Martha Runyon (abt. 1740)

Born about 1740 in Middlesex County, New Jersey

Ancestors

Wife of Freeman Roberds — married 20 Oct 1768 in Monmouth, New Jersey

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile manager: David Roberds [send private message]

Biography

Martha Runyon married Freeman Roberts on Oct 20th, 1768 ^[1]. From that, it's believed that Martha was born about 1740.

Martha was not mentioned in Freeman's warrant of Appraisement, probate date 12 Nov 1804^[2], so it's generally assumed that she had already passed away.

Were Phebe and Phineas identical twins even though they were female and male? "In 99.9% of cases boy/girl twins are non-identical. However, in some extremely rare cases resulting from a genetic mutation, identical twins from an egg and sperm which began as male (XY) can develop into a male / female pair."

Phebe had a daughter, Martha (Jacks) Adamson who had a daughter, Emma Ella (Adamson) Davenport who had twin sons, John and Joseph Davenport.

There is speculation supported by a DNA connection that Freeman Roberds may have married 2nd to Martha Wood, daughter of Johannah (Daniels) Wood who was daughter of Mary (Potts) Daniels who had twin sons, Noah and Jonathan Daniels. And Mary (Potts) Daniels was daughter of Rebecca (Avery) Potts who had twin daughters, Abigail and Hannah Potts.

"Are twins hereditary? Yes, some types of twins are hereditary, meaning that twins run in families. Heredity on the mother's side ups a couple's odds of conceiving fraternal twins. Fraternal twins are two babies from two different eggs that were released from the ovaries simultaneously."

Freeman Roberds and Martha Runyon had son Joseph Roberds born 4 Feb 1766. The next child, Benjamin Roberds was born 1775, nine years later! Martha Runyon may have died in Bucks County before 1775 and Freeman Roberds may have married 2nd to Martha Wood. The Roberds Bible has recorded birth of "Thomas Roberts son of Freeman Roberts and Martha his wife was born the 13th of the 4th month 1780." The Bible record does not have Martha's maiden name. This is unusual since there is a New Jersey marriage record with Freeman Roberds and Martha Runyon. I was told that a descendant of this Thomas Roberds born 1780 has a DNA match through Martha Wood with a descendant of her sister, Mary (Wood) Parmer.

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Records, 1683-1802 [database on-line], Volume XXII, image 480, for Martha Runyon. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: New Jersey State Archives. New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series. Trenton, New Jersey: John L Murphy Publishing Company.
2. ↑ Miscellaneous Probate Records, 1777-1866, Index, 1777-1961; Author: South Carolina. Probate Court (Union County); Probate Place: Union, South Carolina. Ancestry.com. South Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980 [database on-line], Box 4, Packages 1-53, image 123, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

• New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKMZ-JTR : 17 October 2017), Freeman Roberts and Martha Runyon, 20 Oct 1768; citing Monmouth, New Jersey, United States, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton; FHL microfilm 802,940.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between David Roberds and Debbie3c his sixth cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their 5th-great grandparents, Joseph Runyon and Hannah Stout. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 5th-8th Cousins, based on sharing 12 cM across 1 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between David Roberds and nitajones82 his fifth cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their 4th-great grandparents, Freeman Roberds and Martha Runyon. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 4th-6th Cousins, based on sharing 27 cM across 2 segments.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between David Roberds and Tamara Jones his fifth cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their 4th-great grandparents, Freeman Roberds and Martha Runyon. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 4th-6th Cousins, based on sharing 43 cM across 2 segments.