Today’s main anniversary is the birthdate of my 3G-grandmother, Marguérithe Kurtz. She was born on 4 August 1820 in Butten, Alsace, the daughter of André and Marguérithe (Bauer) Kurtz. She had younger siblings named Caroline and André. She appears with her birth family in the 1836 Butten census.
France, Bas-Rhin, Parish and Civil Registration, 1525-1912
On 18 July 1845 Marguérithe married Philippe Schmidt, also from Butten. The couple appears in Butten census records from both 1851 and 1856. They had at least four children: Christian, born 1847; Christine, born 1851; Philipp, born 1858; and Andreas, born 1863. Christine would marry Jacob Hoffmann in 1875; they were my 2G-grandparents who would emigrate to the U.S. in 1883.
By that time Christine’s father was no longer living; he died in Butten in 1864 at age 46. Marguérithe, however, was still living. She would die on 18 December 1895, still in Butten. Christine’s three siblings also remained in France, dying in 1907, 1933, and 1898.
To me, though, August 4 will always be “Lizzie Day.” It was on this day in 1892 that Andrew and Abby (Gray) Borden were killed with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’ve found the story of Lizzie Borden fascinating since I was very small (see my earlier post), so imagine my excitement when I discovered that she was my half sixth cousin 5 times removed. My mom and I shared this true crime/mystery addiction (Lizzie, the Michigan Murders, Trixie Belden and Ginny Gordon), and even though my connection to Lizzie is on my dad’s side, Mom and I spent a night at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast and even “celebrated” Lizzie Day once by preparing a replica August 4 meal (minus the mutton broth). So tomorrow I’ll remember Mom, her great-great-grandmother Marguérithe, and our Lizzie Day celebrations.
