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2nd Marriage to Mercy Jones? [10 December 2011]
I have removed the 2nd marriage to Mercy Jones in 1675. Neither Perley nor Blodgette (Early Settlers) mention a second wife. Admittedly, Perley states in 1680 there was a Mercy, who he identifies as nickname/alt name for Mary Stickney. Blodgette states of the couple, "I find no further mention of them" and refers the reader to the Stickney Gen. Burt in history of Springfield provides a marriage of Mercy Jones (dau of Griffith Jones) to a James Barker without additional comment or dates. Cutter in Gen Pers Memoirs Mass 3:1836 concurs with Burt also without addl info.
There are at least two Barker families at this time Richard of Andover and James of Rowley. While James, son of James, seems the likely candidate for a marriage to Mercy Jones, there has been a lack of a source that it is this James and lack of a date. Crane states James moved to Suffield and settled in Springfield. The Stickney Family Gen provides no insight.
More research or better source citations are needed.--Kpb2011 18:37, 9 December 2011 (EST)
- Agree with the last statement. Reading the first two paragraphs, it seems like two secondary sources (Perley and Blodgette) don't mention a second wife and two others (Cutter and Burt) do. On the whole, not a convincing argument for removing the marriage. It seems like a different researcher could easily prefer giving precedence to Cutter and Burt over Perley and Blodgette. There is no death date for Mary showing she lived long enough to rule out a second marriage, no births of children showing she was still alive past the alleged marriage, and she has a sister Mercy so one would suspect she is unlikely to be the person going by that name in 1680. It would not be unreasonable given just those sources, to add a note questioning the second marriage, but perhaps it would be better to leave both marriages in place so that all interested researchers of either persuasion can find this page, until somebody actually contributes conclusive evidence.
- It turns out on searching that there is actually more evidence for a second wife, than simply "Mercy" being mentioned in 1680 (wherever that occurs). Source:Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records to 1850, actually records a marriage of Mercy Jones to James Barker in 1675 as well as the births of children (Joseph and Abiel) to them, the death of "Mercy, w. James" in 1717, and James himself in 1722/23. And further, one can find in the VR of Springfield the 1701 intentions of Benjamin Wright and Mary Barker, a child of James' first marriage, making a very strong case that this is the same James Barker, and therefore that he did have two wives. --Jrich 11:35, 10 December 2011 (EST)
- Thank you for the additional research citations. Another example of how collaboration can work well.
- Good discussion; but how do we account for "Nathaniel (Barker), s. James, bp. Dec. 11. 1681." at the First Congregational Church in Rowley if James Barker and Mercy Jones are having children in Springfield, 1676, 1679, 1681 and 1686.--jaques1724 20:11, 5 May 2013 (EDT)
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