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Facts and Events
References
- The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.)
43:238-9@239.
link William2 Story b Ipswich 1648 d Brookline 20 Jul 1721 aged 73 yrs... m/2 3 Dec 1707 Abigail Torry, widow of Jonathan Torry. (Note this article was specially recommended as a source by Robert Charles Anderson, FASG in the Great Migration series).
- Stott, Clifford L. Humphrey Blake (1494?-1558) and his Descendants in New England and South Carolina: Richards, Selleck, Torrey, and Wolcott. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Apr, Jul, Oct 2009; Jan 2010)
164:70.
link Jonathan Torrey, bp. (Roxbury) 16 June 1651; d. Brookline, Mass., in Jan. 1702/3; m. Abigail _____, who was appointed administrator of his estate on 13 Nov. 1707.
- Pratt, Robert L. The Descendants of William Story who Came to Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1637: the First Eight Generations. (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 2000)
8.
- Storey, Betty Andrews. Descendants of William Story and Sarah Foster of Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts. (Hales Corners, Wisconsin: B.A. Storey, 2004)
4, 7-8.
William2 STORY, jr. (William1) 9 born 1649/50 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts; died 20 Jul 1721 in Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He married (1) on 25 Oct 1671 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Susannah FULLER, born 4 Aug 1650 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts; died 4 Jun 1707 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, daughter of John FULLER, Immigrant and Elizabeth EMERSON; (2) on 3 Oct 1707 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Abigail TORREY, Widow... Abigail was the widow of Jonathan Torrey (1651-1703). Marriage to William Story: Roxbury Vital Records, Volume I page 363. (sic 2:383 link)
- This page is speculation based on secondary sources, of which Source:Torrey, Frederic C. Torrey Families and Their Children in America appears to be the oldest, and appears to cover Abigail the most thoroughly. There is no evidence to contradict it, but there is no evidence that proves it.
What is the problem? William Story's age makes him a natural fit to marry the widow of Jonathan Torrey? But look at the three deeds where widow Abigail Story (apparently William's widow?) sells Jonathan Torrey's land along with Jonathan's known sons Philip and Jonathan. As the widow of an intestate husband, her supposed situation, Abigail would have lifetime use of one third of Jonathan's land. She could not convey land, only quitclaim her right to it. She would get 3/9, the eldest son would get 4/9 (double share), and the younger son would get 2/9. None of the deeds (Suffolk Deeds Vol. 36, folio 188, Vol. 38, folio 19, Vol. 39, folio 54 reverse) describe the relationship of the three, how they acquired their interests in the property, indicate the weight of their holdings, or indicate it is anything other than held in common. This appears to be a deed by three siblings, not by two brothers and a widow. (Abigail could have died by 1732, but it is also interesting that Jonathan's will in that year (he never married) mentions Philip and Dudley Boylston whom they sold the land to, but not his alleged mother Abigail. If she turns out to have been alive, this would be a very strong indication she was not his mother.)
It would only take an unrecorded daughter Abigail born to Jonathan and Abigail Torrey prior to the birth of their son Philip, old enough to not need a guardian, to make this unlikely (and since Philip was 18, we're don't require her to be born long before Philip). How many of their known children were recorded? None. How do we known about them? Only because they were minors when the father died and have guardian files Could there have been older children that didn't need guardians? Sure, being bp. in 1651 and his wife's est. birth date of 1655 (based on what?) would easily leave 10 or more years of childbearing age before Philip's birth to have other children old enough not to need a guardian. Can we show Abigail Story who participated in the deeds distributing Jonathan Torrey's land is Jonathan's wife? No, it is assumed. What do we know about this Abigail Story that we can study to try and find more clues? Nothing. We don't have any specifics on her birth, her parents, her death or when she is alleged to have married Jonathan Torrey, or to be careful, that she even did.
So what we actually know is that on 13 Nov 1707 Jonathan's widow Abigail Torrey is granted administration on the estate of Jonathan Torrey, which incidentally, contains no listing of heirs. On 3 Dec 1707, i.e., only three weeks later, an Abigail Torrey married William Story whose wife died the previous May. Are they the same person or could this be a daughter of Jonathan's who married William Story? Jonathan died in Jan 1702/03. Why wait so long to probate the estate? It could be so Abigail could remarry and everything is indeed, as presented. There is no accounting to show when the widow, as administratrix, completed her task. It could be because an older child reached legal age and the property needed to be distributed, the settlement apparently not being preserved. In the early 1720s, an Abigail Story sells property with Jonathan and Philip. Is this because William Story had died (apparently having no probate to show if he left a widow) or because the widow of Jonathan Torrey died, leaving her children able to sell property without worrying about her rights of dower? Was the widow Jonathan Torrey Jonathan's only wife, or could she possibly have been a second wife and step-mother to the children? Until further evidence is presented, one is struck by how little is known, and therefore how much assumption and speculation makes up the traditional arrangement of marriages shown here.
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