Barthenia Jane MERRITT ¹

  General Notes:

There are many spelling versions of both her given name and surname. Her given name is variously rendered Barthenia, Barthania and Barthany, with Thena as a nickname. After discussions with Bonnie Morris Conrad, a Merritt descendant whose e-mail address is BONASHDAV@aol.com, we decided on Barthenia, which is the spelling used on the death certificate of her husband, Francis Marian Strong, for which she was the informant, even though Barthania is what appears on her own death certificate. Bonnie thinks the name on the death certificate of her husband was in her handwriting and thus is the best evidence of the spelling. However, I think the entire death certificate for Francis Marian Strong, including her name as informant, is in the handwriting of the attending physician. However, her own death certificate, for which her daughter was the informant, also appears to be in the handwriting of the attending physician, so is no better evidence as to how her given name was spelled; indeed, since her maiden name was not spelled correctly, it is perhaps of less evidentiary value. Personally, I rather favor Barthenia because of the nickname, Thena, that was ascribed to her in the obituary for her husband. As to her maiden name, which was spelled Marriott on her death certificate, Bonnie assures me it was Merritt, her father having been Pellington Merritt, and that her grandmother, a sister of Barthenia, was often exasperated at the confusion with a neighboring Marriott/Merriott family.

Barthenia married Francis Marian STRONG, son of Martin STRONG and Margaret SCRIVNER. (Francis Marian STRONG was born on 27 Apr 1837 in Cole County, Missouri,² died on 8 Jan 1917 in Morgan County, Missouri ² and was buried on 9 Jan 1917 in Hopewell Cemetery, Morgan County, Missouri ².)