Mary (Blashfield) Ashley (abt. 1681)

Born about 1681 in North Yarmouth, York, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of William Whittredge — married 16 May 1702 in Beverly, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Wife of Joseph Ashley — married 1 Jan 1729 in Rochester, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Rochester, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Chase Ashley [send private message] and Erica Fox [send private message]

Biography

This is the profile for Mary who married, first, William Whitridge and, second, Joseph Ashley.

Maiden Name; Parentage

Two different claims have been made with respect to Mary's maiden name and parentage. An entry for the Ashleys of Rochester, Massachusetts in the 1912 "Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts"^[1] and Robert E. Ashley in a 1971 article in "Ashleys of America"^[2] and in his 1981 "Ashleys of the Old Colony"^[3] state that Joseph Ashley's second wife was the daughter of William Hall. The only evidence that has been found that might support that proposition is a 1731 deed by Joseph Ashley to "John Whitfield and Rebeckah Whitfield his wife both of Rochester brother-in-law and sister to said Joseph Ashley" of land near "our Honoured Father William Halls homestead."^[4] The reference to "our Honoured Father" could possibly be read to mean that William Hall was the father-in-law of Joseph Ashley and the father of his wife Mary. However, since Mary did not sign the deed and is not mentioned in it, it would have been somewhat odd for Joseph to have used the word "our" and, since he referred to John Whitfield in the deed as his "brother-in-law," it would have been somewhat odd not to have referred to William Hall as his "father-in-law" if, in fact, that was the case. A more natural reading of the language is that William Hall was the step-father of Joseph and either the step-father or actual father of his sister Rebecca. The failure to actually use the term "step-father" would not be surprising since, unlike "father-in-law," the term "step-father" was not commonly used in that time period. No evidence has been found in any record relating to William and Mary Whitridge that supports the proposition that William Hall was Mary's father or William Whitridge's father-in-law. In addition, no evidence has been found that suggests that William Hall of Rochester had lived in or near Beverly, Massachusetts, where Mary probably originated, based on the fact that William Whitridge was born there and William and Mary Whitridge had their first child there before moving to Rochester. The proposition that William Hall was Joseph Ashley's step-father rather than the father of his wife Mary also receives some support from the fact that both William Hall's wife and Joseph Ashley's sister were named Rebecca,^[5] which would be consistent with them being mother and daughter. Taken together, the existing evidence provides little support for the proposition that Mary was the daughter of William Hall.

Another secondary source, Tingley-Meyers, states that the Mary who was the wife of William Whitridge and Joseph Ashley was a Mary Blashfield/Blachfield of Beverly and provides details about her parents and siblings and marriage to William Whitridge.^[6][7] Although primary sources for this information have not yet been found online, the flaws in the evidence for the proposition that Mary's father was William Hall of Rochester suggest that the Blashfield theory is more plausible. In addition, some circumstantial evidence for Mary Blashfield being WIlliam Whitridge's wife comes from the fact that Mary, the wife of William Whitridge, was baptized at the First Church of Beverley on June 13, 1703^[8] and then Mary and William Whitridge’s first-born child, Charity, was baptized together with Mary Blashfield’s brothers Henry and Luke at the First Church of Beverly on June 27, 1703.^[9] The remainder of this profile adopts the Blashfield theory.

Date and Place of Birth

Mary's date of birth is uncertain. The 1703 date of baptism of her first known child suggests that Mary was probably born sometime in 1678-1684. Tingley-Meyers states that Mary, the daughter of Thomas Blashfield and Abigail (Hiberd) Blashfield, was born in 1685,^[6][7] but since the dates Tingley-Meyers gives for all of Thomas and Abigail Blashfield's children born in 1677-1691 appear to be guestimates,^[6] it is quite possible that the 1685 date they give is incorrect. In fact, based on daughter Charity's baptism date, a date of birth of, say, 1681 seems more likely than 1685.

Tingly-Meyers states that all of Thomas and Mary Blashfield's children were born in Beverly.^[6] However, Tingley-Meyers did not appear to be aware that Thomas and Mary removed from Beverly for a period of time and lived in North Yarmouth in 1681-1688. Based on Thomas Blashfield's residency during the period when Mary was probably born, she was most likely born in North Yarmouth rather than Beverly.

First Marriage and Children

According to Tingley-Meyers, Mary married William Whitridge on May 16, 1702.^[7][6] While no record confirming the date of their marriage has been found, a 1702 marriage date is reasonable, based on the 1703 date of baptism of their first known child.

Mary and William initially lived in Beverly, but moved south to Rochester, Plymouth County sometime before 1705.^[10]

Mary and William had the following children:

1. Charity, bpt. June 27, 1703 in Beverly,^[11][12][7] birth later recorded in Rochester,^[13] m. May 30, 1721 Paul Sears in Rochester,^[14][7] d. about 1760-1767^[7]
2. Abigail, b. 1705 in Rochester, ^[7] died before 1712^[15][7]
3. Mercy, b. October 10, 1706 in Rochester,^[13][7] m. December 31, 1730 Ebenezer Keen^[14][7]
4. Marey, b. October 28, 1708 in Rochester,^[13][7] m. 1726 William Parker of Rochester,^[7] d. June 2, 1735^[7]
5. Thomas, b. November 12, 1710,^[13][7] m. 1st November 25, 1733 Hannah Haskell in Rochester,^[14][7] m. 2d int. May 19, 1776 Mercy Nye in Rochester,^[16][7] d. March 7, 1795^[17][7]
6. Abigail, b. December 19, 1712 in Rochester,^[13][7] m. int. October 23, 1729 Seth Winslow in Rochester^[14][7]
7. Sarah (Sary), b. May 1, 1715 in Rochester,^[13][7] m. int. August 20, 1746 Jeremiah Devell in Rochester^[16][7]
8. Rebeckah, b. September 22, 1717 in Rochester,^[13][7] m. int. December 3, 1736 Abraham Ashley (her step brother)^[16][7]
9. Elizabeth, b. 1719 in Rochester,^[7] m. August 6, 1741 Mark Haskell in Rochester^[16][7]

Mary's first husband, William Whitridge, died in August 1726.^[18]

Second Marriage

Mary married, second, Joseph Ashley, a widower, in Rochester on January 1, 1728/9.^[16] An agreement allocating Mary's portion (the traditional widow's 1/3 part) of William Whitridge's estate was executed in 1732 by Joseph Ashley (representing himself and Mary), Thomas Whitredg (as sole male heir), Paul Sears (for himself as one of the heirs by virtue of his marriage to Charity, and as guardian for the other heirs), James Foster, and Edward Winslow.^[19] There is no record of Mary and Joseph having any children.

Death

Mary's date of death is unknown. It is probable that she died in Rochester.

^{[8] [9] [5] [2] [3] [4] [1] [18] [7] [6] [11] [12] [13] [14] [16] [17] [19]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Representative Men and Old Families of Southeaster Massachusetts, Volume III," J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1912, p 1784
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Robert E. Ashley, "Mayflower Connections: How the Two Lines in the First Generation Became a Single Ashley Line in the Second Generation," Ashleys of America, Vol I, No. 4 (July 1971), p 91
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Robert E. Ashley, "Ashleys of the Old Colony," 1981, p 8
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Plymouth County Deeds, Vol 26, p 129
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} See the profile for William Hall.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} Tingley, Raymon Meyers. Some Ancestral Lines: Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his Wife Martha Pamelia Meyers. The Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1935, p 53. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25} Tingley, Raymon Meyers. Some Ancestral Lines: Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his Wife Martha Pamelia Meyers. The Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1935. pp 434-436. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Records of the First Church in Beverly, Massachusetts 1667-1772 The Essex Institute, 1905, p. 42. Link to volume at familysearch.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Records of the First Church in Beverly, Massachusetts 1667-1772 The Essex Institute, 1905, p. 125. Link to volume at familysearch.org.
10. ↑ Based on place of birth of their first and second children.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "Vital Records of Beverly, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Volume I - Births," Topsfield Historical Society, 1906, p 363
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7} "Vital Records of Rochester, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1914, p 305
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4} "Vital Records of Rochester, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1914, p 319
15. ↑ Based on birth of another Abigail in 1712.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5} "Vital Records of Rochester, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1914, p 320
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "Vital Records of Rochester, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1914, p 444
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} See the profile for William Whitridge.
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Estate Files; Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Plymouth County); Probate Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Case Number 22900