Family:John Marston and Martha Fuller (2)

In inputting data on this family, Charlotte Helen Abbott has been followed. One of the better coverages of this family to be found is her Marston Family of Andover. She was a school teacher in Andover who studied the family histories of early Andover Families, publishing them in typescript papers owned by the Andover Historical Society and found at the website of the Memorial Hall Library. She appears to be familiar with most of the families of the time, to have seen most Andover records, published and unpublished, and various family Bibles.

Contrast this to, say, Genealogical Guide to the Early Setters of America which says about the father John that he "perhaps was father of Jacob and Mary, Hannah and Sarah, above mentioned, and of John; but means of certainty are beyond reach".

The problem is that Ms. Abbott did not identify her sources. This is very frustrating. So while she has been found to have some non-intuitive results that have been found to be true (Stephen Barker m. a woman 11 years older than him, Mary (Frye) Stevens), she also has some results that are not correct (she missed the death date of the first daughter Sarah in this family, thereby assigning the wrong birthdate to the wife of James Bridges). Because the basis of her data is not known, and since she does not distinguish between fact and assumption (some birthdates given as just years are found with precise dates in the VRs, others appear to be estimates), when one cannot find any record to support her assertions, it is tempting to write it off as assumption and throw it away. For example when she shows two daughters named Martha in this family, one born 1669, one born 1679. How easy would it be for somebody to have mis-read/mis-transcribed the 1679 record into 1669, and create what looks like two distinct Martha's when there was only one?

So for this family, when facts are known, facts have been used. But when assumptions are made, Ms. Abbot's work was treated as somewhat authoritative, and assumptions worked around her work, no matter how artificial it may seem at times. This is probably more than she deserves, for without sources, it is only natural to throw away everything except provable facts when the first difficulty is encountered. Notes will be added to pages to explain individual difficulties.

1. ↑ Sanborn, George Freeman, and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Vital Records of Hampton, New Hampshire to the End of the Year 1900. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1992-1998)
   555.

   John Marston & Martha his wyfe were marie. ye (15th) (11th) Mo: 1652