Margery (Hills) Morgan (abt. 1602 - abt. 1690)

Born about 1602 in England

Wife of James Morgan — married 6 Aug 1640 in Roxbury, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 28 Apr 1690 at about age 88 in Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut [uncertain]

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Biography

BIRTH: Margery Hills was born probably in England. Her death record indicates she was born about 1602, but this seems early. The parents of Margery Hill are unknown. As late as 1988, Gary Boyd Roberts was still hunting for the ancestry of Margery Hill.^[1] George Hills (1578-1649) and his wife Mary did not have a daughter Margery.^[2]

MARRIAGE: She married James Morgan on August 6, 1640, at Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts. "Morgan, James, and Margery Hill, Aug. 6, 1640"^[3]

DEATH: There is a Wallingford record that states Margery Hill died April 28, 1690, at Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut, age 88.^[4] Her daughter Hannah lived in Wallingford explaining her move after James' death. But, if Margery was 88 in 1690, she would have been born about 1602, making her several years older than her husband and having her first child at age 40 and her last at age 50. None of which is impossible, but would be unusual. In addition, the Morgan genealogy makes the unsourced statement that James died in 1685 ... and his estate was divided soon after her death among his four surviving children.^[5] If his wife was still living she would have received 1/3 of the estate, implying her prior death. Is the Wallingford record incorrect, or for a different Margery? There is no probate indexed for Margery in New Haven Probate District in 1685 or thereabouts.

BURIAL: A Find-a-Grave memorial has been created for her at the Avery-Morgan Burial Ground, Groton, New London, Connecticut^[6]. She was probably buried there next to her husband, who's stone is carved with his initials and dates. However, there is no stone now, nor was there one in the 1930's when the Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions was done. So, there is no hard proof of this burial and the birthdate listed there is unsourced.

Sources

1. ↑ Roberts, Gary Boyd. "Ancestry of Millard Fillmore." The American Genealogist. Vol 63 p 46, 47.
2. ↑ Smith, Dean Crawford. The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908. Vol 4, (2000). Pages 394 See image https://www.wikitree.com/photo/png/Hills-33
3. ↑ Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1926) Vol. 2, Page 206.
4. ↑ Wallingford VRs Wallingford VRs, Page 235, citing Vol. 1, page 52 "Margery, d. Apr. 28, 1690, ae 88"
5. ↑ Morgan, Nathaniel H. Morgan genealogy : A history of James Morgan, of New London, Conn., and his descendants; from 1607 to 1869 ... With an appendix containing the history of his brother, Miles Morgan, of Springfield, Mass.; and some of his descendants ... (Hartford : Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1869) p. 22
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #23645725

• Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1926) Vol. 2, Page 206.
• Ancestral File Number: 1S4N-9MB
• Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010). (Subscription required.)
• Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. (Subscription required.)
• Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985)
• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Generations Network, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2004)
• Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook) Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988