Family talk:William Symmes and Ruth Converse (1)

Wrong husband? [15 April 2014]

This shows the problem with matching vital records. This information (that William b. 7 Jan 1679-80 m. Ruth Converse) came pretty much from Woburn Births, vol. 2, part 3, p. 38, in a note supplied by the compiler. However, according to Source:Vinton, John Adams. Symmes Memorial, p. 27, the William b. 7 Jan 1679-80 is s/o Zachariah and Susannah Symmes and married Eliza Langdon in Boston 13 Jun 1706. He says on p. 30 that the William who married Ruth Converse is the s/o William Symmes and Mary Chickering, who was b. abt. 1678 (presumably calculated from age at death, 86 in 1764). The Bradford VRs confirm that the William born on 7 Jan 1679[/80] was born to Zachariah and Susannah, and the children of William and Mary are only known from probate documents, their births not recorded in Charlestown. Edward Johnson, the compiler of the Woburn Births, mentions the husband of Ruth Converse inheriting property from his father and Vinton does discuss how William and Mary's son did inherit 2/3 of the estate, paying the other heirs, because dividing it would spoil it, and he then bought his mother's share, ending up with the whole. More research is needed, but it looks like the wrong birth record has been applied to this William just because it was close and at hand. --Jrich 11:21, 20 December 2010 (EST)