Mary Jane (Sprague) Burch (1856 - 1927)

Born 26 Nov 1856 in Allegany, New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Henry K Burch — married 1 Jan 1882 in Black Creek, New York

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Cecil Sprague [send private message]

Biography

From a letter from Ann Beckman to Dale Sprague dated January 28th, 2003

Your information shows her married to (Unknown) Morrison. As a matter of fact, we do not believe they were ever married. His name was David Monroe Morrison and we know very little of his early life, other than the fact that he fathered my grandmother (she was called Frances Louella Morrison) out of wedlock, according to family history. According to my mother, "he got her pregnant and then took off." My mother says that Mary Jane Sprague was 13 when she got pregnant and she was "sent away" to have the baby.

There is a bit of a discrepancy about her age, and she probably was a little older than that when she got pregnant. By the early 1880's, she had married a William Henry Burch. They had four children.

Interestingly, Mary Jane and David Monroe Morrison were living together for some time in their older years. My mother, who was 5 years old at the time, says that "Grandma and Grandpa Morrison" were living across the road from them in 1922. At that time, the house they were living in burned to the ground, though Mary Jane and David were spared. The only property saved from the fire is a charred vase (which has come to me) which I am told belonged to Mary Jane's grandmother. I am thinking that was Rhoda Collins, though have no proof of that.

One of my burning questions is whether Mary Jane was estranged from her family (which may well be the case, as we never had their names) and what happened to her between 1871 (when my grandmother was born) and the early 1880's when she married Mr. Burch. (Research): From Jane Sanderman Mason, correspondent, note of October 18, 2015

In 1875 Mary Jane is not in Isaac's home but she has established a home with David Monroe Morrison. I have found no marriage record but that means nothing as some marriages might not have been recorded and also, I am only using online resources. Microfilm at the LDS Family History Center might provide something.

I find nothing further re William or Mary Jane that I can document. The SDB reports a death date of 5 Oct 1927 for Mary Jane and assume that came from the correspondent's personal records. I found nothing online. The image of the Pennsylvania death certificates for 1927 are online but I found a certificate for only one Mary (b 1846 in England) for that date. I checked for a Mary with a father surnamed Sprague and came up with nothing.

Your 2003 correspondent mentions "Grandma and Grandpa Morrison" lived across the road from her mother in 1922. Checking both the 1920 and 1930 census where the Beckman's are living in the same place, I come up with no Morrison's or Mary Janes.

Sources

• http://www.sprague-database.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I139833&tree=SpragueProject