Today is the birthday of my ancestor Elizabeth Fulton. To mark the day I was going to tell others in my family that she is the half sister of Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.
Before I did I checked Robert Fulton in Wikipedia (Fulton-935). He’s listed as brother of Elizabeth (Fulton-4742), but she married the wrong guy. I found another Elizabeth (Fulton-3091) that married the right guy, John Moore, has birth info that matched what my mother recorded, and is the mother of my ancestor Robert Moore.
But my confusion and unease remain. Both Elizabeths have fathers named Robert Fulton. The father of my Elizabeth lived in North Carolina (and from Find a Grave likely died there). The father of the steamboat inventor was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the same region the Moore family lived.
I understand there could have been two women named Elizabeth Fulton and, I guess, more likely John Moore, himself 21, likely married the 32 year old rather than the 15 year old (though that’s not impossible).
One missing piece is how do we know the elder Elizabeth came from North Carolina? Another might be how we know there are two Elizabeths Fulton in Lancaster County in 1774? I guess what I’m really looking for is assurances before I rip out the Fulton records in the database I inherited from my mother. She was usually accurate, but never recorded sources. I can see how this one confused her.
