The oldest son of Edwin Moody and Betsey Holton was Edwin Isaiah Moody.  It can be confusing because Edwin and Betsey had another son named Edwin.  Their oldest child was Edwin Isaiah, but was called Isaiah. That is important because Edwin died without issue, but Edwin Isaiah had a large family.555Edwin Isaiah was the first child born to Betsey and Edwin Moody. 569“The thirteen year old named for his grandfather, Isaiah felt two things. He wanted to help his mother. But, he asked himself, how could he find much means of doing so in Northfield. He thought, if I went away, Mother would have one less mouth to feed. He made a hard decision. Taking a minimum of possessions, he ran away from home. No good byes. No note. For most of the next thirteen years his mother was never even sure where he was. Occasionally there would be a postcard, or a letter with agonizingly few lines, never furnishing enough information or an address for an answer, only says, “You don’t have to worry about me, Ma; I’m getting along all right. Hope you are the same-” 827 “Edwin Isaiah was always called Isaiah, and everyone in Northfield called him “Uncle Isaiah” in his later years when he lived there, and in fact, he was probably uncle to about half the town. He was sort of a local character and entertained people who came to see his brother D. L. in his workshop . Isaiah had 6 children, Anna, Jessie, Gertrude, Henry, Dwight and Clara, but only the first 3 had children of their own.”555 On 1 June 1900 Isaiah Moody, a 71 year old upholsterer born in Massachusetts lived with his wife Maria L., 64, born in Ireland, in Northfield, Massachusetts. 1544His tombstone reads “Isaiah Moody”761

On 1 June 1900 Maria L. Moody was 64, born in Ireland in June 1835 and had emigrated in 1859. She and Isaiah had six children of whom 4 were alive in 1900. They had been married for 43 years . 1544

How could they have been married for 43 years in 1900 when Maria emigrated in 1859? The census taker crossed out 49 and substituted 41 for the number of years in the U. S. which would make her date of emigration 1851, 6 years before they married.