John Gould Morse or John Gavit Morse - Which Is It?

 What was the real name of Edward Sylvester Morse's son?

John's middle name has long been a source of intrigue for me. When I conducted a name search on various search engines, a multitude of results for "Gould" appeared. This is hardly surprising, given that his father, Edward S. Morse, shared a close and enduring friendship with an individual named John Mead Gould. It's conceivable that Professor Morse chose to bestow his son with the name "Gould."

Furthermore, genealogical sites, including Wikipedia and others, unequivocally display his name as "John Gould Morse." In light of this information, one can confidently assert that his middle name was, in fact, "Gould." Consequently, my belief that "Gould" was his accurate middle name remained steadfast, substantiated by the fact that all the covers in my possession bore only the middle initial "G."

However, an unexpected discovery shook my confidence. I stumbled upon a solitary cover that revealed his full name as "John Gavit Morse." This particular airmail cover had been sent from Bradford, Vermont. As we've previously discussed, Julie, John's wife, hailed from Bradford and was the daughter of David Blakely, the music manager for John Philip Sousa. Armed with this newfound information about John, I felt compelled to delve deeper into his name's origins.

It was during this investigation that I uncovered irrefutable evidence of his middle name in the 1880 Census Record of Salem, Massachusetts. In this official record, Edward S. Morse is listed as the head of the household, identified by his occupation as a Professor of Natural History. His wife, Ellen E., and daughter, Edith, are also recorded. Most significantly, their son is registered as "JOHN GAVIT," conclusively confirming his full name.

It's a joyful sensation when my little detective work yields accurate results, even if they appear inconsequential to others.