This profile is protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project. Removed as suggested parents Thomas Friar and Elizabeth Merritt. There is no evidence to suggest she was daughter of Margaret Merritt. Also detached from Thomas Frier and Elizabeth Hall as parents due to lack of evidence.
Please contact the project through the comments prior to initiating any changes to the Data Fields and wait for a response before proceeding. Thanks.
Please refer to Edit Notes (below) with respect to presenting a cohesive view of what we know of Margaret.
Biography
Margaret Frier was baptised 25 June 1598 in Sherborne, Dorset. No parents' names given.[1]
A Walter Friar and Grace Mullins married in Sherborne in the right time frame to be her parents. (See image from Dorset record office)[2]
She married Thomas Gardiner there 28 April 1617.[3][4]
Margaret died sometime after the birth of her last child Seeth, 25 December 1636, and when her husband remarried to the widow Damaris Shattuck. Damaris was still the widow Shattuck in 7 July 1641, and is first mentioned as Damaris Gardener in Thomas' will, on 7 December 1668, making it difficult to pin down the time frame of his second marriage. A Margaret Gardener joined the church 24 March 1639/40, but without specific mention of her husband. It has been suggested that she was a first wife of Thomas Gardener, Jr.
Research Notes
Death date FindAGrave (as of 6/30/24), gives a death date of 28 September 1659, but without source. Thomas' second wife Damaris died 28 November 1674, which was recorded as 28 :9 m: 1674 . It's possible that this date is in part an unintentional imprint of a misinterpreted Julian calendar date (i.e. the ninth month as September (Gregorian calendar) instead of November (Julian calendar) with a different year added to accommodate a second marriage. There is a reference to the wife of Thomas Gardener, in the 1660 November Court term, which seems to be generally attributed to Damaris. Perhaps the 1659 date was selected as the outer range of her death to precede this date.
Miscellaneous
From The American Genealogist, volume 30 (1953), p 156:
"The surname Friar appears to have been first stated in print by the Rev. Joseph B. Felt, well over a century ago. Neither Dr. Gardner nor Mr. Moriarty was ever successful in finding Mr. Felt's evidence; but it would be well not to reject the possibility that Friar (or a variant) is right until we can either prove that the true name was something else or explain how the error arose."
And even if her maiden name was Friar (of whatever spelling variant), there is no documentation of her parents.
Also:
"B. Margaret Friar: This is the name many times stated to have been that of that earlier wife of Thomas(1) Gardner whose existence is demonstrable from the allusion in his will, dated 7 Dec. 1668, probated 29 March 1675 [Essex Wills, file 301:62: Probate Records, 2:423], to his then wife Damaris, "mother-in-law" of the sons. Damaris was the Widdow Shattock who joined First Church, Salem, 2 July 1641. When the earlier wife died and the second marriage took place are unknown, but Damaris died on 28 Nov 1674, a month before Thomas(1) Gardner died in 29 Dec 1675. Thomas(1) Gardner's name appears fifteenth on the covenant of First Church, signed 6 of 6th month 1629, and a woman named Margaret Gardener is the next member of the family to join on "1639-24-1" [24 Mar 1639/40?]. On "15-10" in the same year, in any case later than the date of Margaret's admission, the name of Tho. Gardener Junyr appears. Though he was by this year certainly old enough to be married, and it is possible that Margaret was his wife, the baptisms of his children do not start until 28 Jan. 1643/4, so I am inclined to agree with Dr. Gardner and Mr. Moriarty that Margaret was actually the name of the earlier wife of Thomas(1) Gardner."
If it is proven that Thomas Gardner's first wife was Margaret Frier, then Margaret Unknown should be merged into this profile.
Immigration:
1624
Cape Ann(e) Colony, Massachusetts, USA.
EditNotes
Also, see Edit Notes at Thomas Gardner. As well, we will expand this Edit Notes section for Margaret as we go along. This section will disappear after Profile work is accomplished. However, we will have notes appended to Research Notes with respect to pending research and updates.
Supporting material
Starting with proposed parents for Margaret - Marriage of Walter Friar and Grace Mullins. His will (1610) mentions Margaret among his children. This was before the Gardner marriage (unfortunately). However, someone saw the Thomas and Margaret connection 200 years ago (which New England researchers heard about).
See Sherborne focus page for a list of the images (currently, snips/snaps, soon the whole image) that will support the coming changes.
Pending changes
Like we will do with respect to pending changes at the Thomas Gardner page, we will itemize pending changes here.
For each of those snaps on the right side (above) that were taken from images at Sherborne's repository, there is the full picture. These were retrieved from ancestry.com (we need to get the reference address). My ancestry account does not, currently, have access to their images (will turn it on - unless someone looks for these and gets the URL). We do not want to make a copy here.
A Genealogy of the descendants of Richard Porter, who settled at Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1635, and allied families : also, some account of the descendants of John Porter, who settled at Hingham, Massachusetts, 1635, and Salem, (Danvers) Massac File
Sources
↑ Dorset History Centre; Dorchester, England; Dorset Parish Registers. 1598 June 25 Margaret Friar bapts (Ancestry has her indexed for some reason as Margaret Lalane)
Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins...," Boston, MA: NEHGS 1995
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35748602/margaret-gardner : accessed 05 November 2021), memorial page for Margaret Frier Gardner (25 Jun 1598–unknown), Find A Grave: Memorial #35748602; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703) Unknown. (No tombstone, no burial info; cites Anderson's Great Migration Begins.)
"Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:943B-S7M : accessed 16 October 2018), entry for Margaret Fryer; file (2:2:2:MM9R-SW5), submitted 19 June 2003 by rwylie2770211 [identity withheld for privacy].
Walter Friar looks a good candidate for father. He left a will but it’s 1610 so to early to name a husband.
Walteri died in about 1610 in Sherborne, Dorset, England. Their will passed probate on 10 November 1610.<ref>
Will:
"England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 116
*A* Margaret Gardner joined the church in 1639/40. She's not identified as Thomas' wife, so I think it would be an assumption that she's the same person. We really only know that she was still living in Oct 1636.
Fryer-892 and Frier-125 appear to represent the same person because: clearly intended to be the same person; see G2G post re: probable parentage. Please merge.
The alleged mother Elizabeth died in 1685. I she were really old say b. 1585, she would not be old enough to have this daughter b. 1598. Savage "speculated" that Margaret might be Thomas' sister, which is at least logical, although still speculation. I am highly in favor of disconnecting from these parents.
We do not know Margaret's death date, at this time. Findagrave ought to point back to this WikiTree work for the couple. I put in a suggestion to that effect to the FAG record keeper. Thank you.
I am wondering if John Gardner of Hingham is the John born in Sherborne, Dorset in December of 1624. After looking a little further, I will start a G2G.
Frier-172 and Frier-125 appear to represent the same person because: These two profiles represent the possible first wife of Thomas Gardner-159. Until more evidence is provided it's too early to merge the wife currently attached to him with Frier-125. Please merge these two so that if it is determined she was the first wife, there's only one profile here representing her. Thanks!
This week's featured connections gave
Famous Speeches:
Margaret is
12 degrees from Abraham Lincoln, 11 degrees from Winston Churchill, 19 degrees from Charles de Gaulle, 16 degrees from Vida Goldstein, 12 degrees from Patrick Henry, 15 degrees from John Kennedy, 16 degrees from Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt Nez Perce, 13 degrees from Louis Riel, 11 degrees from Eleanor Roosevelt, 16 degrees from Sojourner Truth, 21 degrees from Richard von Weizsäcker and 14 degrees from William Wilberforce
on our single family tree.
Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
Walteri died in about 1610 in Sherborne, Dorset, England. Their will passed probate on 10 November 1610.<ref> Will: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 116
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5111 #864805 (accessed 2 July 2024)
Will of Walteri Friar, granted probate on 10 Nov 1610. Died about 1610 in Sherborne, Dorset, England. </ref>
https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1129202/editing-margarets-pas
edited by Cheryl (Aldrich) Skordahl
We have a better alternative that needs a little more scrutiny.
edited by John M. Switlik
The will of Walter Friar (image attached here) does have a Thomas as his son.
Margaret is mentioned, as well, but this is before the marriage to Thomas Gardner.
Changes are pending. Walter and Grace have more pull. There is a will, albeit before the Thomas Gardner marriage.
"Also removed as suggested parents Thomas Friar and Elizabeth Merritt"
And yet, those people are currently linked as her parents?
Which is it?
Thanks!
https://wikitree.sdms.si/function/WTStatus/Status.htm?ErrID=576&UserID1=20534987&UserID2=35748684
Should all of the children of Thomas Gardner-159 be detached from his second wife, Margaret ___?
I am wondering if John Gardner of Hingham is the John born in Sherborne, Dorset in December of 1624. After looking a little further, I will start a G2G.
28 Thomas Gardiner et Margarete Frier nuptia Dorset History Centre; Dorchester, England; Dorset Parish Registers; Sherborne combined register, Reference: PE/SH:RE1/1
There are Friers, in the town prior to this but didn't spot a Margaret
found. 1598 June 25 Margaret Friar bapts (Ancestry has her indexed for some reason as Margaret Lalane) same ref as above.
She is unlikely to have a mother born in Sussex
Also, what is the "LRD" notation in her name?
And... can we find better sources? (There seem to be several on the profile of her husband.)
Thanks!