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Matthew Jones was born Barnstable, Plymouth Colony about 1664. His parents were Ralph and Mary (Fuller) Jones, based on Matthew being listed as a son in Ralph's will. The 1664 birth year estimate is based on Donald Blauvelt's analysis in the Mayflower Descendant, v.68 (2020).[1] The author's argument is that when Matthew was admitted to the town of Barnstable in 1692, along with several other men, he was at least 24 years old, based on other men's ages at admission. Since his sister Mercy has a known 1666 birth date, Matthew's birth is placed before hers, in 1664. This also works for childbirth spacing considerations. Otis in his Genealogical notes of Barnstable families had postulated that Matthew was the oldest child, so born about 1652.[2] However, Blauvelt points out that Matthew's brother Shubael, born in 1654, was the sibling with the first recorded birth, the first son mentioned in his father's will, and the sole executor of his father's estate; so Shubael is the obvious choice for the first-born son.
There has been discussion regarding Matthew's children and marriages, because the births of two children are recorded before his only recorded marriage date.[3] It is possible that the recorded marriage date is simply wrong, as Matthew's known wife Mercy Goodspeed was old enough to have married by, say, 1689. It is now generally accepted that she was Matthew's second wife, and that his first two children were with an otherwise totally undocumented first wife. This is the interpretation taken by Blauvelt, cited above.[1] Otis also assumes this, but introduces several errors that Blauvelt corrects.[2] The basic assumption is that the Barnstable birth and marriage record dates for Matthew are accurate, so two marriages are indicated.
Matthew Jones was first married about 1689, to an unknown wife, and they had two children recorded in Barnstable records:[3]
This first wife probably died in 1694, death not recorded, leaving Matthew with two very young children.
Matthew married, second, Mercy Goodspeed, daughter of John and Experience (Holley) Goodspeed, on 14 January 1694/5, in Barnstable.[3][4]
Matthew and Mercy had children, all born in Barnstable:[3]
Per Barnstable town records, in October 1690 Matthew was granted his request to exchange his 30 acres of land for a more favorable site (p.70). The exchanged land boundaries were affirmed in March 1694/5 (p.79). Matthew was admitted as a townsman on 4 March 1691/2 (p.73). Matthew appears on a 1691/2 list of Barnstable proprietors regarding a division of the common meadow (p.95). Matthew appears on a 1697 list of Barnstable proprietors regarding a division of common marshlands (p.122). Matthew's marsh lots are listed in an August 1697 record (pp.107-8).[5]
At some point Matthew moved to Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony, as he was of Sandwich when he wrote his will. Mercy was given the use and improvement of her husband Matthew Jones' whole estate in his will dated 1 June 1749. The will also mentions sons Benjamin, Ralph, and Ebenezer; daughter Experience; daughter Rebecca Maggs; granddaughter Mary Maggs; with his son-in-law Reuben Maggs [Meigs] named sole executor. His will was probated on 1 August 1749. His inventory included wool, flax, and linen yarns, so he probably did some weaving in addition to husbandry.[6]
"(Two trains of thought have been applied to this marriage: either Mercy is the second wife or the recorded date of 1694 should actually be 1684. The gap between the second and third child could indicate the death of a first wife. See Otis Barnstable Fams 2:110-11; NEHGR 3:136 for further discussion)"[7] See the Mayflower Descendant article cited above for a critique of both of these earlier writings.
Mercy has been disconnected as the mother of Benjamin and Ralph Jones. A clue to their unknown mother's identity might be the given name of Benjamin, which was not a Jones family name at the time.
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