Margaret E. Moore1

b. circa 1859, d. 15 September 1860
BirthCircacirca 1859 Margaret E. Moore was born circa 1859.1 
Death15 Sep 1860 Margaret died on 15 Sep 1860.1 

Research Comment:

Margaret would appear to be the child of Andrew Fullen Moore and Martha Rosenbalm based on an entry in the Washington County death register which states that Margaret E. Moore died 15 Sept. 1860 of croup at age 1 year (parents A.F. & Martha Moore). If one assumes that "1 year" of age can be anywhere from 12 months to 23 months and 29 days of age, then there is a window from the middle of Sept 1858 to the middle of Sept. 1859 during which Margaret might have been born. The window is further limited by the fact that Martha gave birth to a son Charles on 20 Nov. 1859. If one subtracts 12 months from his birth, the window for Margaret's birth closes to Sept-Nov. 1858 which is several months prior to Andrew and Martha's marriage. Andrew already had a daughter named Margaret from his first marriage who died 24 Sept. 1859. It seems unlikely he would have named a second daughter Margaret while the first one was living.

One possible solution would be that Charles and Margaret were twins. This theory is somewhat supported by the fact that Andrew was a grandson of John Buchanan and Ann Ryburn whose descendants have a strong pattern of twin births. Also, this would place the second Margaret's birth two months after the death of the older Margaret. However, the birth of Charles was entered in the Washington County birth register; there is no accompanying entry for Margaret on the same day. In fact there appears to be no entry for Margaret at all, which seems odd since birth records were kept with some degree of consistency in Washington County during the late 1850s.

It is also a puzzle that there was no Margaret recorded in Andrew and Martha's household in 1860 which was enumerated in August of that year (the death record says she died Sept. 15th). Was an error made in the death register? Did she die at 1 month of age, not 1 year of age? Or was the death register entry entirely in error? Was this record somehow for the older Margaret, but with the date of death, age, and mother's name all reported incorrectly?1,2
Last Edited7 Mar 2010

Citations

  1. [S2268] Research of Tom Colley, Hanceville, Alabama; Mr. Colley cites the Washington County Death Register for the year 1860 originally held by the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics and viewed as Library of Virginia microfilm reel #30 which reports: Margaret E. Moore, d. 15 Sep 1860, age 1y, croup, d/o A. F. & Martha Moore, reported by father.
  2. [S234] Andrew F. Moore household, 1860 U.S. cens, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., Western District, p. 174, dwelling 1293, family 1240, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Nov. 2004, image 176 of 361. Enumeration reads: Andrew F. Moore, 34, owns real estate: $4,000 and pers prop of $2,000; Martha 23; Charles 9/12; all b. VA.