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Zebulon Sutton was born born Sept. 1, 1701 (or 1707) in Piscataway, New Jersey, to Daniel Sutton (bef.1682-1761) & Patience (Martin) Sutton (abt.1685-). [1]
It has been suggested that Zebulon married Mary Doty about 1731 and she was the mother of Patience Sutton who married Jonathan Doty, Jr. There has been no primary source evidence discovered that either supports or refutes this. (See Research Notes for discussion of this.)
Zebulon attended the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church and had eight children: Patience, Jonathan, Jeremiah, Uriah, Peter, Mary, Joseph and Anna. On Feb. 28, l746/47,He moved his family to Basking Ridge, leasing from James Alexander [the father of William Alexander, the Lord Stirling of Revolutionary War fame] 130 acres bordering on the Passaic River next to John Doty's 300 acres. [2]
Zebulon remained in the area until about 1769 when the lands he had leased from Alexander were sold to others. Presumably he moved to Hardyston Township in Sussex County c. l770. "Zebulon Sutton was among the early arrivals," wrote Snell in his history of Sussex and Warren Counties, "and located upon what was known as the Rutherford lands [in Hardyston] which he cultivated and rendered productive." [3]
A death record has not been found for Zebulon. He is often said to have died in 1743, however, there is record of him leasing land until at least 1769. HIs death is listed here as after 1769 in Basking Ridge with uncertain status, (See research notes #death) He is also said to have been buried at Basking Ridge Presbyterian cemetery but there is no record of that burial among the church records which have been published. [4]
Edward Forrester Sutton, in 1900, first suggested that Zebulon Sutton’s wife’s name “was probably Doty.” He went on to conjecture that she was the daughter of Jonathan Doty Sr. (1687-), son of Samuel Doty Sr (1644-bef.1715), son of the Mayflower Pilgrim, Edward Doty Sr. (abt.1599-1655).
"He married, about 1731, Mary_______ ,probably in Piscataway. Her surname was probably Doty, daughter (born about 1713) of Jonathan Doty, of Piscataway, and Mary, his wife. Jonathan Doty removed to Basking Ridge and leased a farm from the Alexander estate (close to the one soon after occupied by Zebulon Sutton) in 1739. He was a son of Samuel Doty and Jane Harman, and a grandson of Edward Doty (the Mayflower Pilgrim) and Faith Clarke.” [2]
As Jonathan’s marriage did not occur until 1717, it was generally believed that it was unlikely that Jonathan was Mary’s father. Adding to the doubts was that Jonathan Doty, Jr (son of Jonathan Doty, Sr.) married Patience Sutton (daughter of Zebulon Sutton.) If Jonathan Sr. were Zebulon Sutton’s father-in-law, it would mean that Jonathan’s son, Jonathan, would have married Jonathan's granddaughter, Patience.
We find that Edward Sutton later amended his work to insert “Doty” where “Mary _______” appears above and revised his claim to state that Mary’s father was, instead, James Doty Sr. (1686-1739) (also son of Samuel) and Phebe (Slater) Doty (1693-aft.1723). We find this in his hand-written notes in a copy of his book donated to the Charleston, South Carolina Library by himself in 1936. [2]
EF Sutton hand-annotated pages 20-21 |
EF Sutton hand-annotated pages 22-23 |
In the original (1900) footnote that is attached to Zebulon’s children, Mr. Sutton wrote,
“The Bible which contained the original Zebulon Sutton’s family record has long been lost. A transcript of the latter was made by his grandson, Shadrach Sutton (son of Joseph) some seventy or eighty years ago. This is now in possession of Shadrach’s niece, Mrs. Nancy C. Sutton Axtell, of Minneapolis, Minn., and is the present writer’s authority….”
We should note that this footnote is attached to a list of Zebulon’s children, and does not claim to support the identity or lineage of their mother. [2]
Orra Eugene Monnette, in 1934, stated that Zebulon’s wife was Mary Slater Doty, the daughter of James Doty and Phebe Slater:
“ZEBULON SUTTON, SON OF DANIEL, (4). B. at Basking Ridge, N. J., Sept. 1, 1707, d. after 1743; m. Mary Doty, b. May 23, 1713, dau. of James Doty and wife, Phebe Slater. Son, Peter Sutton, b. Basking Ridge, N. J., in 1743.”[5]
Monnette gives no citations or explanations for this claim.
The Pilgrim Edward Doty Society in 1993 was somewhat non-committal when they stated of Mary Doty, daughter of James & Phebe, "She married Zebulon Sutton. Evidence of this marriage is lacking." [6]
It is my understanding, but I have not confirmed, that the Mayflower Society does not currently recognize the descendants of Zebulon Sutton as descendants of the Pilgrim Edward Doty.
However, per Scott Carles's research:
"In 1939, James Sutton Blair of Indiana, Pennsylvania, (edit: and about 10 others) applied for, and were granted membership in, District of Columbia Society of Mayflower Descendants based on his supposed descent from Edward Doty. He traced his lineage through Peter Sutton, son of Zebulon Sutton and Mary Doty, then back to Edward Doty of the Mayflower. [7] He gives as proof of that relationship the source from Monnette, listed above, as well as p. 287 of The Doty-Doten Family in America, 1:288 which does not mention Zebulon Sutton at all, it just says, on p. 288, that Mary Doty was James and Phebe's daughter. [8] This seems to be a bit of an oversight for the Mayflower Society to accept such a weak source.
"I did a search for Zebulon Sutton, New Jersey, 1700-1800 on all of American Ancestors and the only results that come up are for the 10 or so Mayflower Society applications.
"From my brief research it looks like there is no proof for the marriage of Zebulon Sutton and Mary Doty, Mayflower descendant."
In "Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol 11, Part 2 Edward Doty: His Descendants through Sons Thomas and Samuel and Daughters Desiree and Elizabeth…” published in 1996 by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, it is stated:
"She [Mary Doty, daughter of James Doty & & Phebe Slater] was once thought to have married Zebulon Sutton; but no evidence of the marriage has been found, and it now appears unlikely to have occurred." [9] [10]
Mary Martin?
Curiously, in "Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Philadelphia: Genealogical & Personal Memoirs," (page 909) we find the following claim:Zebulon Sutton lived in the town of North Branch and attended the old Presbyterian Church at Basking Ridge. He married, probably in Piscataway, about 1731. His wife’s name was Mary. In the records of the Mayflower Society we find her recorded as Mary Martin. (First Martin Line IV.)He cites "Records of the Mayflower Society, Indiana County , Pennsylvania, No 223. General No. 10561." [11] This requires more research as the only Martin on the Mayflower was Christopher Martin, who traveled alone on the Mayflower and died the first winter (it has been said he died without children.) The Mayflower Society currently does not recognize any claim of descendance from him. Zebulon's mother, Patience Martin was once said to be a Mayflower Descendant as well, but this appears to be more wishful thinking.
Upon further reading in the above source, they trace Mary Martin's line back to John Martin, one of the early settlers of New Hampshire and then Piscataway, New Jersey at about the same time William Sutton (Zebulon's grandfather) arrived there. Here on WIkiTree, his descendant Mary Martin is listed here: Mary Polly (Martin) Sutton (1707-1758) as the wife of John Sutton, Jr, Zebulon's first cousin. Nevertheless, I will work to verify the line.
My conclusions based on all this is that there is evidence neither to support nor refute that Mary Doty, daughter of James Doty, was the wife of Zebulon Sutton. We have no evidence of the marriage at all, and his wife's identity is actually unknown. Considering that claiming descendance from a Mayflower Passenger is something many people have been desirous of, we should approach any such claims with much skepticism and require firm evidence.
I leave this information here for the reader to make their own judgment and have marked these relationships “Uncertain” in the hopes that someday, we will find primary sources to settle the question once and for all. McCollough-423 16:34, 12 May 2022 (UTC)
Although the FindAGrave site lists his death as 1743, which is very likely incorrect as he leased land in Basking Ridge and had two children after that date. and there are records of him in 1769. FindAGrave also reports that he is buried at Basking Ridge Presbyterian cemetery,[12] I have found no confirmation of this. In fact, Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church has made available an alphabetic list of all known burials in their cemetery. Although there are a number of "unknowns" on the list, Zebulon Sutton does not appear on the list of known burials. [4]
His burial information has been removed from the profile pending more evidence.
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