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Mathias Ellis (1657 - 1748)

Lieutenant Mathias Ellis
Born in Sandwich, Plymouth Colonymap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married about 1679 (to 30 Aug 1748) in Sandwich, Plymouth Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 91 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 29 Mar 2011
This page has been accessed 3,390 times.

Contents

Biography

This profile is part of the Ellis Name Study.

Lieut. Mathias Elis was born on 2 Jun 1657 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Province of Massachusetts Bay.

Name

Matthias Ellis[1]

Parents

John Ellis and Elizabeth Freeman[1][2]

Birth

02 JUN 1657 in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony[1][3][4]

Places of Residence

  1. Sandwich, Plymouth Colony[1]
  2. Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts[5]

Marriage

Mathias married Mercy _______ about 1678/9, most likely in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony.[6] See Research Notes for a complete discussion.

Children

The original birth records for these children were partly illegible, and subsequent transcriptions likely contained errors. The children of Mathias were reported by Brownson and McLean as the following:[2]

  1. Joel, b. 17 Jan 1679/80
  2. Mathias Jr., b. 5 Nov 1681
  3. John, b. 17 Aug 1683; d. in Sandwich 12 Dec 1717. According to Brownson and McLean, the birth record of this person has been misattributed to daughter Mehitable. Probate records strongly suggest this person was actually a son named John.[2][5][7]
  4. Mercy, a.k.a. Mary, b. 17 Aug 1685; d. bef. 30 Oct 1751; m. 1. 18 Apr 1705 Thomas Dotey; m. 2. Jonathan Barnes; m. 3. (Unknown) Wilson; m. 4. 15 Dec 1737 Timothy Morton.
  5. Experience, b. 26 Jul 1687.
  6. Malachi, b. 8 Oct 1689.
  7. Remember, b. 1 Dec 1691; d. likely before her father's will was drafted.
  8. Mehitable, b. 31 Dec 1693; bapt. 30 May 1695; m. Isaac Merrick; d. in Taunton between 20 Sep and 8 Nov 1751. Her name has been mis-transcribed as 'Isabel'.[2]
  9. Samuel, b. 12 Nov 1699.

Death and Burial

Age: 91
30 Aug 1748[2]
Unknown burial location[8]

Probate

Persons recognized in the will of Mathias Ellis, as written on 13 Nov 1744:[5]

  • Wife Mercy
  • Son Joel, who was bequeathed two half-lots in the woods that were formerly owned by John, deceased son of Mathias.
  • Son Mathias
  • Daughter Mercy Morton
  • Daughter Experience Churchill
  • Daughter Mehitable Merrick
  • Son Malachi

Also alluded to in the will: Deceased son John, whose probate was administered by father Mathias on 8 Apr 1718.[7] Mathias’ will and John’s probate prove son John lived to adulthood and owned property.

Executors:

  • Wife Mercy
  • Son Malachi

Witnesses:

  • Elisha Tupper
  • Eldad Tupper, Jr.
  • Samuel Jennings

Not mentioned in the will and possibly deceased before 13 Nov 1744:

  • Daughter Remember
  • Son Samuel

Inventory: The inventory was presented by executor Malachi Ellis, 7 Nov 1749. Widow Mercy did not co-present the inventory as co-executor, suggesting she died before 7 Nov 1749.

Inventory taken by:

  • Jonathan Freeman
  • Elisha Tupper
  • Eldad Tupper, Jr.

Research Notes

Disputed Wife: Some sources and lay researchers erroneously identify either Mercy Nye or Mary Burgess as the wife of Mathias Ellis. Both theories have been rejected by multiple published sources.

Mercy Nye: In 1971, McLean published research that proved Mercy Nye was unmarried as of 1704 and 1713. He cited a 9 Jun 1704 conveyance from her father, Banjamin Nye, in which the grantor gives all of his lands, mills and appurtenances in Sandwich to his son Jonathan. This bequest was given with the restriction that Jonathan was to continue to care for, relieve and support Mercy Nye. The conveyance stated that Mercy was unable to support herself "by reason of weakness and other infirmities." Later in 1713, Jonathan Nye gave his son Jonathan substantial land provided that the son care "for my sister Mercy who is feeble in body and mind."[9][10] This history does not match the wife of Mathias Ellis, who was the mother of all of his children from 1679 - 1699 and was appointed co-executor of his will on 13 Nov 1744.[5]
Based on the above rationale, it can be concluded that the maiden name of Mathias' wife is unknown, as shown in Third Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages.[6]
Mary Burgess: Some sources show Mary Burgess as the wife of Mathias Ellis,[11][12] but these sources are at odds with the work Burgess Genealogy[13] and multiple records that identify his wife by the name Mercy.[5][14] As of 1970, McLean concluded that the wife of Mathias was yet to be found.[9]
Torrey listed Mary Burgess as a possible wife of Mathias,[12] but the 3rd supplement to this work rejected this theory and placed Mary Burgess as a possible wife of Manoah Ellis based on a court record that identified Manoah and Mary Ellis of Sandwich as a married couple.[15][16] The 3rd supplement identified the wife of Mathias as Mercy _________.[6]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch : 15 January 2020, Matthias Ellis, 1657.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Brownson, Lydia B. (Phinney); McLean, Maclean W., Lt. John and Elizabeth (Freeman) Ellis of Sandwich, Mass., The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 120 (April 1966), Pp. 262 - 266. Available on AmericanAncestors.org.
  3. Holbrook
  4. Mayflower Births and Deaths
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Mathias Ellis in the Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991. Probate and Guardianship Records, 1674-1950 (Barnstable County, Massachusetts); Author: Barnstable County (Massachusetts). Register of Probate; Probate Place: Barnstable, Massachusetts. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Third Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700. 2003, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. p. 89, entry for Mathias Ellis. Available on Ancestry.com.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Barnstable, MA: Probate Records, 1685-1789. Records of Barnstable, Massachusetts. CD-ROM. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.
  8. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 October 2020), memorial page for Lieut Matthias Ellis (2 Jun 1657–30 Aug 1748), Find A Grave: Memorial #132588929, ; Maintained by Ruby Davenport Scholl (contributor 48159920) Non-Cemetery Burial, who reports a Burial Unknown.
  9. 9.0 9.1 McLean, Maclean W. Notes and Corrections, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018. Source citation: Vol. 125, page 140-141.
  10. Roberts, Gary Boyd. Genealogies of the Mayflower Families. 1985, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. Vol. II, Pp. 757 - 758, Mercy Nye and Mercy, Wife of Lt. Matthias Ellis, available on Ancestry.com.
  11. Martin, Sophia Smith. Mack Genealogy : the Descendants of John Mack of Lyme, Conn., Rutland, Vermont: The Tuttle Company, 1904. Vol. 2, Pt. 2, p. 1419. Available on Archive.org, see image 81.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Torrey, Clarence A.. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. p. 248, available on Ancestry.com.
  13. Burgess, Ebenezer. Burgess Genealogy, Memorial of the Family of Thomas and Dorothy Burgess. Boston, Press of T.R. Marvin & Son, 1865. Page 12, image 27, available on Archive.org. "Mary, daughter of John Burgess married ______ Ellis."
  14. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch : 3 November 2017, Mehitable Ellis, 05 Nov 1681; citing Birth, Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 775,836.
  15. Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Third Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700. 2003, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. p. 89, entry for Manoah Ellis. Available on Ancestry.com.
  16. Brownson, Lydia B. (Phinney); McLean, Maclean W., Lt. John and Elizabeth (Freeman) Ellis of Sandwich, Mass., The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 119 (Oct 1965), p. 267. Available on AmericanAncestors.org.

See also:





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Comments: 5

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This is from a book form I believe this is the book it came from This is information from the Ebenezer Burgess book:

BURGESS GENEALOGY, MEMORIAL OF THE FAMILY OF THOMAS AND DOROTHY BURGESS, WHO WERE SETTLED AT SANDWICH, IN THE PLYMOUTH COLONY, IN 1637. BOSTON: PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN & SON, 42 CONGRESS STREET. 18 6 5.

posted by Andrea (Stawski) Pack
Ellis-1341 and Ellis-1114 do not represent the same person because: "Manoah along with his brothers Freeman, Matthias and Mordecai were among the Sandwich Freeman who took the oath of Fidelity in Sandwich in 1681. " I do not have that particular record, but it appears that they are brothers and not the same person. http://www.ellisgen.com/EllisDatabase/ps01/ps01_020.htm
posted by Bill Buchanan
Bill just had to tell you that your reference to Ellisgen.com is my Uncle! So happy to see his hard work appreciated!! He researched the family for 50 years(much of which was before computers) and was an authority on the Ellis Family. Edward Dale Ellis sone of Francis Allen Ellis and Kathryn Belle Giddings Ellis.
Ellis-1341 and Ellis-1114 appear to represent the same person because: Please review these potential duplicates.

Thank you.

posted by Philip Smith
Ellis-4435 and Ellis-1114 appear to represent the same person because: same birth and death, wife may be the same
posted by Robin Lee