Mary (Fairbanks) Smith (bef. 1622 - 1684)

Born before 3 Feb 1622 in Sowerby, Halifax Parish, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Michael Metcalf — married 2 Apr 1644 (to 1 Mar 1654) in Dedham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Wife of Christopher Smith — married 2 Aug 1654 (to 7 Nov 1676) in Dedham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 4 Jun 1684 after age 62 in Dedham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Mary (Fairbanks) Smith immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Mary Fairbanks was baptised on 03 February 1621/2 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Jonathan Fairbanks^[1] and his wife Grace Smith.^[2] Her birth date in the 1897 Fairbanks Genealogy was erroneously given as 18 April 1622.^[3]

She and Michael Metcalfe were married "the 2 of the 2 mo. [1644]" in the Christ Church in Dedham, [then] Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[4] Her first husband, Michael Metcalf, died in Dedham on 25 March 1654, recorded as "25 (1 mo.) 1654," at age 33. ^[5]

With five young children in her care, she married, second, on 2 August, 1654, Christopher Smith.^[6]

Mary (Fairbanks) (Metcalf) Smith, wife of Christopher Smith, was mentioned in Jonathan Fairbanks' will dated 01 Jun 1668, which states in part:

And I give & bequeath to my daughter Mary the wife of Christopher Smith the sume of sixteene pounds, which sixteene pounds I give to my said daughter in prticuler, And distinct from her husbans Estate & to be allwayes at her dispose, this sixteen pounds to be payed in two equall (sum'es ?) of Eight pounds.^[3]

Mary's second husband, by whom she had one son, died 07 November, 1676, in Dedham.

Mary Smith of Dedham made her will on 30 May 1684. She made bequests (spelling uncorrected here) to her sons Michael Metcalfe, Jonathan Meatcalfe, Eleazer Meatcalfe, and John Smith; daughters Sarah wife of Robert Wares, Hannah Meatcalfe (daughter-in-law), and Melatia Meatcalfe (daughter-in-law); daughter Mary Wares and her two sons John & Eleazer Wares. She also mentioned her brother John Fairbank. Son Jonathan Meatcalfe named as her executor, Ensigne Thomas Fuller & Sejeant Richard Ellice to be overseers, Richard Ellice & Jonathan Avery as witnesses. On 3 July 1684, her will was exhibited by Jonathan Metcalf as executor and proved.^[7]

Mary died in Dedham on 04 June, 1684, in which record she is called the Widow Mary Smith.^[8]

An inventory of the estate of Mary Smith relict to Christopher Smith dec'd on 11 July 1684, and Jonathan Metcalfe, executor, made oath to it on 31 July 1685. The estate totaled £112, and included £50 due by agreement of dowry, £21 due by legacies, £17 in bills due, as well as clothing, linen, books, money and household goods.^[9]

From Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania:

Michael, son of Michael Metcalf, was born August 29, 1620; he married Mary Fairbanks, and had five children. Jonathan, fourth son of Michael and Mary (Fairbanks) Metcalf, was born in 1650; he married Hannah Kenrick. Ebenezer, son of Jonathan and Hannah (Kenrick) Metcalf, married Hannah Abil. Benjamin, son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Abil) Metcalf, married, October 26, 1726, Sarah Abil, and they had seven children. Zebulon, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Abil) Metcalf, was born July 11, 1729; he married, October 27, 1754, Lydia Bourne, of Lebanon, Connecticut.

Disproven Death date

The date in 1676 is proven to be Mary, the wife of Asahel Smith:^[10]
"[1676 Deaths] Mary Smith, deceased 10:3:76"^[11][12][13]

Sources

1. ↑ "West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1512-1812 [database on-line]." Ancestry.com. Image for Mary Fayrbanke, dau. of Jonathā., baptism, 03 Feb 1621[/2] (accessed 19 Aug 2023); citing Yorkshire Parish Records; Leeds, England: West Yorkshire Archive Service.; New Reference Number: WDP53/1/1/5.Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry Record 2256 #8940541
2. ↑ Joseph, Ruth Fairbanks, and James Swan Landberg, "Jonathan Fairbank of Dedham, Massachusetts, and his family in the West Riding of Yorkshire," NEHGR Vol. 166 (July 2012), p. 165
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Fairbanks, Lorenzo Sayles, Genealogy of the Fairbanks Family in America 1633-1897 (Boston, MA: pub. by the author [American Printing & Egraving Co.], 1897), pp. 32-33. Link on Archive.org
4. ↑ Don Gleason Hill, compiler, The Record of Baptisms, Marriages & Deaths ... Town of Dedham, MA, 1638-1845 (Dedham, MA: Town of Dedham, 1886), p. 126.

   "Michael Metcalfe & Mary Fairebanke, were married the 2 of the 2 mo. [1644]."

5. ↑ Robert B. Hanson, editor, Dedham, MA, VRs 1635-1845 (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1997), p. 435
6. ↑ Hill, VRs of Dedham, 1638-1845 p. 127.

   "[1654] Christopher Smith & Mary [or Martha] Metcalfe was married the 2 of the 6 mo."

7. ↑ Suffolk County Probate records, Vol. 6:464-5, Docket #1360.
8. ↑ Hill, VRs of Dedham, 1638-1845 p. 20.

   "[1684] Mary Smith, widdow, deceased the 4:4:84."

9. ↑ Suffolk County probate records, Vol. 9:189, Docket #1360.
10. ↑ Alden, John E., "Who was Asahel Smith?" Dedham Historical Register (Dedham, 1897) Vol. 8:38-42, see Notes & Queries: Vol. 95-6.
11. ↑ Hill, VRs of Dedham, 1638-1845, p. 15
12. ↑ Dedham, MA, VRs 1635-1845, Editor: Hanson, Robert B. Publication: Picton Press, Camden, ME, 1997 , p. 435
13. ↑ Metcalfe, Howard Hurtig, Some Descendants of Rev. Leonard Metcalf of Tatterford Parish, Norfolk, England, Mostly those of his son Michael the emigrant to Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1637 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 2002), p. 8

See also:

• Richards Family [Also Metcalf, Aldis, Stratton, Wiswall, Barrett, Kidder, Peck, Crane, Monfort, and Carman families, all ancestral to Jeremiah Richards, b. 1844, and his wife Susan Adrianna Monfort. (New York, 190?)
• William B. Trask, Abstracts from the Earliest Wills on Record and on the Files in the County of Suffolk, Mass., "New England Historical and Genealogical Register" Vol. 19(1865):32-33, Named as wife Grace in her husband's will.
• Thaddeus Fairbanks, Fairbanks Family Publication: St. Johnsbury, Vt.: the author, 1892, Page: 7
• Rev. Hiram Francis Fairbanks, Fairbanks Marriages in the Parish of Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. from 1538 to 1624 "New England Historical and Genealogical Register" Vol. 60 (1906):153.
• Judith Miner Hine Leudemann, "Correct Ancestry of Ebenezer Smith" Connecticut Nutmegger v. 23 (1990) Page: 68-69, This analyzes the evidence, showing that her name was not Martha. The will of her father Jonathan Fairbanks names his daughter Mary, the wife of Christopher Smith.
• Jordan, John W. Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1915, p. 46-49)
• Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data:Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. 7 volumes. 1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995.