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It is this John Rickard who became known as "Deacon John Rickard" in early Plymouth Colony records. He should not be confused with John Rickard who was born five years later on November 24, 1657, son of John Rickard, Sr. and Hester (Barnes) Rickard. The other John Rickard was often called "John Rickard, son of John Rickard" or "John Rickard Jr." To distinguish the two men, records referred to this John Rickard as "John Rickard, son of Giles Rickard" or "John Rickard Sr." It was the other John Rickard, "son of John Rickard," who married Mary Cooke, not the subject of this profile. Many earlier genealogies and family trees have confused these two contemporary men whose names were homonyms and who were also first cousins.
This John Rickard was the second son of Giles Rickard, Jr. and his wife Hannah (Dunham) Rickard. He was born in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, New England, on September 16, 1652.[1][2]
The children of John Rickard, Sr., are logged in records of the town of Plymouth, which give their mother's name as Mary.[3] Mary's identity is uncertain. Records indicate that Mary Cooke married John Rickard in about 1678, but both John Rickard Sr. and his cousin John Rickard Jr. had wives named Mary, and there has been some uncertainty as to which cousin Mary Cooke married. In an article entitled "Which John Rickard married Mary Cooke?" in the August 1983 Mayflower Quarterly, Eugene Stratton presented evidence that Mary Cooke's husband was John the son of John (i.e., John Rickard Jr.). This conclusion is based in part on a comparison of signatures. The will of John Rickard, son of Giles, is missing from its envelope at the Register of Deeds, but Stratton identified an earlier document that carries this man's signature. In 1714 he signed a document as administrator for the estate of his unmarried sister, Mercy Rickard. The signature is distinctly different from two other surviving signatures of "John Rickard," the signature on the will of the John Rickard who died in 1712 (who could not have signed a document in 1714) and the signature of John Rickard on a 1701 guardianship document for Josiah Doty. The similarity of the latter two signatures identifies them as belonging to the same man, and because the orphan Josiah Doty was the son of Mary Cooke's sister Elizabeth, there is a good basis for identifying the John Rickard who adopted Josiah Doty as the John Rickard who was married to Mary Cooke. Thus, this man (John Rickard, son of Giles) is not the John Rickard who married Mary Cooke.[4]
It has long been conjectured that the wife of John Rickard Sr. (this man) was Mary Snow, daughter of William Snow and his wife Rebecca Brown.[5] Although it is not proven by marriage records or other sources, this identification is reasonably likely, considering that Mary Snow survived to a mature adulthood (she was still living and apparently was married as of 1699 when her father made his will), and records indicate several other connections between the two families. Robert Wakefield quoted Shaw's Families of the Pilgrims: Peter Brown as stating that Mary Snow "probably married John Rickard, but conclusive proof has not been discovered." Wakefield speculated that "this opinion is apparently based on the fact that Mary's sisters Hannah and Rebecca married Giles and Samuel Rickard" (brothers of John Rickard). He stated, "While possible, this assumption is not accepted by by the Mayflower Society."[6] Mary Snow is identified here as John Rickard's wife.
John Rickard may have had an earlier wife. Torrey indicates a marriage to Hester Dunham "by 1677,"[7] and the Dunham Genealogy similarly indicates a marriage to "Hester D.",[1] but no records have been found that mention this woman.
Children of John Rickard, Sr., and Mary Snow recorded on Plymouth town records were:[8]
The Plymouth Church Records also list the baptisms in 1686 of Eliezer, an infant son who died that same week,[14] and in 1690 of Patience, "daughter of John & Mary Rickard senior".[15]
Deacon John Rickard, son of Giles Rickard, died in Plympton, Massachusetts, on October 11, 1726, "in his 74th year."[16]
His will is dated 27 September 1726 in Plympton and proved on 12 January 1726/27. He mentions his wife (but does name her), and his children, John, Joseph, Mary Eddy, Lydia Tilson, Mercy Tilson, Joanna Donham, Rebeckah Platt, and his grandchildren, Mary Rickard, wife of Giles Rickard, Samuel Ransome, James Rickard, John Rickard (son to Joseph Rickard), Joseph Rickard (son to Joseph Rickard), and Deborah Rickard (daughter to Joseph). His inventory was taken on 21 November 1726 in Plympton.[17]
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edited by Lizzie (Pejsa) Hill
Mary Snow married Samuel Rickard on 31 Dec 1689 in Plymouth. Their children were named Rebeckah, Hannah, Samuel, Bethyah, Henry, Mary, Elkanah, Mehetebell, and Eleazer. Only Hannah, Samuel, Mehetebell, and Eleazer have recorded descendants.
Mary Snow needs to be disconnected from husband John and the subsequent children. The sources listed are about John Rickard and his children or unsourced family trees.
I hesitate to change the profile because it's a Mayflower family, but this is just wrong and confusing. People are being connected to a Mayflower ancestor incorrectly. Please correct.
The current consensus seems to be that the man who married Mary Cooke is Rickard-98, who died in 1712. The short explanations on these pages of the rationale for this conclusion don't come close to explaining all of the analysis that's been done.
I was surprised by your citation to a familysearch record that names Mary Cook as the mother of Joanna (one of the names that is found in only one of the two families, since no one has previously reported the existence of such a record, but I find that the citation https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F457-YYW is only a index record, not supported by an image or other details to verify that this is a real record.
You also supplied citation https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHDG-JPJ -- a record for the birth of Elisha Whiton in Hingham in 1706. That has an image of the page (an impressive document that I've not seen before), but I can't figure out what evidence it gives for the "which John married Mary?" question. (Did you intend to cite a different page?)
Please don't change the wives and parents on these profiles. A great deal of work went into getting them sorted out properly.
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database and images(FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHDG-JPJ : 13 July 2016)); Joannah Rickard, 22 Sep 1691; citing Birth, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 416,334. Should Joannah be relinked to Richard-98?
Meanwhile, Torrey also has "RICKARD, John & Mary [?COOKE]/SNOW (-1715+), ca 1677 1676?; Plymouth," suggesting that he combined the 2 marriages of the Johns.
There were several different John Rickards in and near Plymouth at the same time. John Rickard and his wife Hester Barnes had a son John Rickard, born in the 1650s (specifically 1657), who is represented by Rickard-98. Giles Rickard Jr. and his wife Hannah Dunham also had a son John born in the 1650s (specifically 1652), who is represented by Rickard-445. Both of these cousins had wives named Mary and both had at least one son named John.
The situation is confusing; sources don't agree on who goes with which dates, wives, etc.; records often identified them by descriptors like "John son of John" and "daughter of John, deceased."