Dear Gail, Wrong about divorces then. There were a good many legal divorces around the turn of the century. I have seen the Cambria County records. People used to get a paper called the Johnstown Observer [political paper, Democrats, I think] because it listed the divorces. That was before the ordinary papers started listing them. I have divorces in my family then [devout German Roman Catholics], one about 1903. I found some editorial type articles about divorces, including giving the percentage of divorces to marriages. One article especially complained about the number of divorces among "foreigners." This article was about 1913, I think. Most people who separated didn't bother with a divorce. It can be "fun" to try tracing them down. Lots of bigamy then. That is why the Catholic Church required then [and now, though it was not always adhered to] that anyone wanting a Catholic Marriage has to have a RECENT copy of his/her Baptism certificate. This is because once a priest performs a Catholic marriage, he is SUPPOSED to send a notice of that marriage back to the church where the baptism was performed. Or if they get an ANNULMENT, that is supposed to be recorded in the church where they married. It was common for men to simply leave their family, and sometimes these were large families. The women sometimes ended up in the Poor House. In one case someone asked me about, the local priest took the woman and children to the Poor House after the husband died. There were also stories about women and children in the Poor House because their husband was in jail. Children were adopted from the Poor House. A relative was once director of the Poor House and when looking in some Church Records, I found the children from the Poor House with the natural parents listed and the adoptive parents listed as god-parents. In various family trees, some of the children were not listed as adopted. Admirable research. I know from experience it was not easy. Marilyn Kline Washington -----Original Message----- From: Gail Dickinson <gailkd@yahoo.com> To: pacambri-l <pacambri-l@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sun, Oct 27, 2013 1:19 pm Subject: [PACAMBRI] Elizabeth Bourdess Elizabeth Bourdess. Note: This is primarily a sharing note. I have been concentrating on finding information about my Bourdess connection, and thought I would share with the group for any comment or corrections. I have no specific question, just want to share so far. Elizabeth Bourdess was my great-aunt, sister to my grandfather George Bourdess. She was born in Durham England (around Pelton Fell) in March 1885, and emigrated with the rest of the family in April, 1898, leaving Liverpool on the Ship Russia, arriving in Altoona. The name was Burdess in England, but became Bourdess in Pennsylvania, possibly because of the strong english/scotch accent. The parents were Anthony Burdess, and Mary McFarren Logan (born in Scotland). Anthony died in 1903 in the Sunshine Mine accident in South Fork. The family rumor is that that Elizabeth was a madam in South Fork, down on Lake Street. I became curious about her because whenever she was mentioned in a family obit, her last name was different. So I have located 4 husbands (at least some of them were officially husbands, I think). Elizabeth married Albert Potter in 1902, at the age of 17 (Listed in the Cambria County Marriage Index as Elizabeth Bardess), and had two boys (verified in her obit...survived by her two sons Albert and Anthony Potter). Albert was born in 1905, and Anthony, born in 1907. Elizabeth then promptly divorced Albert in 1909, which must have been shocking. I can’t find her in the 1910 census, but Albert is there,slogging along in South Fork, listed in the census as head of household, with two male boarders living there. They were all coal miners. Elizabeth married John Marquedant, who was about 15 years older than she was, in 1919 (Cambria County Marriage Index). He was an electrician at the steel works. I found them in the 1920 census, living in the 9th ward in Johnstown, renting a house at 174 Coal St. Her two boys, now 16 and 13, were living with her. She would have been 35. Albert was a messenger boy for the steel works. Anthony was not working. John Elder was also living as a boarder (27 years old). I suspect he was the son of John Elder, who married Elizabeth's mother in 1911 (Mary McFarren Logan Bourdess Elder). In Elizabeth's brother's obit (died in the Argonne Forest in 1918), he is listed as being survived (among other siblings), and Elizabeth Marquedant. In 1924, when Elizabeth's sister Grace died (of pneumonia at age 23 in Johnstown's Mercy Hospital, married to Mike Rozonko), Grace is listed as being survived by her sister (among other siblings), Mrs. Frank Kunkle. In the 1940 census, though, there is an Elizabeth and John Kunkle listed, and I am not sure if the name is wrong. Elizabeth died on April 22, 1943, and was the wife of Charles Bopp according to her obit. She then lived in Fifficktown. I can't find Elizabeth Potter or Bourdes (Bordes, Bardess, Burdess) in either Blair or Cambria County in 1910, and I am not sure what she is doing between 1910 and 1919, or how she was making a living with her sons. Other siblings were Mary Ann (married William Weaver -- died in Hollidaysburg June 25, 1943) Thomas Bourdess (I don't have a death date for him, b. Nov 3, 1886, married Mary Thomas) James Edward Bourdess (Oct 23, 1888 (born in South Fork) died in Cleveland Apr 2, 1965) Anthony Bourdess (b. Oct 15, 1891 in Gallitzin, d. 190) Margaret, b. Nov 25, 1893, m. James Wilson, d. June 8, 1938 George Bourdess, my grandfather, b. Nov 18, 1882 in Durham, England, m. Florence Ethel Thomas in 1910 at the South Fork Lutheran Church, and died May 13, 1936, in South Fork. Gail Dickinson (Bourdess, Thomas, Emigh, Oakes) - - - - - - - - - - Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: http://www.camgenpa.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PACAMBRI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message