Family talk:Simon Davis and Mary Hunt (1)

Dr. Simon Davis and Mary (Hunt) Wood??? [11 February 2013]

Jacobus saw fit to accept the marriage as indicated, which to me means probable, not just possible. In 1988, an in depth article, Source:Delorey, Janet Ireland. English Origins and Descendants to the Fourth Generation of Edward Wood of Charlestwon, Massachusetts, was published covering the descendants of Edward Wood of Charlestown. Mary Hunt's husband Thomas Wood was of this family. On my next trip to the New York State Library, I plan to review this article as my first task. Based on bits and pieces in the literature and on the Web, I suspect it goes something like this. There is no apparent death record for Dr. Simon Davis which may indicate that he died very soon after the marriage. His probate, if it exists, would obviously be helpful. Mary (Hunt) (Wood) Davis had at least one son, Samuel, who was living in Concord until sometime between 1718 and 1721 after which he had three children born at Mansfield. Her son Thomas who married Abigail Hartshorn at Rowley in 1712 and had a child there late that year, went on to have ten children recorded at Mansfield, the first listed, Mary, having been born and recorded at Rowley (3 Nov 1712 is the date given in both Rowley and Mansfield VR), the next, at Mansfield in 1715. Chances are Mary (Hunt) (Wood) (Davis) was living with one of the two of them (or possibly one of their siblings), and went to Mansfield to/with them sometime between 1718 and 1726 when she was dismissed to the church in Mansfield. An intriguing post, Mary Hunt (b. 28 September 1664, d. 07 November 1754) indicates that she bought property in Mansfield, on her own, in 1718, and that her will is still extant, and may well be abstracted in Ms. Delorey's article. Meanwhile, if Jacobus accepted the relationship, in the absence of contradictory information having surfaced since 1954, I'm inclined to trust his judgment over that of any of us who are contributing to this wiki.--jaques1724 13:28, 11 February 2013 (EST)

Jacobus did not make a good case, matching Mary-nee-Hunt to Dr. Simon Davis simply by matching the common name Mary Wood. It is not obvious she qualifies as "of Concord" from reading him or looking at the records. While you never know, it seems like the will of widow Mary Davis may not even mention her second husband and so offer no clues as to the identity of the Mr. Davis she married. There is no probate for Dr. Davis in Index to Middlesex Probates. If the deed, that the website refers to, does call her explicitly "wife of Dr. Simon Davis" (or is it widow?), that would be good evidence and should be cited. Pursuing the Samuel Wood who married Jane Dudley in Concord seems promising if the will of the widow names some of the grandchildren. Then there would be a good argument... --Jrich 19:24, 11 February 2013 (EST)