 12:10 mo.:1661" citing Source:Pope, Charles Henry. Pioneers of Massachusetts (1620-1650). The similarity of the death date for the widow with that assigned to Ezra's wife is striking, and sure enough, Source:Bates, Samuel. Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, p. 638, has the record "Mistris Joanna Hoar, widdow, dyed 10th Mo. 21, 1661." Some early source (not located yet, but it wasn't Source:Morse, Abner. Memorial of the Morses, published 1850, which erroneously gives 1697 death for Ezra, for example; nor in Source:Savage, James. Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, published 1861, which on 3:238 gives an erroneous death date of 1697 for Ezra but removes that assertion on 4:692), whichever one it was, obviously miscopied the death date and/or misapplied it, and all the other sources just relied on the erroneous assertion without checking for any kind of basis.
The probate file shows that Joanna was living in early 1693. She is not mentioned in any of the real estate distribution that started in 1699 and was completed in 1700, so one would suspect she died by then. (The "whole Estate of the s'd dec'd Ezra Morse", appraised at £160, is given to son Ezra, who has by right a double share, and he paying single shares of £32 to John, David, and Seth. Five shares of £32 totals to £160, so this accounts for the entire estate.)
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