Mary (Head) Lightfoot (abt. 1703 - 1732)

Born about 1703 in County Cork, Ireland

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Lightfoot — married 30 Jul 1725 in New Garden Township, Chester, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 20 Aug 1732 at about age 29 in Pikeland, Chester, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Mary was a Friend (Quaker)

Mary Head was a Quaker, born in Ireland to Quaker parents Sarah (Abbott) Head (abt.1673-1724) and Benjamin Head (abt.1675-). She was probably born between 1701/2 when her parents married and 1705, when the birth of a sibling is recorded on her parents' Quaker family list. (See their profiles.)

The family removed to Pennsylvania, where they were received in the Quaker meeting on 11m 28 1716 (28 January 1717). ^[1] They brought removal certificates from Cork and Charleville dated 1715.

Her father died in 1721. ^[2] His will left all his assets to his wife Sarah, who was also his sole executor. He provided for £50 for his daughter Mary on her marriage, provided that it was with her mother's consent.

Her mother died in 1724, ^[3] apparently intestate, as the probate file only contains an inventory, listing her assets at £869 15s 4d.

Mary herself married in 1725, to Samuel Lightfoot, also a Quaker.^[1][4]

Samuel Lightfoot marriage to Mary Head

She was reported to be 21 when she married. She and her husband settled in Pikeland Township and had four children,^[4] the first of whom, Benjamin, may have been named after her father and the third, Samuel Abbott Lightfoot, after her maternal grandfather.

Mary died on 20 August 1732, leaving four children under the age of six.^[4]

Research Notes

Mary's parents were members of the Charleville Quaker meeting in county Cork, the records of which have not been digitised by FindmyPast. She appears in very few publicly available records, the first of which is her father's will.^[2] Her marriage certificate is available in a published book (and is attached as an image). Other records of her life can be found in the Lightfoot Papers and are cited by Fetters.^[4]

Her date of birth, in the gap between her parents' marriage in 1701/2 and the first child on the family list produced for them by the Limerick meeting in 1705, is confirmed by Fetters's statement that she was 21 when she married in 1725.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Myers, A C, Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750, the author, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 1902 p 304 (emigration) & p 339 (marriage) (https://archive.org/details/immigrationofiri00myer/page/303/mode/1up?view=theater&q=Head : accessed 22 February 2024_.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993"
   Estate Papers, 1713-1810; Author: Chester County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Chester, Pennsylvania
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 8802 #1443870 (accessed 22 February 2024)
   Will of Benjamin Head of Chester, Cherster, Pensilvenia, America, granted probate on 14 Sep 1721.
3. ↑ "Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S., Estate Papers, 1714-1838"
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5327 #8372 (accessed 22 February 2024)
   Sarah Head probate in 1724.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Fetters, W. B., Six Columbiana County, Ohio, pioneer families, The author, Bowie, Maryland :, c1991-2003, v 5, pedigree chart image 4, Chapter VII 'The Lightfoot and Wiley Families' pp 264- 304 (notes pp 648-655) (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/492279/?offset=0#page=4&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q= : accessed 16 Feburary 2024)