Mary (Lambert) Heath (abt. 1704 - bef. 1794)

Wife of John Heath Sr. — married about 1730 in Middlesex County, Virginia [uncertain]

Died before 10 Mar 1794 before about age 90 in Craven County, North Carolina

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Biography

Mary must have been born about 1704. She has been named as Mary Lambert, however this is not sourced. A son of Samuel Lambert did marry one Sarah Heath, so there was a family connection.

It is probable that Mary's first husband died^[1] and that she was the second spouse of John Heath. John's presumably first wife was named Frances in the Christchurch Parish records^[2]. It has been suggested via some Ancestry.com trees (without publicly cited sources) that Mary Frances is one person rather than Mary and Frances, two wives of John. It is more likely that these are two different spouses, as adding a middle name was very uncommon in that era.

The following children were John's children with either a first wife Frances^[2] or Mary Frances (if this is the same person):

Anne Heath, born September 15, 1724

William Heath born January 19, 1726

John Heath, Jr. born April 14, 1728

Henry Heath born March 22, 1729

Other children of John (and probably Mary) are:

Mary Heath

Francis Heath

Jean Heath

Temperance Heath

Thomas Heath, Sr.

Frederick Heath, Sr.

Mary Heath along with son Thomas Heath recorded the inventory of her husband's estate in December, 1771.^[3]

An excerpt from John's will suggests that Mary was a widow before her marriage to John Heath, and that she brought a widow’s dower to her marriage with him ^[1] :

"First, I give and bequeath to Mary, my dearly beloved Wife all the Estate she was possessed of at the time of our marriage, likewise a Bed and Furniture which we usually sleep on and the half of all my other Estate I lend her during her widowhood and if married again or at her Decease to Convert to my four Daughters Viz. Mary, Francis, Jean & Temperance, Observing first my set of Smiths Tools, I give and Bequeath to my five sons, Viz. John, Henry, William, Thomas, & Frederick."^[4]

Research

Confirmed that this is not the same as Mary Heath, who also lived and died in Craven County (the later between May and December 1804) and was married to William Heath.

It appears, but is possible, that this is also not another Mary Heath who appeared to have deceased in 1794 in Craven County. Confusingly, the Mary Heath who apparently died in 1794's nuncupative will is stored in the same folder of the North Carolina Estate Files in which Mary's 1804 estate inventory is stored. The record included testimony of Mary's nuncupative will in the March 1794 court session, and refers to Mary as deceased (in 1794). Robert Fossett and Hannah Philips deposed to the court what they heard Mary say during her last illness that it was her will and desire that her grand daughters Sally Richardson and Elizabeth Fossett be given a few listed possessions.^[5] If this 1794 will was the Mary Heath of this profile, it seems strange that none of John's (and potentially her) children are mentioned and that she would not have had a written will of her own.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Kathryn Gearhart c2009 in Allied Families: Heaths of Craven County, North Carolina. https://alliedfamilies.wordpress.com/virginia-and-maryland-heath-families/heaths-of-middlesex-virginia-and-craven-county-north-carolina/
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Christchurch,Va. Christ Church., National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia. (1897). The parish register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Va., from 1653 to 1812. Richmond: W. E. Jones, Printer. Public Domain PDF: Parish Records Christchurch Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia
3. ↑ "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKJM-N1W : 8 March 2021), John Heath, 1771; citing Craven, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,845,100.
4. ↑ North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 for John Heath. Loose Wills and Estate Papers, 1746-1890; Author: North Carolina. County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Craven County); Probate Place: Craven, North Carolina. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9061/images/004778693_00515?usePUB=true&pId=1954381 North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
5. ↑ "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKJM-N1Z : 8 March 2021), Mary Heath, 1794; citing Craven, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,845,100.