Person:Nathaniel Mayo (11)

There are multiple inconsistencies in the Eastham records for Nathaniel's family leaving us very unsure of how many marriages he had and when his children were born. Since many of the birth dates of the children are only given in terms of month and year, with no date, it seems likely they were recorded after the fact, and reflect a faulty memory, or some other shortcoming.

The Eastham records show the marriage of Nathaniel to Mary Brown in 1703 and then precede to list births of Rebecca in 1697, William in 1699, Robert in 1701 after that marriage, all naming the mother as "Mary". In David Hamblen, "First Settlers of Eastham" in Source:NEHGR, p. 6:167,, as well as Savage, the marriage record has been assumed to be a second marriage. There is a three year gap between the birth of Robert in 1701 and the birth of Mary in late 1704 that could be consistent with a remarriage in 1703, but there are some serious issues with the 1704 date for Mary (see below). Source:Mayo-Rodwick, Jean. Rev. John Mayo and His Descendants (1015325) notes the same issue with no suggestion. There appears to be no record of any other marriage for Nathaniel, nor a death record of his first wife.

Source:General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Vol. 6 (Stephen Hopkins), p. 18, suggests Mary Snow, d/o Lt. Joseph Snow, "perhaps" was the first wife. It appears the only real reason for believing this is that Mary is not mentioned in her father's will of 1717, and Nathaniel's first wife would have had to die by 1703. Even that would have left three grandchildren by Mary Snow, and they are not mentioned in Joseph Snow's will (the will is printed Source:NEHGR, p. 47:188-9), so this seems doubtful.

The birth of Mary, in Oct. 1704, is probably in an error since it only 6 months before the birth of Mehitable, in Apr. 1705. If one chooses to assume Mary was born in 1703 (perhaps even on the very date used for the marriage record!), and that the marriage occurred about 1696, not 1703, then this is all consistent with one marriage and evenly spaced children. Since the mother's name in all birth records is "Mary" and there is no evidence of two wives, this seems one likely explanation.

Alternately, one could attempt to solve the Mary problem by assuming Mehitable's birth should have been 1706. As recorded, this seems to work, but there is a problem with Ann's birth date that makes this probably not the correct approach.

Ann's birth in Nov. 1707 is only four months before Priscilla's birth in Mar. 1708. Since there is also Phebe in June 1709, that does not leave much allowance for moving Priscilla's birth date. So most likely Ann's birth needs to be moved up.

But this is all guesswork, and with multiple errors, this process is too fraught with danger. More evidence is needed and until it is found, all we can do is communicate what the records say. If you ignore the months and simply use the years, as Savage did, it doesn't look nearly as messed up as it really is.

The following is the full transcript of Nathaniel's marriage and children as found in Source:MD, p. 8:89-90, which appears to be taken straight from the records.

Nathaniel Mayo and Mary Brown were marryed by Capta Jonathan   Sparrow the twenty eighth day of october 1703 † Rebecca Mayo the Daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Mayo was Born   att Eastham in the month of April in the year of our Lord 1697 William Mayo the Son of Nathaniel and Mary Mayo was Born at   Eastham in the month of august 1699 Robert Mayo the Son of Nathaniel and Mary Mayo was Born at   Eastham in the month of June Anno Dom 1701 Mary Mayo the Daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Mayo was Born   at Eastham in the month of october Anno Dom 1704 Mehitable Mayo Daughter of Nathaniel Mayo & Mary Mayo was   born the 3 day of april 1705 Nathaniel Mayo son of Nathaniel & Mary Mayo was born in East-   ham born the last day * of June 1711 Phebee Mayo Daughter of Nathaniel & Mary Mayo born June 1709 ann Mayo Daughter of Nathaniel & Mary may born November 1707 Pricila Daughter of Nathaniel & Mary may born in march 1708 † Sic. * "third day" was crossed out and "last day" interlined in the same hand.

1. ↑ "Eastham and Orleans, Mass., Vital Records", in Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Mayflower Descendant: An Illustrated Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy, History and Biography
   6:205.

   John Mayo and Hannah Lecraft ware Mareid the first Day of Jenuary in the year one thousand Six hundered fifty one.
   ...
   John Mayo a sonn named Nathaniel borne the 2nd of aprell in the yeare 1667.

2. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
   3:188.

   MAYO
   NATHANIEL, Eastham, s. of the sec. John of the same, by first w. whose name is not ment. [sic, see note ] had Rebecca, b. Apr. 1697; William, aug. 1699; and Robert, June 1701; and he m. sec. w. 28 Oct 1703, Mary Brown, had Mary, 1704; Mehitable, 1705; Ann, 1707; Priscilla, 1708; Phebe, 1709; Lydia; and Hannah; and d. 1716.