(William Palmer) left a widow, Martha, who may or may not have been the mother of his children, and who probably died by 1681. It has been stated that Martha was a Bowne, perhaps kin to the famous Quaker, John Bowne, but this seems doubtful, despite the fact that John Bowne of Gravesend had a son Obadiah born 18 July 1666, a name which appears in the Palmer family [N.Y. Record, 4:24; see John Bowne, Pioneer of Freedom, (Ms.) by John Cox, Jr., and his Bowne, Clement, Thorne Families (Ms.)]. Apparently but one son of William Palmer named a child Martha, and we are not informed as to whether his daughter Hannah bestowed that name on a child.
