A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
Spouses
Notes for Mary (Ferris)
The maiden identity of Mary ______, the first wife of Jeffrey Ferris, remains unconfirmed.
Her complete first name has not been discovered in any surviving records in America.
Recently discovered wills and chancery court documents in Essex, England from the early 1630s identify the wife of Jeffrey Ferris ("lately gone into New England") as "Marie". The couple married by June 1632 and removed to New England by June 1633.
The spelling "Marie" was equivalent with "Mary" and "Marye" in 17th century England, with identical pronunciation.
A "Marie Locke" signed the will of Martha Christmas with her mark ("M") on 5 April 1632 in Fingringhoe, Essex, England, together with Gilbert Long, vicar, and "Jeffery Ferris" (mark "J"), the latter a "cousin" (nephew?) of the testatrix. There are no parish registers for Fingringhoe prior to 1653.
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"[ ____], wif to Jeffery Ferris, died 31:5:58."
(Stamford Town Records, volume 1, page 20)
The first name of Mrs. Ferris is situated on the edge of the record page and it is worn away. The preeminent genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus saw the original many years ago, before the volume had reached its present state of decay, and he deciphered her first name as "[--]ne". The bracketed length in Jacobus's entry suggested a short name.
Perhaps Jacobus deciphered a faded and worn "[Ma]rıe" as "[--]ne".
NOTE: The 5th month of the Old Style calendar corresponds to July, not May.
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Claims that the first wife of Jeffrey Ferris was of noble birth and that her name was "Lady Mary Anne Howard" are completely unsupported by known facts. No definitive evidence of her maiden identity has been uncovered either in England or in America.11
Her complete first name has not been discovered in any surviving records in America.
Recently discovered wills and chancery court documents in Essex, England from the early 1630s identify the wife of Jeffrey Ferris ("lately gone into New England") as "Marie". The couple married by June 1632 and removed to New England by June 1633.
The spelling "Marie" was equivalent with "Mary" and "Marye" in 17th century England, with identical pronunciation.
A "Marie Locke" signed the will of Martha Christmas with her mark ("M") on 5 April 1632 in Fingringhoe, Essex, England, together with Gilbert Long, vicar, and "Jeffery Ferris" (mark "J"), the latter a "cousin" (nephew?) of the testatrix. There are no parish registers for Fingringhoe prior to 1653.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════
"[ ____], wif to Jeffery Ferris, died 31:5:58."
(Stamford Town Records, volume 1, page 20)
The first name of Mrs. Ferris is situated on the edge of the record page and it is worn away. The preeminent genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus saw the original many years ago, before the volume had reached its present state of decay, and he deciphered her first name as "[--]ne". The bracketed length in Jacobus's entry suggested a short name.
Perhaps Jacobus deciphered a faded and worn "[Ma]rıe" as "[--]ne".
NOTE: The 5th month of the Old Style calendar corresponds to July, not May.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════
Claims that the first wife of Jeffrey Ferris was of noble birth and that her name was "Lady Mary Anne Howard" are completely unsupported by known facts. No definitive evidence of her maiden identity has been uncovered either in England or in America.11