Family:Nathaniel Treadway and Sufferance Haynes (1)

Source:Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England - Vol. 4, p 324 says that Nathaniel married Sufferance, d. of Edward Howe of Watertown. He does not say how he knows this. He also says Josiah Treadway of Sudbury m. Sufferance, d. of Walter Haynes, and had three daughters before 1644, based on the will of Thomas Noyes. Source:The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, p. 6:282 [1852], "Ancestry of the Jones Family", identifies Lydia (Treadway) Jones' parents as Nathaniel Treadway and "Sufferanna, daughter of Edward Howe, from England". This last article probably relies on Savage in making this assertion, as it gives no other reason for thinking that.

These all appear to be wrong. See Source:The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, p. 65:295-7 [1911], "Notes" for the full argument which is abstracted here with some small additions.

The mistaken connection to Edward Howe is probably explained by Edward Howe's will (see Source:The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, p. 3:77, "Abstracts of the Earliest Wills upon Record in the County of Suffolk, M[as]s"), which bequeaths to "Nathaniell Treadaway" and "Anne Stonne" besides his wife, indeed, making Nathaniel co-executor with John Stone. Savage clearly assumed such generosity meant that Nathaniel and Anne were his children. But, Source:The American Genealogist, p. 70:171-80 says that Edward Howe was the elder brother of Mary (Howe) Treadway (wife of Nathaniel Treadway Sr.), both baptized in Boxted, Essex, England to Edward Howe and his wife Ann Lumpkin. Therefore, the bequests to Nathaniel Treadway (Jr.) and Anne Stone were to nephew and niece. Thus, the will, which does not actually identify Nathaniel as a son-in-law, no longer requires that Sufferance be Edward Howe's daughter to be make sense, and further, distributing property to nephew and niece makes it appear that Edward had no children at all. (Likewise, the will of Edward's widow.)

The will of Thomas Noyes, dated 20 Aug 1664, left "twenty shillings apiece unto ye two eldest daughters of brother Tredaway". As Thomas was then married to Sufferance's sister Mary, these are clearly Sufferance's daughters, but the will does not identify "brother Tredaway" by his given name, and hence does not provide any proof whether Sufferance's husband was Josiah and Nathaniel. We have to assume that Savage picked Josiah because a Josiah Treadway sold some of Edward Howe's land (much later), but this Josiah identifies himself clearly in the deed as the son of the Nathaniel who was given the land by Edward Howe's will. This Josiah, being the son of Nathaniel, could not possibly have been the right age to marry Sufferance Haynes. In addition, the cited article notes that a search of pertinent records turned up no evidence that Savage's alleged Josiah Treadway even existed, much less that Sufferance married him instead of Nathaniel.

The will of Walter Haynes, dated 25 May 1659, names his daughter Suffrany Treddoway, but does not identify her husband.

Source:Vital records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 144, gives a record of the birth of Mary Treadway, daughter of "Nathaniel and Sufrany" (written "Nathaniell and Dufrany" on the county copy). Source:Watertown records, p. 1:51, records the death of "Sefferanna Treadaway Wife of Nathanel Treadaway" on 22 Jul 1682. So Nathaniel definitely married a woman named Sufferance. The NEHGR article cited above gives several additional circumstantial items, including a strong naming pattern used by Nathaniel and Sufferance that follows the Haynes family, which suggest Nathaniel Treadway married Sufferance Haynes. --Jrich 10:45, 30 August 2009 (EDT)