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Elizabeth Mary “Eliza” <I>Kitterman</I> Searcy

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Elizabeth Mary “Eliza” Kitterman Searcy

Birth
Fosters Ridge, Perry County, Indiana, USA
Death
12 Jan 1926 (aged 76)
Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky, USA
Burial
Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
A Findagrave member has indicated that her name should be Eliza Maria Searcy and that both her tombstone marker and death certificate are in error, and the name should conform to the 1850 census (of which contains many name and spelling errors. Censuses are NOT indelible sources of correction and census takers spelled names phonetically since most people were illiterate.)

Since the death certificate gives her name as Elizabeth Mary Searcy and the cemetery marker shows her name as Elizabeth M. Searcy, I will leave her name on the memorial as Elizabeth Mary Searcy with Eliza as a nickname. The informant for her death certificate was her son, Lemuel, and he would most certainly know his own mother's name.

---------------

Another findagrave member submitted a birth date edit of November 12, 1847. Documentation has not been submitted to substantiate this information.

Previous birth date on memorial was September 1847 which is inaccurate.

1850 census shows an estimated birth date of July 1849, since Eliza is 11 months old in August 1850. Subsequent censuses indicate a birth date later than 1847.

There are zero documents that show the name Maria on them except for the 1850 census which has multiple errors on it.
----------------
May 24, 2017 - due to the extreme controversy surrounding the actual name of this person, I have performed a background search for her. The documentation is conflicting and unless there is a family bible or a record of birth, my research on Eliza shows the following:

The August 1850 Perry County Indiana census shows Elizabeth at age 11 months with the name Maria which is not indicative of an accurate name because several of her siblings have misspellings or nicknames as follows:

George, head, age 53
Mary, wife, age 42
Benjamin, age 22
Anna, age 20
Nancy, age 18
Joan, [Johanna] age 14
George, age 12
Sally, [Sarah] age 10
Polly [Mary], age 8
Davis, [David] age 6
Elizabeth, age 4
Emily, age 2 [Emaline called Emily]
Maria, [Mary Elizabeth] age 11/12 (which gives her a July 1849 birth date and is probably the most correct document for her age and birth year since this is the first census she appears on) daughter Susan is missing from the 1850 census. She married in 1853 to William Carter where they moved to Indiana where William and several of her children died and are buried in Dubois County).

1860 census in Perry County, post office Ferdinand Indiana:
George, age 64
Mary, age 44
George, age 21
David, age 17
Mary, age 17,
Elizabeth, age 16 (strikeover written name from Eliza to Elizabeth)
Emily age 13
Eliza age 12
The following girls on the census as told to me emphatically by two findagrave members, are Critchfield granchildren, daughters of Anna Kitterman Critchfield, according to census corrections on Ancestry.com, and enumerated incorrectly:
Caroline Kitterman, age 8 last name actually Critchfield
Tabathia Kitterman, age 5 last name actually Critchfield -- however it now appears that the original information as told to me was incorrect by the original researchers and now I am told emphatically, by the same two researchers, that both Caroline and Tabitha were Kitterman children as documented by various land court records that were subsequently found since the creation of this memorial. The Tabathia spelling is again a phonetic error on the census and the standard name is Tabitha.

William B. Searcy and Eliza Kitterman were married on 7 July 1870 in Perry County, Indiana.

1880 name is Eliza
1900 census name is Eliza
1910 name is Liza
1920 census name is Eliza

Social security benefits filed by son Lemuel Dallard Searcy state the name of his mother is Elizabeth Kitterman and father is William B. Searcy.
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index for Lemuel Searcy:
Name: Elizabeth Kitterman
Gender: Female
Spouse: William B Searcy
Child: Lemuel Dallard Searcy

Social security records for son William Irwin Searcy state his parents are William B. Searcy and Eliza F. Kitterman.

Kentucky death records: Elizabeth Mary Searcy
Kentucky death certificate: Elizabeth Mary Searcy maiden name Kitterman

The death certificate for her son Lemuel "Len" Searcy in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana states his parents names were William B. Searcy and Elizabeth Kitterman.

Due to the fluctuation in names and ages, and the fact that she is documented as both Eliza and Elizabeth, with her son Len documenting her three times as Elizabeth Mary, the name on this memorial will remain Elizabeth Mary as matches the headstone and the death certificate.

Her 1847 birth date should be considered wrong in that she is 11 months old on the 1850 census; two of her sisters have an 1846 birth year but the censuses show them as being several years apart in age.

--------------------
There are multiple repeat names in this family and it appears that the names Mary and Elizabeth were interchangeably used multiple times for multiple children in different variations and also in affectionate nicknames.

In addition, the 1850 census has numerous errors on it so that document cannot be accepted as proof of accuracy.

NOTE regarding name errors and continued disputes in this family's naming, another example is daughter Emily who shows up as "Emily" on all documentation, but her memorial and other family memorials state her birth name was Emaline, with a nickname of Emily.

Thank you to the individuals who uploaded more documents to this memorial that show Elizabeth's common affectionate nickname was Eliza. All documents are appreciated.
A Findagrave member has indicated that her name should be Eliza Maria Searcy and that both her tombstone marker and death certificate are in error, and the name should conform to the 1850 census (of which contains many name and spelling errors. Censuses are NOT indelible sources of correction and census takers spelled names phonetically since most people were illiterate.)

Since the death certificate gives her name as Elizabeth Mary Searcy and the cemetery marker shows her name as Elizabeth M. Searcy, I will leave her name on the memorial as Elizabeth Mary Searcy with Eliza as a nickname. The informant for her death certificate was her son, Lemuel, and he would most certainly know his own mother's name.

---------------

Another findagrave member submitted a birth date edit of November 12, 1847. Documentation has not been submitted to substantiate this information.

Previous birth date on memorial was September 1847 which is inaccurate.

1850 census shows an estimated birth date of July 1849, since Eliza is 11 months old in August 1850. Subsequent censuses indicate a birth date later than 1847.

There are zero documents that show the name Maria on them except for the 1850 census which has multiple errors on it.
----------------
May 24, 2017 - due to the extreme controversy surrounding the actual name of this person, I have performed a background search for her. The documentation is conflicting and unless there is a family bible or a record of birth, my research on Eliza shows the following:

The August 1850 Perry County Indiana census shows Elizabeth at age 11 months with the name Maria which is not indicative of an accurate name because several of her siblings have misspellings or nicknames as follows:

George, head, age 53
Mary, wife, age 42
Benjamin, age 22
Anna, age 20
Nancy, age 18
Joan, [Johanna] age 14
George, age 12
Sally, [Sarah] age 10
Polly [Mary], age 8
Davis, [David] age 6
Elizabeth, age 4
Emily, age 2 [Emaline called Emily]
Maria, [Mary Elizabeth] age 11/12 (which gives her a July 1849 birth date and is probably the most correct document for her age and birth year since this is the first census she appears on) daughter Susan is missing from the 1850 census. She married in 1853 to William Carter where they moved to Indiana where William and several of her children died and are buried in Dubois County).

1860 census in Perry County, post office Ferdinand Indiana:
George, age 64
Mary, age 44
George, age 21
David, age 17
Mary, age 17,
Elizabeth, age 16 (strikeover written name from Eliza to Elizabeth)
Emily age 13
Eliza age 12
The following girls on the census as told to me emphatically by two findagrave members, are Critchfield granchildren, daughters of Anna Kitterman Critchfield, according to census corrections on Ancestry.com, and enumerated incorrectly:
Caroline Kitterman, age 8 last name actually Critchfield
Tabathia Kitterman, age 5 last name actually Critchfield -- however it now appears that the original information as told to me was incorrect by the original researchers and now I am told emphatically, by the same two researchers, that both Caroline and Tabitha were Kitterman children as documented by various land court records that were subsequently found since the creation of this memorial. The Tabathia spelling is again a phonetic error on the census and the standard name is Tabitha.

William B. Searcy and Eliza Kitterman were married on 7 July 1870 in Perry County, Indiana.

1880 name is Eliza
1900 census name is Eliza
1910 name is Liza
1920 census name is Eliza

Social security benefits filed by son Lemuel Dallard Searcy state the name of his mother is Elizabeth Kitterman and father is William B. Searcy.
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index for Lemuel Searcy:
Name: Elizabeth Kitterman
Gender: Female
Spouse: William B Searcy
Child: Lemuel Dallard Searcy

Social security records for son William Irwin Searcy state his parents are William B. Searcy and Eliza F. Kitterman.

Kentucky death records: Elizabeth Mary Searcy
Kentucky death certificate: Elizabeth Mary Searcy maiden name Kitterman

The death certificate for her son Lemuel "Len" Searcy in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana states his parents names were William B. Searcy and Elizabeth Kitterman.

Due to the fluctuation in names and ages, and the fact that she is documented as both Eliza and Elizabeth, with her son Len documenting her three times as Elizabeth Mary, the name on this memorial will remain Elizabeth Mary as matches the headstone and the death certificate.

Her 1847 birth date should be considered wrong in that she is 11 months old on the 1850 census; two of her sisters have an 1846 birth year but the censuses show them as being several years apart in age.

--------------------
There are multiple repeat names in this family and it appears that the names Mary and Elizabeth were interchangeably used multiple times for multiple children in different variations and also in affectionate nicknames.

In addition, the 1850 census has numerous errors on it so that document cannot be accepted as proof of accuracy.

NOTE regarding name errors and continued disputes in this family's naming, another example is daughter Emily who shows up as "Emily" on all documentation, but her memorial and other family memorials state her birth name was Emaline, with a nickname of Emily.

Thank you to the individuals who uploaded more documents to this memorial that show Elizabeth's common affectionate nickname was Eliza. All documents are appreciated.


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