Mary Howland

Birth seen as February 24, 1626 Barnstable, Plymouth Colony, Colonial America without supporting evidence. Her father Robert Lee arrived in America “by 1636.” Mary Lee married in 1651 to John Howland Jr.

Mary Lee

• Birth: about 1628, England or the Plymouth Colony
• Death: AFT 6 MAY 1693 / Bef 6 May 1697 in Barnstable, MA
• Father: Robert Lee
• Mother: Mary Atwood

Married:

1. 26 OCT 1651 in Plymouth, MA to John Howland b: 24 APR 1627 in Plymouth, MA. He was the son of John Howland & Elizabeth Tilley, passengers of the Mayflower in 1620

Children

1. Mary Howland b: ABT 1652 in Plymouth, MA. Married John Allyn.
2. Elizabeth Howland b: 17 MAY 1655 in Barnstable, MA. Married John Bursley.
3. Isaac Howland b: 25 NOV 1659 in Barnstable, MA. Married Ann Tayler.
4. Hannah Howland b: 15 MAY 1661 in Barnstable, MA. Married Jonathan Crocker.
5. Mercy Howland b: 21 JAN 1662/63 in Barnstable, MA. Married Joseph Hamblin.
6. Lydia Howland b: 9 JAN 1664/65 in Barnstable, MA. Married Jeremiah Thomas.
7. Experience Howland b: 28 JUL 1668 in Barnstable, MA. Married James Bearse.
8. Anne Howland b: 9 SEP 1670 in Barnstable, MA. Married Joseph Crocker.
9. Shubael Howland b: 30 SEP 1672 in Barnstable, MA. Married Mercy Blossom.
10. John Howland b: 31 DEC 1674 in Barnstable, MA. Married Mary Crocker.

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Notes

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lee-302

Mary Lee married John Howland on October 26, 1651, in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts[4][5][1] An annotation by Robert Bowman in his compilation of Barnstable Vital Records identified the parties to this marriage as Mary Lee, son of Robert, and John Howland, elder child of the Pilgrim.[6][3]

They had 10 children: Mary, Elizabeth, Isaac, Hannah, Mercy, Lydia, Experience, Anne, Shubael, and John. [3]

Mary died after May 22, 1693 (date John and Mary delivered deed to Justice of Peace William Bradford), in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Deed Records

Lieut. John Howland, Mary Howland, both of Barnstable, Jacob Cook, Frances Cook, both of Plymouth to Joseph Finney, of Plymouth, May 6, 1693. Acknowledged May 22, 1693 and May 6, 1697. Recorded May 14, 1705, Plymouth County. … Mary Lee, probably Mary Atwood before her marriage, died in Barnstable after 6 May 1693 the date she and her husband signed a deed, and probably before 6 May 1697 the date her husband acknowledged the deed alone.”

Birth date and location

12 September 2023

Gen’s profile notes:

Birth seen as February 24, 1626 Barnstable, Plymouth Colony, Colonial America without supporting evidence. Her father Robert Lee arrived in America about 1636. Mary Lee married in 1651 to John Howland Jr.

I don’t think there’s a birth record at all. If she married 1651, figure she was born no later than 1635, and more likely, around 1630. So that makes her born in England.

But let’s seen what the citations say.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lee-302

Mary Lee[1][2][3] was born in 1626, in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts.

1. Torrey [marriage record - doesn’t cite birth]
2. Sons of the American Revolution [submitted pedigree - disregard]
3. Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Vol 2 page 159. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.) Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3718/images/mayflo... [No birth date cited]

Let’s look at her father at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lee-43 to see if we can nail down when he emigrated and married.

Immigration

The immigration date and location of this family is not known, Anderson in the "Great Migration Directory" said only "by 1636":

Lee, Robert: Unknown; 1636; Plymouth [PCR 1:48, 12:29; MD 5:153-59, 11:32, 200-6; Emerson-Benson 338-39]. Key

Marriage and Children

Robert Lee married Mary Atwood[3] at Plymouth, Massachusetts. [Based on … ?]

Conclusion: if the first records for her parents in America is “by 1636”, it seems more likely she was born in England by 1630.

Will of John Atwood d. before Feb 1644
Names “my brother and sister Lee and their two children Ann & Mary”

Source: England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol 4. p. 173 < GoogleBooks >

References

1. Torrey said this about the union in "New England Marriages to 1700": LEE, Robert (related to John ATWOOD who m Ann) & Mary [ATWOOD] (-1681); by 1635; Plymouth[2] In 1650, Robert and Mary are mentioned in his sister Ann Attwood's will.[4]
2. Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Directory. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. p. 467.
3. New England Marriages to 1700 entry for Robert Lee and Mary Atwood (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. Vol 2. p. 936 < AmericanAncestors > by 1635; Plymouth
4. Dave Utzinger's Database (dead link) cited
   1. Title: The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 1995 Page: 1022
   2. Title: John Howland of the Mayflower, Elizabeth White, April 1993 Page: 17
5. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2V7-9W9 cites
   1. Mary Lee in the The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 < AncestrySharing > Name Mary Lee Event Type Marriage Marriage Date 26 Oct 1651 Marriage Place Plymouth, USA Spouse Name John Howland
   2. Brief 1681-82 inventory of "Mistris" Mary Lee's estate. Mary is called the mother of John Howland, who married Mary's dau. Mary Lee Howland. Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97D-V34B?cc=2018320&w... : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 598 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
6. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lee-302 cites
   1. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92008456/mary-howland : accessed 26 October 2021), memorial page for Mary Lee Howland (1630–6 May 1693), Find a Grave Memorial ID 92008456, ; Maintained by Roderick & Tetuanui Cummings Graham (contributor 47835588) Body lost or destroyed, who reports a Buried in Plymouth Massachusetts?.
   2. Torrey
   3. Sons of the American Revolution
   4. Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Vol 2 page 159. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.) Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3718/images/mayflo...
   5. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Boston:The New England Historic Genealogical Society) Vol. IX p. 313
   6. Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). Plymouth, Vol. 1, page 659. Plymouth Register of Marriages and Burials, 1651: JOHN HOWLAND married to MARY LEE 26 Oct. [1651].
   7. Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). Barnstable, Vol. 1, page 32.
   8. Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986, images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z7-LW8R?cc=2106411&w... : 22 May 2014), Plymouth County, Deed Records, 1705 - 1709 vol. 6, p. 7, image 14 of 504; Plymouth County courthouse and office, Massachusetts.
   9. Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986, images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Z7-LWFQ?cc=2106411&w... : 22 May 2014), Plymouth County, Deed Records, 1705 - 1709, Vol. 6, p. 8, image 15 of 504; Plymouth County courthouse and office, Massachusetts.
   10. Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Vol 2 page 159. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.)
   11. Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985)
   12. U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970: SAR Membership Number: 80144
   13. American Genealogical-Biographical Index, Godfrey Memorial Library, Middletown, CT, USA
7. General Society of Mayflower Descendants Membership Applications, 1620-1920. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2020). < AmericanAncestors >
8. Mistress Ann Atwood's Will. The Mayflower Descendant. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1909. Volume XI, p. 200. Available on < GoogleBooks > John Atwood’s widow, will exhibited 3 December 1654 at New Plymouth. Names brother and sister Robert and Mary Lee “and their children.” Estate to nephew William Crow.