Dorothy (Pray) Thayer (bef. 1634 - 1705)

Born before 26 Oct 1634 in Frant, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Wife of Richard Thayer III — married 24 Dec 1651 in Braintree, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 11 Dec 1705 after age 71 in Braintree, Suffolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Dorothy Pray, daughter of Quinton Pray and Joan (Valliance) Pray, was baptized in Frant, Sussex, England on October 26, 1634.^[1] Her birth about 1634 is confirmed by her deposition in September 1650 (transcribed below) in which she stated that she was about sixteen years old.^[2]

Immigration; Settlement in Lynn and Braintree

Dorothy probably immigrated to New England with her family sometime in 1643-1648. They appear to have originally settled at Lynn, Massachusetts Bay Colony by 1648 and then moved sometime after that date to Braintree.^[3]

Deposition Against John Bond

In connection with a slander suit by John Bond against John Hardman, Dorothy gave the following deposition in 1650 regarding John Bond:

Dorothy Prey, aged about sixteen years, deposed that last winter she saw Jno, Bond come to Jno. Herdman's and he had drunk too much wine or beer, so he could not sit upon his stool. He confessed that he was overcome with drink. He was fined ten shillings. She also deposed that Bond, at Hardman's house last Lord's day seven-night, took her in his arms out of the kitchen into another room on the same floor. She bade him let her alone and hung to one of the doorposts, called for goodwife Loofe; but he carried her forcibly into the room and shut the door. There was a short ladder, of about four or five rounds, that went up into the room overhead, and she ran up the ladder, the boards not being laid on the upper floors, she went down into the room from which she was taken. Here she met Jno. Hardman coming into the house, and he said to Jno. Bond, "this must not bee soe on a Lord's day." She further deposed that she heard of Bond's miscarriages toward the wife of Thomas Higgins.^[2]

Marriage and Children

Dorothy married Richard Thayer on December 24, 1651 in Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[4][5][6]

Dorothy and Richard had the following children, all born in Braintree:

1. Dorothy, b. b. August 30, 1653^[7][8][6]
2. Richard, b. August 31, 1655, m. July 16, 1679 in Braintree, d. December 4, 1705 in Braintree
3. Nathaniel, b. January 1, 1658,^[8][6] m. Hannah Hayden^[6]
4. Cornelius, b. September 18, 1670,^[9][8][6] m. Abigail Hayden^[6]

No reliable sources have been found for their parentage of Abigail Thayer, Joannah Thayer or Sarah Thayer, although the 12-year birth gap between Nathaniel and Cornelius would permit their births.

Death

Dorothy died December 11, 1705 in Braintree.^[10][5][8] and was buried at Elm Street Cemetery in Braintree.^[11]

^{[6] [8] [10] [9] [7] [1] [2] [4] [5]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JS5P-94M : 30 December 2014, Dorothy Pray, 26 Oct 1634); citing FRANT,SUSSEX,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,067,357.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Massachusetts Volume 1 1636-1656. Essex Institute, 1911. p 198. Link to page at archive.org.
3. ↑ See profile for Quinton Pray.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Bates, Samuel A. Records of the Town of Braintree 1640-1793. 1886. p 716. Link to page at archive.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Sprague, Waldo Chamberlain. Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Mass. 1640-1850. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001. Item. 3942R, 3943, 3944R.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6} Vinton, John Adams. The Vinton Memorial Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648. 1858. pp 355-6. Link to pages at archive.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Bates, Samuel A. Records of the Town of Braintree 1640-1793. 1886. p 634. Link to page at archive.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4} Thayer, Elisha Thayer. Family Memorial. Part I. Genealogy of Fourteen Families of the Early Settlers of New England. 1835. p 119. Link to page at archive.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Bates, Samuel A. Records of the Town of Braintree 1640-1793. 1886. p 648. Link to page at archive.org.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Bates, Samuel A. Records of the Town of Braintree 1640-1793. 1886. p 695. Link to page at archive.org.
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #60231630

See also:

• Thayer, Bezaleel. Memorial of the Thayer Name, from the Massachusetts Colony of Weymouth and Braintree, Embracing Genealogical and Biographical Sketches of Richard & Thomas Thayer and Their Descendants, from 1636-1874. 1874. p. 7. Link to page at archive.org.