Mercy (Reed) Ford (abt. 1678 - 1737)

Born about 1678 in Weymouth, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Nicholas Whitmarsh — married about 1699 in Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

Wife of Andrew Ford III — married 27 Nov 1706 (to about 4 Feb 1737) in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 4 Feb 1737 at about age 59 in Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Mercy Reed, daughter of William and Esther (Tomson) Reed was born about 1678-1681. She was named as Mercy Whitmarsh in her father's will dated 26 October 1705, and proved 12 September 1706.^[1][2]

She married first about 1698 to Nicholas Whitmarsh.^[3] He was born 21 August 1673 in Weymouth, the son of Nicholas and Hannah (Reed) Whitmarsh.^[4]

She married secondly to Andrew Ford on Nov. 27, 1706.^[1]

She died in Abington, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on Feb 4. 1737 at 56 years of age, according to her gravestone in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Abington. This would put her birth at 1680 or 1681.^[5][6]

Child of Nicholas and Mercy (Reed) Whitmarsh:^[4]

1. Nicholas Whitmarsh, b. 20 Mar 1698/99, Weymouth.^[7]

Children of her second marriage to Andrew Ford born Abington:^[8]

1. Marcy Ford, b. 10 Nov 1708
2. Jacob Ford, b. 20 Jul 1711
3. Hester Ford, b. 08 Mar 1714
4. Mary Ford, b. 11 Mar 1719; d bet 14 Aug 1744 and 1 Dec 1748 in Abington; mar. Jacob Reed as his 1st wife.
5. Andrew Ford, b. 02 Sept 1721

Research notes

Her Find a Grave memorial gives a specific birth date of 05 Feb 1681, yet supplies no source. Weymouth VRs and Abington VRs do not record her birth. It appears to be a calculation based on the death date minus exactly 56 years. Madison-125 16:42, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

From Find a Grave:^[9] "Records of the descendants of the Mayflower show different data." See Findagrave memorial for differing, unsourced, data.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wood, General Society of Mayflower Descendents. Mayflower families through five generations : descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620. Vol. 12. Cooke. 2019; 1996 ed.: pages 95, 218.
2. ↑ Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Vol. I. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992. pg 388 Ancestry subscription required. Note: "born pre-1690"
3. ↑ Preston, Mary Isabella, Bassett-Preston Ancestors: A History of the Ancestors in America of Marion Bassett Luitweiler... (New Haven: Tuttle Morehouse & Taylor, 1930), [https://archive.org/details/bassettprestonan00pres/page/230/mode/2up page 230.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Bates, Newton Whitmarsh, Genealogy of the Descendants of John Whitmarsh of Weymouth, Mass. ([Ashtabula: P. H. Fassett], 1916), pages 15, 18.
5. ↑ Vital records of Abington, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. New England Historic Genealogical Society. Publication date 1912. Vol. 2. Page 278.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16729860/mercy-ford : accessed 19 October 2021), memorial page for Mercy Reed Ford (5 Feb 1681–4 Feb 1737), Find A Grave: Memorial #16729860, citing Mount Vernon Cemetery, Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Gary Ford (contributor 468758620.) (Includes gravestone photos.)
7. ↑ NEHGS. Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. Boston, Mass. : NEHGS, 1910. Vol. 1:351

   "Whitmarsh, Nicolus [dup. [Nicholas] Wh[itmarsh]], s. Nicolus [dup. Nick[ol]as] and Mercy [second dup. s. Nicholas and Mary], [torn] 20 [dup. [Mar. 20]], 1698-9."

8. ↑ Wood, Ralph V., Jr., Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Francis Cooke, Vol. 12 (Plymouth, Mass : GSMD, 2014) pp. 220-21.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16729860/mercy-ford : accessed 19 October 2021), memorial page for Mercy Reed Ford (5 Feb 1681–4 Feb 1737), Find A Grave: Memorial #16729860, citing Mount Vernon Cemetery, Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Gary Ford (contributor 468758620.) (Includes gravestone photos.)