Marguerite MASIUS (1917- )

1 Marguerite MASIUS^1,2 (1917- ) [11505]. Born 15 Aug 1917, Worchester, MA.^1,2

2 Morton Lee MASIUS^1,2,3,4,5 (1883-1979) [11496]. Born 6 Oct 1883, NY.^1,3,5 Marr Paula Marie WAGNER 1910, Germany.¹ Died Nov 1979.⁵

Information from a posting by Faith Ferguson, a granddaughter of Morton Masius

"Morton stayed in Germany, married a German woman, Paula Marie Wagner (my grandmother), from a wealthy family in Leipzig-Gohlis. He studied chemistry at the University of Leipzig, earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry in @1907. Paula also was a Ph.D. student in Chemistry, the first woman in that department at the university. After a two year Fellowship in the U.S. at Harvard, Morton went back to Germany. He and Paula married in 1910, and came to the U.S. where Morton took a position as Professor of Physics at Worcester Polytechnic in Worcester MA. My mother Vera Mildred Masius was born in Worcester in 1919; her older sister Marguerite was born in Worcester in 1917. They are both alive, Marguerite lives in Paris with her husband Robert Hammond and my dad, Alan D. Ferguson, died a number of years ago. My mother lives nearby here in Lexington, MA. There is a slew of kids and grandkids. My grandparents never went back to Germany to live, since WWI broke out soon after and it became impossible. My mother believes that she has Liebisch cousins in Germany, but because Leipzig was in East Germany, and due to the chaos of WWII, she has never been able to find out.."

A portion of Two Towers; The Story of Worcester Tech 1865-1965 which concern Morton Masius.

" According to Professor Wilbur or his associate, Bernard Hildebrand, the reactor was not complex or dangerous. Nevertheless there were safety precautions. Doors were securely locked; permission was required for admittance, and the reactor, monitored twenty-four hours a day, was connected by telephone to police headquarters via the American District Telegraph Company. Only twice did the squawking sound of the alarm rasp its way across campus - once when the professor forgot to shut off the automatic alarm when he entered the room on a Saturday morning, again when a change in voltage tripped the alarm, A.D.T. guards, police, and reporters so soon swarmed around the old Washburn building that no one again doubted the efficacy of the reactor's safety provisions. "But sooner or later" predicted Wilbur, "some student is going to smuggle a gold fish into the pool."
The reactor was soon used by all departments of the school to teach the handling of radioactive materials and to illustrate the fundamentals of reactor operations. Its most important function from a community point of view, however was the advantageous proximity of radioactive isotope production, which was made available free of charge by both the reactor and the accelerator to non profit organizations such as schools and hospitals for research in activation analysis.
Possible applications of atomic research appeared to be endless, and the world held its breath to see how rationally this devastating and wondrous power would be used - in medicine, agriculture, construction and industry or in human annihilation. At any rate, Tech's facilities were now exceptional for the study of molecules and atoms, thanks to the reactor and to the accelerator in Olin Hall.
Many dignitaries and guests attended the dedication ceremonies of Olin Hall. During the procession a comparatively new professor, Benjaman A. Wooten, stood on the sidelines busily snapping pictures. Everyone was seated, the program about to begin, when Professor Wooten saw a lone figure trudging up the West Street walk from Salisbury. The man wore a white suit, a Panama hat, white buckskin shoes, striped shirt, bright tie, and a jaunty air which unmistakably belonged to Morton Masius.
Hurriedly, Professor Wooten volunteered to find a place for the elderly visitor. "There'll be a place for me, " said Dr. Masius with confident dignity.
And indeed there was a place for this emeritus professor who had come back to share the pleasure of this great day, a day which he had helped make possible by his own scholarly achievements. ".

4 Edmund A. MASIUS^6,7,8 (1855-1915) [11494]. Born Mar 1855, France.⁷ Marr Edith A. BAILEY 28 Apr 1880, Stony Fork, PA.⁶ Div. Died Nov 1915.⁹ Cause: Tuberculosis.

Masius was probably Alfred G., but is a very mysterious figure. The following is from Tioga County Alien Records:

"MASIUS, ALFRED G.; age 24; born in France; arrived at Baltimore in July 1872; settled in Wellsboro; renounced the Republic of France; declaration made 27 August 1879.".

5 Edith A. BAILEY^6,10,11,12 (c. 1860-1892) [11449]. Born c. 1860, PA.^10,11 Marr Bernard LIEBISCH 8 Apr 1889, Leipsic, Germany.¹² Died 29 Apr 1892, Leipsic, Germany.¹³ Cause: Consumption.

A great-granddaughter of Edith's, Faith Ferguson states the following in part of a posting in 2004:

"She [Edith] was married to Alfred (or Albert, or Edmund, unclear!) Masius near Wellsboro some time @ 1880, against the wishes of her family. They had two sons, Roderick and Morton, both born in Egg Harbor City, N.J. When the boys were young, Edith and Alfred (?) divorced (shocking for the time) and Edith moved to Leipzig Germany to study the new field of experimental psychology with Willem Wundt (at the time she was his only American woman student.) The boys went to the school attached the famous church where J. S. Bach was organist and choir director. Edith remarried, to Bernard Liebisch, who was a widower. They had a daughter Mildred. Edith never returned to the U.S. Edith became ill and on her deathbed extracted a promise from her younger sister Mildred to care for her boys. Mildred Bailey gave up her own engagement (to a man in the Wellsboro area) to remain in Germany caring for the boys. She married her sister's husband Bernard Liebisch. They had a son, Arnold Llewellyn."

From the Wellsboro Agitator.

April 30, 1889 - "Mrs. Edith Bailey Masius, who is well known in this borough, was married on the 8th instant to Mr. Bernard Liebisch, at Leipsic, Germany."

January 6, 1892 - "We learn that Miss Mildred Bailey, who went to Germany last year to are for invalid sister, is in very poor health indeed, her lungs being affected. Her sister Edith is reported to in in a very critical condition, and her physician has no hopes of her recovery, her disease being consumption."

May 4, 1892 - "Last Friday a dispatch was received here announcing the death of Mrs. Edith Hailey Liebisch at Leipsic, Germany that morning. She died of consumption with which disease she had been suffering for months. Mrs Liebisch was the daughter if John W. Bailey. She went to Leipsic about five years ago to study in the university intending to fit herself for a teacher. Soon after she met Prof. Bernard Liebisch, a dealer in rare books and they were afterward married. When her health began to fail her sister Miss Mildred Bailey went to her and has ministered to her during her sickness. Mrs. Liebisch was nearly thirty three years of age. She leaves three children two of the by a former marriage with Mr. Masius.".

10 John W. BAILEY^{10,11,14,15,16,17,18} (1824-1892) [6391]. Born 27 Nov 1824, Charleston Twp., PA.^10,15 Marr Margaret L. LEWIS 25 Dec 1843.¹⁵ Marr Julia DUNKLE 28 Nov 1889, Elmira, NY.^15,19 Died 12 Jul 1892, Wellsboro, PA.^15,20 Buried Wellsboro Cemetery, Wellsboro, PA.²¹

A biographical sketch appearing in the History of Tioga County, 1897.

JOHN W. BAILEY was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, November 2 7, 1824, eldest son of Roswell and Julia A. (Rockwell) Bailey, pioneers of this county. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm and his primary education was obtained in the common schools of the district. But sixteen years, old when his father died, he succeeded him in charge of the old homestead. In later years he purchased about 600 acres of land and engaged in cattle-dealing, probably buying and shipping more stock than any other man in the northern tier during that period. In 1870 he removed to Wellsboro, where he soon became one of the prominent and enterprising citizens. He dealt extensively in agricultural implements and lumber for twenty years, and always gave the most liberal credits to his patrons. Mr. Bailey was a member of the firm that established the tannery at Stokesdale, and was an active agent in the building of the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim, and the Pine Creek railroads, being a director of the latter company. He was also a director in the United States Glass Company, and one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Wellsboro, in which institution he was an honored and trusted director until his death. Always ready and willing to take a leading part in every public enterprise which he believed would promote the interest of Wellsboro, and ever on the alert to encourage any project that might add to the general welfare of his native county, Mr. Bailey won the admiration, respect and confidence of the whole people. He was eminently adapted to command the co-operation and support of` his fellowmen, as he always went into whatever he undertook with earnestness, enthusiasm and confidence, thus inspiring others with his own sentiments. Possessing unbounded public spirit, whole-souled generosity and broad charity, he never turned a deaf ear to the cry of suffering or distress. A warm, consistent friend of the working classes, he was honored and trusted by them to the close of his life. While accumulating a large estate, he gave liberally to religion, charity and education, and was one of the most generous citizens of Wellsboro throughout his long and active business career. Mr. Bailey wielded a wide influence in the local councils of the Democratic party, and was a stalwart in his fealty to its principles and candidates, He was chairman of the county committee a number of years, represented the county in several state conventions, and was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago in 1.892. He served in the borough council several terms, and also filled the offices of burgess and school director, always taking a deep interest in the growth of the public school system.

OnChristmas Day, 1843. Mr. Bailey married Margaret L, Lewis, a daughter of Thomas Lewis, of Charleston township. She was born October 17, 1827, and died November 19, 1883, after a happy companionship of nearly forty years. They became the parents of twelve children, ten of whom grew to an adult age as follows., Eva A., wife of Dr. M. L. Bacon, of Wellsboro, Edward, deceased; Llewellyn L., of Wellsboro; Ada B., deceased wife, of Louis Doumaux; Morton S., a resident of Colorado; Lloyd J., of California; Leon 0., who lives in Indiana; Lee M., deceased; Fred W, a resident of Denver, and Mildred L. On November 28. 1889, Mr. Bailey married Mrs. Julia McClelland, a daughter of Michael Dunkle, of Jersey Shore, who yet survives. He died July 12, 1892, soon after his return from the Democratic National Convention, and was buried with Masonic honors, as he was a member of Ossea Lodge, No, 317, F, & A. M. The whole community sincerely mourned the death of one whose place could not be easily filled- -a man whose warm, friendly greeting and substantial assistance brought sunshine into many a weary and discouraged heart. On the day of his funeral the stores and shops in Wellsboro were closed and a large delegation of workingmen marched in the funeral procession as a mark of respect to his memory.

From Encyclopedia of Biography by John W. Jordan, 1914.

"John W., son of Rozel and Julia. (Rockwell) Bailey, was born November 27, 1824, on his father's farm, in Charleston township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits. At the division of his father’s estate he recompensed the other heirs for their interest in the land, of which he thus became sole owner. This ancestral possession he preserved intact to the close of his life, and it is now the property of his descendants, About 1870 Mr. Bailey moved to Wellsboro, becoming one of the leading business men of that place, He was a director of the Pine Creek Railway Company, the United Glass Company, the Stokesdale Tannery, and a number of other enterprises in most of which he was the leading spirit. In 1864, when the First National Bank of Wellsboro was organized, he became one of its directors and served in that capacity to the close of his life. He was one of the largest landowners in the county, and was greatly beloved for his liberality in business enterprises and for his practical charities. In politics he was an ardent Democrat, never seeking office, but always giving his best efforts for the success of the party. The year of his death he was a delegate to the National Convention in Chicago which gave Grover Cleveland a third nomination for President of the United States. It is strong evidence of the respect and confidence with which Mr. Bailey was regarded in his home town that in a community always thoroughly opposed to him in politics he was repeatedly elected councilman and burgess, He was a man of fine appearance, with a countenance strongly expressive of those sterling traits of character by which he was distinguished.
Mr. bailey married, in 1843, Margaret Lewis, a native of Glarmorganshire, Wales, daughter of Thomas and Martha (James) Lewis, and their children were: Eva, Edward, Llewellyn, Lloyd, Ada and Ida (twins), Morton S., Associate jus¬tice of the Supreme Court of Colorado; Leon Orlando, mentioned below; Edith; Lee; Frederick W., ex-Senator, and prominently engaged hi banking and insurance in Denver, Colorado; Mildred, wife of a well known publisher of Leipsic, Germany. John W. Bailey died July 12, 1892, deeply and sincerely mourned by all classes of the community. He was one of whom it could be truly said that in every relation of life he always sustained the character of a true man.".

11 Margaret L. LEWIS^{10,11,15,16,17,18,22} (1827-1883) [11436]. Born 17 Oct 1827, Monmouthshire, South Wales.^{10,11,15,16,17,22} Died 19 Nov 1883.^15,22 Cause: Congestive apoplexy. Buried Wellsboro Cemetery, Wellsboro, PA.²¹

From the Wellsboro Agitator.

Nov. 20, 1883 - "Last evening, Mrs. Margaret L. Bailey, wife of John W. Bailey, of this borough, died at her home, after an illness of about two weeks, from congestive apoplexy which followed bilious fever. Mrs. Bailey's maiden name was Lewis, and she was born at Munworthshire [should be Monmouthshire], South Whales, in 1837 [should be 1827]. She came with her father, Thomas Lewis, and family to New York city in 1833, where they remained six years. The family then came to Charleston township and located on a far. On Christmas day, 1843, John W. Bailey and Margaret L. Lewis were married and they settled on the Bailey homestead at Dartt Settlement, in Charleston township. Unto them twelve children have been born, ten of whom are now living. About fifteen years ago the family moved from the farm to this borough where they have since resided. Mrs. Bailey united with the Baptist Church in New York city, where she retained her membership until coming to Wellsboro, where she immediately united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Bailey's life has been an active one and full of toil and self denial for her family. Her Christain ???tude, kindness of heart and sympathetic nature endeared her to all who knew her. The funeral will be held at her late residence at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

In the "History of Colorado" a sketch on Margaret's son, Morton S. Bailey, it states that his mother Margaret Lewis Bailey, was born in Merthyr Tydfil, rather than the Monmouthshire of other sources. These are separate boroughs of Wales, Merthyr Tydfil being several boroughs west of Monmouthshire.

3 Paula Marie WAGNER^1,2,3 (1885- ) [11502]. Born 26 Apr 1885, Leipzig, Germany.^1,2,3

Sources

1	"Information from a posting by Faith Ferguson, a great-granddaughter of Edith Bailey".

2	"Passport of Morton Masius".

3	"1930 MA, Worchester, Worchester census".

4	"Boston, MA, 1913 Harvard University Alumni Directory".

5	"Social Security Death Index".

6	"Marriage announcement of Edith A. Bailey and Edmund A. Masius in the Wellsboro Agitator, August 24, 1880".

7	"1900 Washington, DC census".

8	"From an article in the Baltimore Sun, March 25, 1909".

9	"Death notice of Alfred G. Masius in the Washington Post, November 30, 1915".

10	"1870 PA, Tioga, Wellsboro census".

11	"1880 PA, Tioga, Wellsboro census".

12	"Marriage announcement of Edith Bailey Masius and Bernard Liebisch in the Wellsboro Agitator, April 30, 1889".

13	"Death notice of Edith Bailey Liebisch in the Wellsboro Agitator, May 4, 1892".

14	"History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, 1897".

15	"Biographical sketch of John W. Bailey in the History of Tioga County, 1897".

16	"1850 PA, Tioga, Charleston census".

17	"1860 PA, Tioga, Charleston census".

18	"Encyclopedia of Biography by John W. Jordan, 1914".

19	"Wedding announcement of John W. Bailey and Mrs. C.C. McClelland in the Wellsboro Agitator, December 3, 1889".

20	"Obituary of John W. Bailey in the Wellsboro Agitatior, July 13, 1892".

21	"Wellsboro Cemetery Records".

22	"Obituary of Margaret L. Bailey in the Wellsboro Agitator, November 20, 1883".