Thompson, Phebe, d. Jona[than] and Abigall, [born] Jan. 5, 1713-4. [ed. note: "written over 1724-5". This correction causes problems. Obviously, the year couldn't be 1724-5 because another child, Jonathan is born in Mar of 1724-5, but it is not entirely clear that the correction that was made is correct either. Jan. 1713-4 is only 3 months after the marriage of the parents so one questions whether this is valid. Looking forward in time, the mother died right after the birth of Ruth in Oct 1715. Since the 1715 birth date is only two years after the marriage, it would not be unreasonable for a first child. Plus the mother's name is given as Abigail. Now this last discrepancy is easily ignored, since Ruth's mother is also listed as Abigail when it was clearly Phebe, but it just adds to the doubt. Net, net, one naturally wonders if this Phebe may actually belong to the second wife, and one could speculate that the correct date might be 1723-4, which would fit nicely between other kids. But if we start trying to guess what was meant, we could do anything we want. We must work with what we are given until we find out more.]
