Mary (Sperry) Andrews (abt. 1729 - 1805)

Born about 1729 in Wildcat District, Bethel, Danbuty, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Wife of John Andrews — married before 1751 (to 1805) in Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 30 Sep 1805 at about age 76 in Bethel, Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Mary Sperry was born about 1729 to Benjamin Sperry and Mary Taylor.

In 1751, when Mary was about 22, she married John Andrews Jr (1751-1825) who was about 24. They lived in a rural area known as "Wildcat Den", which was between the town of Danbury and the growing village of Bethel in Fairfield County, Connecticut Colony.

"John Andrews, third son of Robert, sen., and Anna Olmsted, born about 1725, married Mary Sperry, daughter of Benjamin; they lived at "Wild Cat District," in Bethel, just east of the bridge, where now, 1867, Thomas B. Andrews lives. John Andrews and his wife, Mary, were members of the Congregational church in Bethel, 2nd Nov., 1784, in good standing, (so record.) She died 30th Sept., 1805, aged 76 ; he died 26th Dec, 1815, aged 90. He was a large farmer; inherited his lands from his father. ^[1]

John Andrews and Mary (Sperry) Andrews had four known children born between 1751 and 1764.

Mary died in 1805 in Bethel, and is buried in Bethel's Central Cemetery.

Research Notes

• The will of Mary's father, Benjamin Sperry. Evidence from Benjamin's will, written in 1788 and probated after his death in 1791, includes direct and affectionate reference to his daughter Mary, wife of John Andrews, as well as transfer of land to John Andrews and affectionate references in images 468 and 480. Mary's deceased sister Elizabeth, wife of Jabez Rockwell, and their children are also referenced. ^[2]

• Birth: reported by many descendants as New Haven, but looking for baptism records. By 1751 when she married, she was living east of Danbury in a rural area east of Danbury which included Grassy Plain and Wildcat District, both of which were incorporated into the parish of Bethel in 1760 when the Congregational Church was officially organized. Note that Bethel did not officially become a town until 1855. ^[3] So from 1703 to 1759, the place name should be "Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony". From 1760 to the British recognition of the United States as an independent country, the correct geographic reference would be "Bethel, Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony". Since 1783, it would be "Bethel, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States.

• The surnames of Andrews and Taylor continue to be associated with the Wildcat District east of Bethel through at least 1850.

Information on this Mary Sperry's marriage to John Andrews of Bethel (about 1725-1815), excerpted from Genealogical history of John and Mary Andrews:

"John Andrews, third son of Robert, sen., and Anna Olmsted, born about 1725, married Mary Sperry, daughter of Benjamin; they lived at "Wild Cat District," in Bethel, just east of the bridge, where now, 1867, Thomas B. Andrews lives. John Andrews and his wife, Mary, were members of the Congregational church in Bethel, 2nd Nov., 1784, in good standing, (so record.) She died 30th Sept., 1805, aged 76 ; he died 26th Dec, 1815, aged 90. He was a large farmer; inherited his lands from his father. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Andrews, Alfred. Genealogical history of John and Mary Andrews. Chicago, Ill.: A.H. Andrews & Co, 1872. * Page # *
2. ↑ Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999. Hartford Probate Packets, Smith, J-Starr, La, 1756-1880 Benjamin Sperry, Images 466 - 481. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007626597_00467?pId=260489
3. ↑ See "Genealogy of Connecticut Towns" at http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/conn/conntowns.html
4. ↑ Andrews, Alfred. Genealogical history of John and Mary Andrews. Chicago, Ill.: A.H. Andrews & Co, 1872. * Page # *

• Manual of The Congregational Church in Bethel, Conn., May 16, 1887 (Case, Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford, Conn., 1887) Page 21.