Comments on Sarah (Weston) Milk

Question

On NaN undefined NaN Laurence Mohr wrote on Weston-39:

I agree with the concerns raised under Disputed Parents. The discussion correctly doubts the identity of John Milk's wife based on the fact that Sarah Wesson of Reading, Middlesex would have been less than 9 years old at the time of John Milk's marriage. 

That Sarah was almost certainly not the wife of John Milk of Salem, Essex because her death record from Reading clearly identifies her as "Sarah Wesson the daughter of John Wesson" and not "Sarah Milk the wife of John Milk". No discussion within the profile addresses why her death was not recorded in Salem and how she could have relocated from Reading to Salem, and then back to Reading by 1685. Sufficient facts to address the conflicting information, in addition to the concerns raised under Disputed Origins, have not been provided. 

See the image of Sarah's death record: "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-XZVX : 29 November 2018), Sarah Wesson, 27 Jan 1685; citing Death, Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009686. 

Also, the following source states Sarah of Reading died unmarried. This conclusion seems reasonable based on the death record above. 

See: Little, George Thomas, ''Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine,'' New York, Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1909. [https://archive.org/details/genealogicalfami03litt/page/1140 Pp. 1140-1142. Available on Archive.org.]

Comments

Although there are "sources" that show that Sarah Weston, daughter of the parents shown is the one that married John Milk, it appears to be incorrect based on the VRs as well as the George Little book. We likely should create another Sarah Weston with unknown origins as the wife of John Milk and mother of the children shown. Considering the birth and death records for this Sarah (the one that was actually John Wesson's daughter), it appears this Sarah should have her last name changed to Wesson as well.

The comment that Little makes about her dying unmarried was not listed that way in the death VR for her in Reading. She would have been about 30 years old when she died; it seems odd that no mention of her being a spinster was included in the VR either. Yet, if she was married, she would certainly have been listed with the last name Milk, and she probably would have died in Salem, not Reading.

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I just found another clue that Sarah Weston/Wesson who died in 1685 was not John Milk's wife. Perley, in The History Of Salem, Volume 2, page 312, says that John Milk's wife, Sarah, was still living in 1688. 

Sarah Wesson, John's daughter died in 1685 per the VR and the Little source.

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Good work!  

The following sources agree with your research:

The Essex Antiquarian. Salem, MA: The Essex Antiquarian, 13 vols. 1897-1909. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006.)

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB96/i/7520/174/6736514

This information seems to indicate that after John's death, ownership of John's house was divided between his two children, but widow Sarah still lived in the house.

Furthermore, I found the will of John Milk on Ancestry.com. According to the transcription, the will was drafted and sealed on 16 Mar 1687/8.  In it, he records a bequest to his wife Sarah.  This is after the Reading death date of 27 Jan 1685/6.

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=USProbateMA&h=1099511626582

Citation: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

It seems we have found 3 sources that disprove the relation of Sarah Milk to John and Sarah (Fitch) Weston.

Thanks for your quick help!

Laurence

Answer 1

I have disambiguated and de-conflated the two different Sarah Weston/Wessons. Sarah Wesson was born in 1656, and died in 1685, unmarried. The other's origins are unknown. She was probably born about 1645 based on a 1665 marriage, and she lived until at least 1691 when she was an executor for her spouse, John Milk's estate, along with their son John Milk, Jr. The new profile for Sarah (Weston) Milk is https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Weston-7295

Comments

Thank you very much! I was getting ready to list all siblings in the profile of father John Weston, but this conflicting information came up. This issue with Sarah (Weston) Milk seems to have complicated my effort and your weekend.  Your review and work are much appreciated.

Cheers,

Laurence