Dear PGM and others interested,
The brief paper, "William Lord's Wife and the Family of Thomas Lee" (TAG:32:81-2), by Elisa Warren Avery, details why Mary, supposed daughter of Thomas Lee "Jr." and Sarah Kirtland of Lyme, Connecticut, was:
(a) not actually Sarah's daughter, but rather Thomas' daughter by his second wife Mary DeWolf (vital records show this); and
(b) not married to William Lord, but rather married thrice to other men -- Joseph Beckwith, Deacon (Daniel) Sterling and Captain (John) Riggs, as her cousin Joshua Hempstead noted in his diary.
Well, at least we don't quite have that problem. But an alternate connection of Thomas Lee's daughter Mary to the Lord family is presently depicted in Wikitree, where a Mary Lee (Lee-12085) matching the above somewhat incorrect description is married to William Lord's son, Thomas Lord.
I believe this is just as incorrect as the claim she was married to William Lord.
I noticed that the Lee-12085 profile cites The Sterling Genealogy, pp. 369-70, and I suppose that an early Sterling researcher's error may be at the origin of this confusion, since the widow Mary (Lee) Beckwith did marry Daniel Sterling on 16 Apr 1745 in Lyme.
My proposal is that the Mary Lee (Lee-12085) be detached from Thomas Lee and Sarah Kirtland, and that the Marah (Lee) Beckwith profile (Lee-1739) should be set as daughter of Thomas Lee (Lee-5623) and Mary DeWolf (DeWolf-57).... with a suitable explanation added to the Lee-12085 profile.
If Thomas Lord's wife was really born in Lyme, then I have my doubts that her surname was Lee: Joshua Hempstead spelled out his top-level Lee relatives to apparent completion in his diary. I am ambivalent about whether she should retain that name or go to Unknown, and would hope for a ruling by PGM on that question, but if she is to retain the name Lee, setting Lee-12085 and Lee-1739 as rejected matches would probably be wise.
Please advise. Thanks!