Mary (Bridger) Anonymous (abt. 1630 - aft. 1650)

Born about 1630 in England

Ancestors

Died after 13 Jul 1650 after about age 20 in England [uncertain]

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Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Proof of Spouse

(placed by G. Pinson (Pinson-796) May 2024)

• It is unknown if Mary Bridger ever married, let alone to whom.
• Previously, someone attached Thomas Godwin Sr as Mary's husband and stated they married in Somerset England in 1636. This notion is disproved by the points below:
  • While there are many Godwin records to be found in early 17th century Somerset, Bridger records there are notoriously lacking. Before two of Mary Bridger's brothers moved to Bristol, England, and brother Joseph Bridger moved to Isle of Wight County, Virginia, there appears to be no record of any of her Bridger family having anything to do with Somerset, or the Godwins there.
  • When Thomas Godwin Sr. wrote his will on 24 March 1667, he mentioned a wife, but didn't name her. I know of no other document mentioning his wife. So, how can we know her first name, let alone her middle and maiden names?
  • John Brayton devoted the entire 10th volume of his Colonial Families Book series to the English Bridger family and made no mention of Godwins in it. His only mention of Mary, daughter of Samuel Bridger, was her entries in his will. In other words, he had no idea what became of Mary Bridger after her father's will. ^[2]
  • Samuel Bridger did have a daughter Mary (not Mary Elizabeth), who he named in his will dated 13 July 1650, as daughter Mary Bridger. This indicates she was still unmarried in July 1650, yet she is shown in this profile as marrying Thomas Godwin Sr in Somerset in 1636. If that is not enough, Samuel made it quite clear in the will that all his children were under the age of 21 and unmarried: "And when my Children shall come to be of ye age of one and twenty years or be married which shall first happen...." So, we know Mary was born after 13 July 1629 and could be no older than seven years at the alleged marriage to Thomas Godwin Sr in Somerset in 1636. That should be enough to dispel the Godwin marriage myth.
  • The Bridger/Godwin family connection happened in Virginia where Thomas Godwin Sr's son Thomas married Colonel Joseph Bridger's daughter Martha. Then, Thomas Godwin Sr's daughter married her third husband Samuel Bridger who was Joseph Bridger's son. Confusing? Of course and that is undoubtedly why someone thought Thomas Godwin Sr married Joseph Bridger's sister Mary, when in fact it was two of Godwin's children that married two of Joseph Bridger's children. ^[3]

Research Notes

• This profile doesn't cite any valid genealogical records to enforce any of it's claims. Gedcom files and family trees aren't valid sources. While they occasionally cite valid records, those records should be cited in any wikitree profile and the family tree it was found in can then be credited.
• See section "Proof of Spouse", which disproves the idea that Mary wed Thomas Godwin Sr. I've detached Mary as Thomas Godwin Sr's wife. G. Pinson (Pinson-796) 2 May 2024.
• Estimated birth year changed from 1616 to 1630, because: 1) A marriage record shows her parents wed on 20 June 1622 and 2) Mary's father's 13 July 1650 will states that all his children were under the age of twenty one and unmarried. This means Mary (and all her siblings) was born after 13 July 1629. 3) A baptismal record for her brother Joseph is dated 28 February 1631. Brayton, in his book on the Bridgers, listed Mary just before Joseph as second and third children in his ordering of Samuel Bridger's children. The order of birth is unproven and her birth may have been later than 1630.
• There is no evidence supporting the middle name Elizabeth and it has been removed. Brayton's book on the Bridger family does not show Mary with a middle name and the only record he found for her was her father's will which lists her as Mary Bridger.
• Mary was listed as born in Somerset, but there is no record of her parents ever being there. They were married in Surrey and Mary's brother Joseph was baptized in Glouchestershire in February 1631, indicating Mary was probably born in one of those locales.
• Because the only record we have for Mary is her father's will, we've changed her death date to after 13 July 1650, the date of his will. No one knows when, or where, Mary died so the previous listed death place was removed. There is no evidence to suggest Mary left England. This and the other above notes were placed by G. Pinson (Pinson-796) 2-4 May 2024.

Sources

1. ↑ Bridger-296 was created by Darlene Van Sant through the import of Jerome Scott Lieblich Family T.ged on Oct 28, 2014. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Brayton, John A. Colonial Families of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, Virginia. Volume 10. Bridger of Godalming, Surrey; Slimbridge, Gloucestershire; And Virginia. Clearfield Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
3. ↑ Brayton, John A. Colonial Families of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, Virginia. Volume 7. The Pitt Family of Bristol, Gloucester, Charlestown, Massachusetts and Isle of Wight County, Virginia. 2002.

• Source: S-564163843 Repository: #R-1048724813 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Page: Ancestry Family Tree Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=62953304&pid=857
• Repository: R-1048724813 Name: Ancestry.com