Martha (Finch) Mead (1670 - aft. 1728)

Born 1670 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Wife of Jonathan Mead Sr. — married 1688 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Descendants

Died after 27 Jan 1728 after age 58 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Martha was born in 1670. She was a daughter of Samuel Finch and Sara Hoyt. She passed away in 1728.

She married Johnathon Mead about 1688 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Uncertain Information

Name

No recorded source for a maiden name has been found, but Prindle makes a good case for "Finch," as have others.^[1]

Disputed Origins (or Relations)

Over the years, it has been unclear who was the wife of Jonathan Mead. Spencer P. Mead, in History and Genealogy of the Mead Family, called her only "Martha ______."^[2]

Martha's father is identified by a deed filed in Sept, 1697. When Samuel Finch, Sr. divided his worldly goods, he included his four "daughters;" among them was a "Martha Mead."^[1] The only Mead who married a Martha, with an unknown surname, was Jonathan (John, William). By process of elimination, this Martha seems the likely one,^[1] and Prindle is not alone. Other genealogists have agreed.

Note: Samuel Finch, Jr., who was also married to a Sarah (Sarah Gold), also had a daughter named Martha, Martha (Finch) Hubbell, who was born July 23, 1703,.^[3] The Barbour Index reports,"Martha, d. Samuel & Sarah, b. July 23, 1703."^[3] This entry can look like "our" Martha Finch, except that "our" Martha married in c. 1688,^[4] and her first child was born c. 1689.^[2]

Family

Martha married Jonathan Mead in about 1688 at Greenwich, Connecticut {Fairfield Prob. 95, 197; Mead 184; Lyon 3:304; Ludington-Saltus 165; Frame-Dana 263}^[4] They had nine children. After Jonathan's death, two of their children were still minors and were assigned guardians.^[1]

Children of Martha and Jonathan Mead:^[2]

1. Jonathan born 1689
2. Sarah born 1691
3. Martha born 1693
4. James born 1696
5. Isaac born 1698
6. Timothy born 1701
7. Mary born 1704
8. Hezekiah born 1705
9. Rachel

Death and Legacy

Martha's death date is unknown. She was named as widow among the heirs of Jonathan to whom his estate was distributed January 27, 1727-8.^[5][2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Prindle, Paul W. Some Early Finch-Mead Problems, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (Vol 48, Pages 93-99) Web accessed June 2, 2014
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Mead, Spencer P. History and Genealogy of the Mead Family of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Eastern New York, Western Vermont, and Western Pennsylvania, from A.D. 1180 to 1900. (Page 300) New York: Knickerbocker, 1901, Web accessed June 2, 2014
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Meed, Maureen, State Coordinator, "Finch Barbour Index", June 24, 2014, CTGenWeb accessed September 14, 2014
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Page 22036 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001, Web accessed June 2, 2014.
5. ↑ Probate records, 1648-1916, Reference film 007627301, images 271-272

• Donald Lines Jacobus. History and Genealogy of The Famiies of Old Fairfield. (Genealogical Publishing Co. 1930-32), Vol 1 p204.
• https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/f/i/n/Paul-R-Finch/GENE2-0003.html
• Find A Grave: Memorial #120326071
• Donald Lines Jacobus. History and Genealogy of The Famiies of Old Fairfield. (Genealogical Publishing Co. 1930-32), Vol 1 p204. Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States Text: Martha, d. Samuel & Sarah, b. July 23, 1703.
• Weaver, Lucius E. Genealogy of a branch of the Mead family with a history of the family in England and in America and appendixes of Rogers and Denton families. Rochester, New York: 1911