' "He married in England, first, ----- -----. dau. of Lt. William C. Cranbroke, of Cranbroke, County Kent, Eng., ... She came to America with him and died in Boston, ... " (Genealogy of Judge John Crafts Wright, by Mrs. Martha (Wright) Morris, 1911.)'
It has been suggested that Mary died within a year of immigration, and that Thomas remarried (possibly to a Margaret Butler) before Joseph was born. However "within a year" is likely an approximation, since it appears that Mary's date and place of death are unknown. This book and two earlier ones make no suggestion that Joseph was the son of a second wife. In fact, Stiles, in Families of Ancient Wethersfield Connecticut (1904) suggests that all 5 children were 'prob. b. in Eng. and by first marr.' (p. 851)
It appears that Stiles' assumption that Joseph was born in England has led some researchers to look for his birth record in England, and to "find" one in March 1639 in Kelvedon Hatch or South Weald - there are a few listed in IGI, including one that identifies Joseph's mother as Margaret Butler. Thomas' supposed remarriage shortly after Mary's death seems to be an attempt to reconcile known information with one of these IGI records. Furthermore, the fact that the English birth record for Joseph is in 1639, after the family was known to have emigrated to New England, has led to a further suggestion that Thomas sent his (second) wife and family back to England for safe-keeping while he and others settled Wethersfield. While this is not impossible (and Thomas was wealthy enough to have done so), this seems like a stretch to explain data that is probably for a different Joseph (if it is accurate at all). The simplest explanation is that Thomas and Mary's son Joseph was born in Boston or Watertown around 1638 or 1639, and that Mary died at or shortly after his birth - and that Stiles made an inaccurate assumption about where Joseph was born.
