Was Mary Winche the wife of William Holton?

Question

An article published by the American Society of Genealogists in 2011¹ disproves, or at least strongly disputes, the claim that Mary, wife of William Holton of Hartford and Northampton, was Mary Winche, age 15, listed as a passenger on the Francis in 1634. (Mary Winche was mentioned in remarks by Moses Whicher Mann at the Holton Family Association in 1924, a misinterpretation of which may have originated the claim that she was Mary Holton.) A Mary Winch, probably the same, married Richard Everett in Springfield 1643 as his second wife. Our Mary Holton was living and bearing children in Hartford at that time (she died 1691 in Northampton).

The wife of William Holton remains unknown and no record has been found of their marriage.

How should these facts be addressed?

1. Change the LNAB of Mary (Winche-5) Holton to Unknown and detach her from parents Thomas Winche and Elizabeth Stebbins.
2. Detach Mary Winche-5 from spouse William Holton and merge her with Mary (Winch-7) Everett (they already have the same parents).
3. Other?

Thanks!

¹ Joan A. Hunter, "William Holton of Hartford, Connecticut and Northampton, Massachusetts: With Discussion of his Prior History and Probable English Origin," in The Genealogist, vol. 25, no. 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 23-5.

Answer 1

Cheryl, thanks for your work trying to work this through.

I'd keep Winche-5 as the correct child and merge her with Winch-7 but be tempted to keep the Winche spelling.

Then find a recyclable Unknown to make wife of Holton.

Comments

I love "find a recyclable unknown"! How does one go about that?

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http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Recycle_Unknowns