Mary "Polly" was born in 1823 in Kentucky. She is thought to have been born on 7 July 1823.
Her parents are unknown. It is possible that her maiden name was actually Barnet or Barnett, rather than Bernard, but it appeared as Bernard in the marriage register and on her youngest son's (Joshua) birth record.
Her daughter's (Rebecca Godberry) death certificate shows Mary's maiden name as Banard; it shows her father as Charles Childers. It seems most likely that these were intended to be Bernard and Chilton, rather than Barnet and Chilton.
The marriage register misrecorded Mary's husband's name as Charles Chelton, so Barnet or Barnett could have also been misrecorded as Bernard; her nephew, Dr. Liberty Madison Chilton, wrote down his recollections in 1894, and he recalled that Charles Chilton's wife's maiden name was Barnet. He did not give her first name, and perhaps he misremembered it as Barnet when it was really Bernard; perhaps he never saw it written down.
It is even possible that Charles Chilton and Mary "Polly" Bernard are a different couple than Charles Chilton and ? Barnet, although it is much more likely that someone wrote it down inaccurately.
Given all the evidence, it seems most likely that her maiden name was actually Bernard.
Polly married Charles Chilton on 15 Aug 1844 in Russell County, Kentucky.
Their children included:
Ellen C. (1845–1916)
Nancy Ann (1848–1910)
Rebecca E. (1848–1927)
William G. (abt 1852–)
Jesse P. (abt 1853–)
Millard F. (abt 1858–)
Joshua C. (abt 1859–)
Charles Jr. (abt 1864–)
She probably passed away in Kentucky. She is thought to have died around 1896.
She appeared on the 1850 US Census:
Name Polly Chilton
Event Type Census
Event Year 1850
Event Place Casey county, part of, Casey, Kentucky, United States
Gender Female
Age 29
Race White
Birth Year (Estimated) 1821
Birthplace Kentucky
House Number 401
Household:
Charles Chilton M 31 Kentucky
Polly Chilton F 29 Kentucky
Ellen Chilton F 7 Kentucky
Nancy A Chilton F 4 Kentucky
Rebecca E Chilton F 2 Kentucky
United States Census, 1860
Name: Mary Chilton
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1860
Event Place: District 4, Casey, Kentucky, United States
Gender: Female
Age: 38
Race: White
Race: White
Birth Year (Estimated): 1822
Page: 107
Household:
Charles Chilton Male 40 Kentucky
Mary Chilton Female 38
Ellen Chilton Female 15
Nancy A Chilton Female 12
Rebecca E Chilton Female 11
William G M Chilton Male 8
Jesse P Chilton Male 7
Millard F Chilton Male 4
Joshua C Chilton Male 1
United States Census, 1870
Name: Mary Shelton [Mary Chilton]
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1870
Event Place: Casey, Kentucky, United States
Event Place: Tates, Casey, Kentucky, United States
Death certificate of daughter, Rebecca: Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1926 - 1927; Roll: 07; Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Polly by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Polly:
~1.56%Susannah Rolfes :
AncestryDNA, GEDmatch EX4987596[compare], Ancestry member Susannahrolfes
+
Autosomal DNA Test, GEDmatch G131070[compare], yourDNAportal SUSd3b1488e