Family:Jonas Gale and Mary Benjamin (1)

Which Mary Benjamin did Jonas marry?

Another collection of Bond errors, apparently, has muddled the picture.

Source:Bond, Henry. Family Memorials. Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and Weston (1855), published 1855, p. 28, p. 229, says Jonas m. 10 Mar 1747 Mary [47], d/o Daniel.

Source:Gale, George. Gale Family Records in England and the United States : To Which Are Added the Tottingham Family of New England, and Some Account of the, published 1866, p. 44, p. 56, endorses this story with the embellishmant that she was the daughter of his guardian. This is a touching story, but apparently false. Daniel's will only names a daughter Lydia and her children, no other children or grandchildren, even though Jonas's wife was alive long past this. See the discussion here. As noted there, Bond makes at least one other, if not several, error on Daniel's family. No deeds have been found that show any such relationship, or any identification of Mary. We can only conclude that Mary 47, if she existed at all, died young.

So who could Mary be? There are three other Mary Benjamin's that must be discussed. Bond shows:

Mary [32], p. 28, d/o Jonathan and Susannah, b. 1726, m. 4 Jul 1753 John Whitney of Waltham [150] p. 647, s/o John 1731/2, had a son Samuel.

Mary [58], p. 28, d/o Jonathan and Hannah, b. 1734-5, m. 31 May 1753 John Whitney [218] p. 649, s/o Elnathan, b. 1730-1.

Mary [64], p. 29, d/o Samuel and Mary, b. 1735, m. 1756 Jonas Hastings [98] p. 287, b. 1729.

Vital records

With one exception, most of the dates given by Bond are found in the records. The exception is the 31 May 1753 marriage. Compared to the marriage 4 Jul 1753, it would not be surprising to find this is actually an intention for the 4 Jul marriage, not a separate marriage. Perhaps less surprising that two John Whitneys marrying two Mary Benjamins in such close proximity. This record hasn't been located, but since no supporting evidence has been located, it is assumed to be an intention misread by Bond as a marriage.

While Bond shows John 218 marrying Mary 58 and John 150 marrying Mary 32, Whitney Research Group suggests John 218 marrying Mary 32, and shows no marriage or details for John 150.

While it turns out both identifications of the wife of John Whitney are wrong, the disagreement over who married who does hint that none of this is based on evidence.

Probate evidence

Only one of the three fathers survived until the marriages dates

The Jonathan Benjamin who was father of Mary 32 died 1731, estate distributed in 1743. Mary was paid £27-9-10 by her brother Joshua who got the real estate (Middlesex probate 1566). She chose Isaac Jackson of Newton as her guardian, age 16 in 1742 (Middlesex probate 1569). No clues about who his daughter married.

The Jonathan Benjamin who was father of Mary 58 died in 1742 leaving a will (Middlesex probate 1570) that gave £50 to his youngest daughter Mary, naming wife Hannah and various other children. Again, no clues about who his daughter married.

The Samuel Benjamin who was father of Mary 64 left a will dated 2 April 1753 naming daughter Mary Benjamin (Middlesex probate 1576). This is before the marriage to John Whitney and the marriage to Jonas Hastings but after the marriage to Jonas Gale. Further, the probate file contains a receipt dated 1759 given by John Whitney and Mary Whitney for their portion of the estate of Mr Sam'll Benjamin Late of Watertown deceased. So clearly it is Mary 64 who married John Whitney.

Other considerations

That Mary 64 was the one who married John Whitney was suggested anyway because their only known child was named Samuel.

Mary 32 was b. 1726. Of the men who married Mary Benjamin, only Jonas Gale was older than her. Mary 58 would have been about 13 at the time of Jonas's marriage, so very unlikely. Further, Jonas and Mary Gale had a daughter Susannah, which is the name of the mother of Mary 32. This was apparently unknown to Bond who did not investigate the children of Jonas Gale, but was known to Gale cited above who indicates Jonas' will named his daughter Susannah, so might have alerted him to his error. It seems almost certain, even though no direct evidence is available, that it was Mary 32 that married Jonas Gale.

One would presume then, that Mary 58 was the woman who married in 1756 to Jonas Hastings. However, this has not been sufficiently investigated.

1. ↑ Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Waltham, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1904)
   p. 155.

   GALE, Jonas and Mary Benjamin, Mar. 10, 1747. [1747-8, MR]