Mary (Ball) Munroe (abt. 1651 - 1692)

Born about 1651 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of William Munroe — married 1672 (to Aug 1692) in Lexington, Middlesex County, MA

Descendants

Died 1 Aug 1692 at about age 41 in Lexington, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Mary (Ball) Munroe is a member of Clan Munro.

Mary Ball^[1] was born about 1651 in Watertown, Massachusetts, daughter of tailor John Ball and his wife wife Elizabeth Pierce. Within a few years, apparently due to mental illness on the part of her mother, Mary and her older brother were placed under the care of their grandparents. Mary's other siblings were fostered to Watertown residents at their father's expense

In 1657-8, Mary's mother was convicted of "disorderly cariages" against family and neighbors; reference was made to her mother's "distempered mind." Her father admitted to beating his wife, which may have contributed to her mother's mental state. Soon after, her mother died, and Mary's father (John Ball) remarried and moved to Lancaster.

When Mary was 16, her grandparents died and she was "put out to service" with the family of Michael Bacon Jr in Woburn. He impregnated her. She ran off to Portsmouth, Rhode Island where she was welcomed by Francis Brayton and his wife. When her pregnancy could no longer be hidden, she admitted she was pregnant by Bacon. Brayton took a letter from her to Boston, seeking assistance from Bacon. Mary's father brought charges against Bacon, who landed in prison, but escaped. He was captured a few days later and promised through a 1671 bastardy bond to support his child:

"to sattisfy all ye charges arising for the bringing up ye child of Mary Ball"

Child of Michael Bacon Jr., and Mary Ball:

1. Michael Bacon III born in 1671

Mary returned to Boston and ultimately married about 1672^[2] Cambridge Scotsman William Munro by whom she had ten more children.

Sources

1. ↑ Unless otherwise cited, information is from Diane Rapaport, "The Case of the Rhode Island Runaway," in New England Ancestors Magazine, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society: Spring 2006 Vol 7, No. 2, pages 54 and 55, citing court records. Available on AmericanAncestors.org ($).
2. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011. Vol. 2, p. 1049. Available with sources at AmericanAncestors.org ($).

See also:

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15839629/mary-munroe : accessed 03 July 2022), memorial page for Mary Ball Munroe (1651–1 Aug 1692), Find A Grave: Memorial #15839629, citing Old Burying Ground, Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Heather Rojo (contributor 46865484).
• The New England Ball Project
• Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts; Vol. 03, by William Richard Cutter, p 258, downloaded 2/18/2018 from: https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE4783898

Notes

A previous version of this profile claimed a death date of 27 Feb 1749 but without source.