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Who was Mercy, the 2nd wife of Elijah Crandall?

Crandall, John Crandall of Rhode Island (1949)^[1]: 58, 227 Elijah Crandall, says:

227 ELIJAH CRANDALL of Westerly, R.I., son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Crandall) Crandall, b. 17 Jan. 1747 in Westerly, R.I.; d. abt. 1820; m. 1st 20 May 1768 in Westerly, R.I. by Rev. Thomas Ross, Eunice Braughton, d. 1774-7; m. 2nd 18 July 1779 in Westerly, R.I. Mercy Kenyon, dau. of James Kenyon.

It's not clear who the author of John Crandall of Rhode Island thought this Mercy was, but many have believed she was Mercy Kenyon, daughter of James Kenyon and Mercy Eanos/Enos. This is wrong. That Mercy was aged about 12 on 18 Jul 1799 when Elijah Crandall, aged 31 or 32, married his 2nd wife, Mercy. The daughter of James Kenyon and Mercy Eanos/Enos appears to have married John Closson in 1784.

The family of James Kenyon and Mercy Eanos/Enos was enumerated at Charlestown in the 1774 Rhode Island census as James Kinyon, 2 males 16+, 1 female 16+, 6 females under 16, 9 total, apparently describing a husband and wife, a son aged 16 or more, and 6 daughters aged under 16. Three years later, in his will dated 23 Dec 1777, James Kenyon named his son and six daughters as "my well beloved Children namely Alexander, Keziah, Sarah, Mary, Mercy, Anne & Penelope Kinyons".

The 1774 enumeration shows that Alexander was the eldest child of James Kenyon, and the apparent ages of his daughters Keziah, Mary, and Penelope demonstrate that James continued naming his children in their birth order.

The children of James Kenyon and Mercy Eanos/Enos were:

Alexander was born before 1 Jun 1758, if enumerated correctly in 1774, though Kenyon, American Kenyons (1935) says Oct 1758.

Keziah (Kenyon) Perkins was married c.1778 as her eldest child was born in 1779. If enumerated correctly in 1774, she was born after 1 Jun 1758, so it seems reasonable that she was born c.1760, and married aged about 18.

Sarah has not been further identified after being named in her father's will. She was born say 1762.

Mary (Kenyon) Larkin is buried at Larkin-Kenyon Cemetery, Woodville, Richmond Twp., Washington County, Rhode Island where the inscription says she died 24 Sep 1830 aged 65 (calc. b. Sep 1764–Sep 1765). She married Roger Larkin 21 Jan 1790 when she would have been aged about 25.

Mercy (Kenyon) Closson was described in the 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840 censuses as born between 1765 and 1770, and in the 1850 census as aged 80 (calc. b. 1769 or 1770). She and John Closson are said to have married 11 Mar 1784. But, if that marriage date and her age in the 1850 census are both correct, she would have been aged 14 when she married. She could have been 2 or 3 years older than the 1850 census reports, born say c.1767, and/or she could have been married about a year later, or both.

Anne has not been further identified after being named in her father's will. She was born say 1769.

Finally, Penelope (Kenyon) Enos/Eanos was married 13 Jan 1791, suggesting she was born c.1771.

Footnotes

1. ↑ John Cortland Crandall, Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants, (New Woodstock, N.Y.: the author, c1949), http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=13315