Person talk:Mary Whiting (26)

From Mary Whitney (32): parents [23 June 2019]

Posted 3 Oct 2014 by me, Jrich:

The marriage record in Lexington says "Whiting", not Whitney. The History of Lexington uses her name as Whiting but has no origins, so the lack of parents leaves open the possibility of mis-transcription. No birth of a daughter Mary is recorded to Isaiah and Sarah Whitney in Lexington. The Whitney Research Group does show her in this family, citing apparently Source:Parker, Theodore. Genealogy and Biographical Notes of John Parker of Lexington and His Descendants, p. 41, but their "ibid" probably actually meaning Source:Pierce, Frederick Clifton. Whitney: The Descendants of John Whitney since Parker says nothing at all about Mary. A baptism date of 4 May 1696 is shown, but above it, the website makes the contradictory comment that Isaiah and Sarah owned the covenant in Lexington 1698, or on a different line 4 May 1699 (take your choice?), and at that time baptized a child, "probably the first". Pierce (p. 31) actually says they owned the convenant at Lexington in 1696, and at that time baptized a child "probably the first". [Pierce is not a very reliable genealogist. Pierce also lists the witnesses to Isaiah's will when the probate file contains no will, only the bond of the widow as "administratrix" (i.e., no will) and the inventory, neither of which provide a list of heirs. Mary is listed by Pierce with the 1696 baptism, but out of order, as the 9th child. The marriage to Benjamin Wellington is given by Pierce as 31 Oct 1731, instead of 21 Oct 1731 as found in published records. Pierce says Isaiah's wife is the widow of Jonathan Eddy, the Eddy Genealogy says she is the widow of John Eddy.] A different source, Source:Reeks, Lindsay S. Woodward-Woodard Ancestors of New England, which lists Mary with a question mark because it has been unable to verify the baptism, says the parents owned the covenant in Lexington on 4 May 1695, the fourth different date found in our little survey of sources. Depending on which date you choose, one might suppose the unnamed child they are baptizing could be son John, possibly Mary, or who knows, a child of Sarah's first marriage who died before 1702 when John Eddy's father mentioned no heirs in his will. Needless to say, it is hard to have confidence in any of this.

This message was moved to the Talk page because it is no longer an interesting conversation for Mary. It has been shown that her name is Mary Whiting and her parents are Oliver and Anna Whiting of Billerica. The proof is cited on Mary's Person page and hence proves the Whitney theory incorrect, and Pierce's source is shown to be mistaken again.

However, it has been preserved here on the Talk page as a warning that much of what is found in secondary sources is simply wrong, and as an illustration of the importance of knowing the basis for facts preferably verifying them, and not just taking some person's word for it. --Jrich 03:11, 24 June 2019 (UTC)