Mary Barber (abt. 1666 - bef. 1719)

Barber-2231 and Barber-1366 appear to represent the same person because: Same birth date and place, although the name is slightly different. Unless there is an indication that they were twins, might be good to merge the mostly empty profile away.

Yes, this is not the Mary Barber who married Peter Browne/Brown, but who did this Mary marry, if anyone? I could find no additional information for this Mary Barber, other than her parent's names and her birth date. Could find no marriage or death date. I checked "The Connecticut Barbers, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Barber of Windsor Connecticut"; in "Digest of Early Connecticut Probate Records", Vol II, Mary is not listed. There is an Ancestral File for her with the Latter Day Saints, but it only gives her name and birth date.

I can only find her as Mary, b. 11 Jan 1666 Simsbury

There is clear evidence that the wife of Peter Brown [Brown-35966] was Mary Barber [Barber1411], daughter of Samuel Barber [Barber-924] and Ruth Drake [Drake-562]. There is no evidence that his wife was Mary Barber [Barber-1366], daughter of Thomas Barber [Barber-1371] and Mary (Phelps) Barber [Phelps-366].

White states in the Barber Genealogy [1:p.44], that Mary [Barber-1411] married 22 July 1696, Peter Brown, Jr. [Brown 35966], son of Peter Brown [Brown-2097] and Mary (Gillett) Brown [Gillett-22]. It states that Peter Jr was born 12 March 1666-7 and Mary died August 1719. It lists their children born in Windsor, CT.: i. Peter Brown, b. Jan 28, 1699, prob. M. Aug 14, 1722, Rachel Scott ii. Dinah Brown, b. Jan. 4, 1701-2 iii. Samuel Brown, b. Aug. 28, 1705 iv. Mary Brown, b. Aug 25, 1708 v. Benjamin Brown, b. Aug 11, 1711 vi. Ebenezer Brown, b. Aug 27, 1719 (twin) vii. Mindwell Brown, b. Aug. 27, 1719 (twin)

Siles quotes a letter from Thos. Moore of W [Windsor] to his son-in-law (?) Isaac Skinner of Colchester, dated 31 Aug 1719, in which he writes “I have noe great matters to inform you of, Peter Brown has lost his wife , and she has left two children, new born.” [2:p.118].. Thus, Mary died at the birth of the twins Ebenezer and Mindwell.

In his will dated 21 February 1708-09, Mary’s father, Samuel Barber [Barber-924], names his children: William (deceased), Joseph, David, Benjamin, John (minor), Mary (married), Ruth (married), Elizabeth (minor), Sarah (minor), Mindwell (minor). Hannah is not mentioned and apparently died young. He notes that his daughter Mary was already married at that time. [1:27-27].

In her will, Mary’s mother, Ruth (Drake) Barber [Drake-562] mentions Mary as Mary Brown.[1:28-29].

In her will, Mary’s unmarried sister Mindwell Barber [Barber-1414] divides her estate equally between he brothers and sisters. She mentions Mary as Peter Browne and his wife Mary. [1:p.28].

White states in the Barber Genealogy [1:p25] that the dates of birth of the children of Samuel Barber [Barber-924], as given by the best authorities, are greatly at variance with the clear and unmistakable evidence contained in the father’s will. He notes that Stiles gives conflicting dates for daughter Mary. In the Record of the Barber family, Stiles gives Sept. 25, 1704, as the date of birth of the daughter Mary [2:50], but in the record of the Brown family Stiles states that she married Peter Brown in 1696, or eight years before the date of her birth.[2:p.118]. In the Appendix listing Additions and Corrections, Stiles makes note of this discrepancy and states that his correspondent, Mr. Edward L. Norton of New York city, suggests that Peter Brown’s wife was the Mary (dau. Thomas and Mary( Phelps) Barber, b. 1666. [2:p.833]

Thus, the Barber Genealogy correctly stated that Peters wife was Mary Barber [Barber-1411]. However, others apparently decided this was wrong because of the discrepancy in dates and concluded that Peter’s wife was her first cousin Mary Barber [Barber-1366] based on the suggestion by Edward Norton to Siles.

Since it is known that Mary was already married in 1708, the 1704 birth date is obviously erroneous and the 22 Jul 1696 date of her marriage may be correct. Assuming that she was between 16 and 18 when she married in 1696, she would have been born about 1679 which is reasonable based on the dates of her parent’s marriage on 25 Jan 1676-7 [1:p.50] and the birth of her older brother William on 17 Aug 1677 [1:p.51] & [3].

The only information about Mary Barber [Barber-1366] in the Barber Genealogy is her birth date Jan. 11, 1666. [1:p.22] It should be noted that if she were the wife of Peter Brown, she would have been 40 or older at the birth of the last five children, and would have been 53 when the twins were born, well beyond normal child bearing years.

SOURCES

1. White, John Barber, Barber Genealogy, Section I Descendants of Thomas Barber of Windsor, Conn. (1614-1909), Haverhill, Mass, 1909. https://archive.org/details/barbergenealogyi00wils.

2. Stiles, Henry R., History and Genealogy of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut, 1695-1891), Volume II Genealogies and Biographies, Hartford, Conn., 1892.

3. Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 11 June 2020. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Barber-3598 and Barber-1366 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, same husband, same parents, similar dates. Removed match and reinstated merge after updating dates/locations per Pane-Joyce Genealogy.

Barber-1366 and Barber-3598 are not ready to be merged because: DOB and places need clarification.

Barber-1366 and Barber-3598 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, same parents, similar dates