Mary (Smythe) Brewster (abt. 1535 - abt. 1567)

Born about 1535 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England

Wife of John (Simkinson) Sympkinson — married about 1554 in England

Wife of William Brewster — married about 1565 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died about 1567 at about age 32 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England

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Biography

Mary Smythe, the daughter of William Smythe of Stainforth parish in Hatfield, sister of John Smythe of Hull, and widow of John Simkinson of Wakefield and Doncaster, was the first wife of William Brewster. ^[1] She was born around 1535 based on the estimated birth date of her youngest son.

She had two children with her first husband, John Simkinson: ^{[1] [2]}

• Dorothy Simkinson, and ^[1]
• Thomas Simkinson, who died in 1612 in Hull. ^[1]

Mary, wife of John Simkinson, was named in the 1558/9 will of her father William Smythe: "John Symkinson and Marie his wife". The will was proved 2 May 1560. ^[1] See The Will of William Smythe, elder, of Stanforth.

Mary married secondly William Brewster and they had one child:

• "Elder" William Brewster, a "Mayflower" passenger. He was born in 1566 or 1567 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England and died 10 April 1644 in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony. ^[1]

According to an undated proceeding addressed to Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (1558-1579), Mary (Smythe) Brewster and William Brewster sued Francis Hobson. She was identified as the late wife of John Symkinson, late of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England and she testified that her late husband was seized of lands in Doncaster and that he had conveyed these lands to her before he died, for the term of her life and afterward.^[3] Since the proceeding is undated, we only know that this event occurred before her death, and during the term of Sir Nicholas Bacon (1558-1579).

Mary probably died by 1567 based on the estimated birth dates of the three children of William Brewster and his second wife.
Mary was not mentioned in the 1592 will of her brother John Smythe of Hull, but he did name each of his nieces and nephews, including William and his half-brother, Thomas Simkinson, which suggests that Mary had no further children after William.^[1]

Research Notes

In 1970, John G. Hunt published an account of the family of William Brewster of Duncaster in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.^[1] This was a follow-up article to his previously published treatment of this family published in 1965 in The American Genealogist.^[2] In 2014, when the General Society of Mayflower Descendants published the latest research on Elder William Brewster, the authors called these two articles the current state of research on this topic.^[4]

The profile of Smythe-182 has been merged with this one, following the detachment of

• son Ellsworth-135 (disputed existence),
• spouse Ellsworth-167 (disputed existence) and
• mother Rawls-102 (disputed existence).

Smythe-182 was previously a conflation of Smythe-14 with a fictitious branch of the Ellsworth family. The Ellsworth profiles have now been detached, allowing the merge.

Disputed Father

According to the 2014 Edition of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants "Silver Book:"

Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and E. Virginia Hunt. William Brewster of the Mayflower: and his descendants for four generations. (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2014), p 1-2, 2014. The GSMD "Silver Book"

This book calls these two articles ***the current state of research on this topic:***

1. John G Hunt, "New Light on the Brewsters of Scrooby and New England" in The American Genealogist (Demorest, Habersham, Georgia, United States: D.L. Jacobus, 1965) Vol 41 p 1-5 link
2. John G Hunt "The Mother of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower" in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1970) Volume 124 p 250-254 link

The current consensus which is summed up in the articles above is that William Smythe of Hatfield, Yorkshire, England whose will was proved will 25 Jan 1558 Proved 2 May 1560 only had one known wife Catherine and a second unknown wife. He had only one daughter Mary who married first to John Simkinson and second to William Brewster. She did not marry David (Ellsworth) Ayelsworth.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Hunt, John G. "The Mother of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 124 (Oct 1970) pages 250-254. (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-present). Online with subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Hunt, John G., "New Light on the Brewsters of Scrooby and New England" in The American Genealogist. Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan 1965) pages 1-5. (New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-). Online with subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
3. ↑ "2. Gt. Brit. Public Record Office, ref. C 2 Eliz. B 31/1. "Bill of Complaint by William Bruester and Mary his wife"
4. ↑ Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and E. Virginia Hunt. William Brewster of the Mayflower and his Descendants for Four Generations. (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2014), pages 1-2. The GSMD "Silver Book" (not available online).