Person:Deborah Whitmarsh (1)

The source cited on this page, Source:History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, p. 4:759, suggests Deborah is the daughter of John and Sarah Whitmarsh, and b. 1665. That is from the Whitmarsh section of the genealogies in that source. But in the Shaw section, p. 4:614, this same source says Nicholas Shaw m. Deborah Whitmarsh, d/o Nicholas and Hannah Whitmarsh, b. Weymouth 3 Aug 1659. The WeRelate page currently shows the parents of Deborah as John and Sarah Whitmarsh, but the birth date shown is for the Deborah who is the daughter of Nicholas and Hannah Whitmarsh (used to be true, has been fixed since).

In Source:The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, p. 46:187, in "Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, Corrections and Additions" by Joseph W. Porter, it says Nicholas Shaw m. Deborah of John Whitmarsh. Source:Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, p. 4:65 (Shaw) merely names Nicholas Shaw's wife only as Deborah, and on p. 4:525 (Whitmarsh) named John's Whitmarsh daughter Deborah only as mentioned in his will, with no indication of a marriage, and doesn't list a daughter Deborah for Nicholas Whitmarsh.

Source:History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, p. 759, says the will of John Whitmarsh dated 22 May 1695, names daughter Deborah. Other daughter Judith Shaw has her married name specified, but Deborah does not, suggesting perhaps she is not married? Nicholas Shaw married a Deborah Whitmarsh about 1686, their first child being born in 1687, so she would have needed to have been married at the time of the will if she was the one who m. Nicholas Shaw. But perhaps this is too fine a point to draw from the abstract provided in this source? Anyway daughters Sarah and Mary were only named by their given name and they were married at the time as their sons Joseph Petty (of Sarah) and John Bates (of Mary) were named.

Source:Vital records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 lists children of Deborah and her husband Nicholas Shaw: Alice, Nicholas, Joshua, John, Jonathan, Zachariah, Ruth, Abraham, Sarah, Benjamin, and Deborah, given in the order of their birth.

Of these 11 children:

1. Alice, Benjamin, Abraham, and Jonathan appear to be Shaw names so tell us nothing about Deborah's parents.
2. Nicholas and Deborah appear to be named after their parents, and so probably don't say anything about Deborah's family.
3. John could be named after his paternal grandfather John Shaw, so doesn't necessarily tell us anything about Deborah's family.
4. Joshua, Sarah, Zachariah, and Ruth do not appear to be Shaw names and so may offer clues about Deborah's family.

Analyzing this last group further:

• Sarah could be named after the wife of John Whitmarsh, and if so, then Zachariah and Ruth are named after Deborah's siblings. This would represent mother, brother and sister.
• On the other hand, if Nicholas Whitmarsh is Deborah's father, these names become grandmother, uncle and aunt, i.e., not nearly so close in relationship. It is also worth pointing out that Deborah's children's names do not use any of the unique names that could point to Nicholas as the father, like Jane, Samuel, Susanna, or her mother Hannah.
• Joshua doesn't seem to represent a connection to either Whitmarsh family.

Therefore, an analysis of children's names suggests Deborah's parents are John and Sarah.

The birthdates of the two Deborah's also favor the daughter of John and Sarah Whitmarsh, since she is three years younger than possible husband Nicholas Shaw, while the daughter of Nicholas and Hannah Whitmarsh would be 3 years older when compared to Nicholas Shaw. Thus the daughter of John and Sarah Whitmarsh would be more in line with typical age patterns.

This is all pretty tentative, at best. More sources are needed to provide confirmation. --Jrich 09:45, 12 June 2009 (EDT)

1. ↑ Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1910)
   1:350.

   Whitmarsh, Deborah, d. Nicholas, [born] Aug. 3, 1659.

2. ↑ Chamberlain, George Walter. History of Weymouth, Massachusetts. (Weymouth, Massachusetts: Weymouth Historical Society, under direction of the town, 1923)
   4:759-60.

   Children of John Whitmarsh and Sarah Harding: Deborah, b. 1665, m. Nicholas Shaw
   Children of Nicholas Whitmarsh and Hannah Reed: Deborah, b. 13 Aug. 1659.

3. ↑ The will of John Whitmarsh lists his daughter Deborah between Mary and Judith. Since this list of daughters appears to be by birth order, this suggests her birth is between 1663 and 1669. With brother Zachariah b. 1667, this further restricts the range to 1663-1667. Putting Deborah in the middle of this range results in Abt. 1665. If Deborah is the daughter of John and Sarah, the birth date of 1659 would not apply, since that is recorded for the daughter of Nicholas and Hannah, and would not be consistent with the ordering of daughters in John's will.