Christina Morse:
A Look at Her Life
 
On January 1st of 1856 a young bride by the name of Christina Morse would be wed to Nelson Ferguson in Warren, Waushara County, Wisconsin. The couple would have six children during their life together as homesteaders on the frontier of Wisconsin. They would call Grand Marsh, Adams County, Wisconsin home after Warren, followed by taking their young family to set up homestead in Plainfield, Waushara County, Wisconsin. As for other information on Christina and her life there is not much known or one can be certain of today.

Parts of her life remain a mystery today. The biggest mystery is when, where and how she died. We can follow Christina’s and her young family’s life by using census information. One finds her listed as still living in the 1870 census in Plainfield. By 1875 we find her husband and children still living in Plainfield but Nelson has a one year old son by his second wife. So there is a mystery of what happened to Christina about 1871.  We can estimate she died about 1871 because in her husband’s obit it in 1909 said she died 38 years earlier.

It is likely she passed away during this period of time. This was a hard time for those who lived on the frontier. Pioneers had to worry about an accident while working on the homestead such as getting kicked by a horse, falling off or under a wagon and a bad fall for example. Even if it was something that did not kill them right away, it could eventually bring on death. Then one always had to worry about diseases and getting sick. Many never got better and died. Life on a frontier homestead during this time was a hard one and at times deadly.

One can also say it was even harder for the woman during this time period. If those things were not enough, a woman could die during or from childbirth. Research also reveals there is another lesser known but almost as common killer for woman of this time period. It was dying from being burned to death. This happened when the woman’s clothes would catch fire while cooking or chores that required a proximity to fire in the home. It was a deadly combination of the clothes that woman had to wear, the combustibility of these clothes and working constantly with fire in areas that provided little safety for them.
Any of these things could have been what caused her to pass away. So far there has been no records found that could tell anyone what happened and when. Perhaps one day an obituary will be discovered, a listing in a family Bible or a letter from that was written from that period that will tell the story of what happened

She was buried in the Plainfield Cemetery and there is currently no marker showing where she is buried. She likely had a wooden cross that is long since gone. The best way to find where she is buried is from a Lilac tree growing next to where she is buried.

The mystery of her passing is just one of the mysteries that one finds with Christina. Besides not knowing for sure when where and how she died, we have the mystery of an oral tradition that she was Native American. This is a subject that can deeply divide those who look to discover who she was. There are often two camps, those who look at oral traditions and those who only go with records that can be found. Now what is known is that she was not full Native American. Today it is almost 100% certain that Christina was that of mixed blood heritage. Even without records, there are endless amounts of circumstantial evidence she was mixed blood and it’s practically an open and shut case.
 
Now, there is no one ancestor of Christina’s that one can pin point and say they were of Native birth. There are however, over a dozen candidates that could possibly be of Native ancestry. It is likely several of these ancestors contributed to the Native American DNA being passed down to Christina's descendants.  Even without a DNA test, it is hard to deny Native American Ancestry.

The oral tradition of having Native American ancestry was not just passed down through her descendants.  Two of her siblings also have the same oral tradition passed down in their family that they have Native American ancestry. Lastly you have Native American traits showing up in her descendants. Things like darker skin complexions, sweat glands missing much like one finds common with Native Americans, the toes of the feet (the toe next to the big toe is the longer and with a lager gap between this toe and the big toe compared to the spacing of the rest and the little toe curving in) and some males not having any facial hair. The only thing that is missing is who she got her Native American Blood from and what tribe did this ancestor belong to.

Christina has a lot that is unknown about her and there are several mysteries that perhaps will never be known. Still, there is plenty that we know about her beyond the dates and names. She was one of the pioneers in Wisconsin’s history. There were six children she brought into the world. From these children she has hundreds of descendants. So she may not have lived long herself but part her still lives on in her descendants today.