Mary (Walker) Ayers (abt. 1660 - 1739)

Born about 2 Mar 1660 in Woodbridge, Middlesex, Province of New Jersey [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 24 Oct 1739 at about age 79 in Basking Ridge, Somerset, Province of New Jersey [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Steve Turley [send private message]

Disputed Origins

In the Mayflower Quarterly 50:31-40 "Robert C. Anderson presents arguments why Elizabeth (Soule) Walker only had one legitimate child, the son Isaac ... MF 3 (1980):33-36 errs in listing Francis Walker, Mary Walker, and Patience Walker as children of Elizabeth Soule."^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Mary was born on 2 Mar 1660 in Woodbridge, New Jersey.^[3] Frances Walker and Elizabeth Soule are no longer accepted as parents of Mary. 2 Mar 1660 Woodbridge, belonged to the previously accepted Mary Walker.

She married John Ayers on 24 Feb 1689.^[4] She was the mother of at least 9 children:

1. John Ayers ^[4]
2. Thomas Ayers^[4]
3. Obadiah Ayers^[4]
4. Patience Ayers^[4]
5. Francis Ayers^[4]
6. Nathaniel Ayers^[4]
7. Benjamin Ayers^[4]
8. Moses Ayers^[4]
9. Aaron Ayers^[4]

Mary died at Basking Ridge, New Jersey, on 24 Oct 1739.^[3][5]

Did she really die 24 Oct 1739?

From: Ayers, Charles H. Ancestors of Silas Ayers and Mary Byram Ayers : including the Alden, Ayers and Byram families

"A tombstone which is back of and partly under the Presbyterian Church at Basking Ridge has this inscription:

• "Here lies ye body of John Ayers Esq. who departed this life October ye 4th 1732 in ye 69th year of his age.
• "Near the stone is one inscribed to Mary, his wife, who died October 4 1739 in the 76th sixth year of her age."^[5]

From: A transcription done in 1909 before the stones at the cemetery were removed. Basking Ridge Presbyterian Churchyard Inscriptions SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ. Somerset County New Jersey Gen Web. Their source: Somerset County Historical Quarterly, 1912, Volume One, pages 123-128 and 214-219.

• Ayers, John, Esq., d. Oct. 4, 1759, in 69th yr.
• Ayers, Mary (relict of John), d. Oct. 24, 1759, in 76th yr.

The dates Oct 4 and Oct 24 match, too much coincidence, one set of years is incorrect. The ancestors of Silas Ayers couple were born about 1663. The couple from the 1909 transcription were born about 1683.

Look at the dates on John Jr and his wife Mary. They contain the transcript dates. These stones still exist see Find A Grave: Memorial #71184445 and Find A Grave: Memorial #48521805

Conclusion: This Mary did not died 24 Oct 1739. Her husband did not died 4 Oct 1732.

Sources

1. ↑ George Soule of the Mayflower and his Descendants for Four Generations. Originally compiled by John E. Soule and Milton E. Terry. Revised by Louise Walsh Throop. Mayflower Families in Progress. Seventh Edition. Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2015.
2. ↑ MF 3 (1980) = Soule, John E., and Milton E. Terry. "Myflower Families Through Five Generations. George Soule." Published by the Genl. Soc. of Mayflower Desc. 1980
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Find a grave 27630136 Mary Ayers This has no photo of headstone. Old graves were moved.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9} Treman, Ebenezar M., The History of the Treman, Tremaine, Truman family in America. Page 976. Ithaca, N.Y.: Press of the Ithaca Democrat, c. 1901 Accessible online through Google Books
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Ayers, Charles. “Ancestors of Silas Ayers and Mary Byram Ayers : including the Alden, Ayers, and Byram families”. Forgotten Books. 2016 Reprint. (Pages not numbered)

See Also

Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived

Original cited sources include Ancestry and Family Search trees which were inaccessible at time of clean-up.