John Bristol - John Bristol's wives and children

John had a son John b. 1706 by Mercy Mansfield.

By his first wife named Mehitabel UNK he had 3 children: John b 1686 dy, Mehitabel b 1688 dy, and Joseph b 1689.

John's will , 1734, names only son John b 1706.

Mercy's will names Joseph b 1689 .and John b 1706. The large span between Joseph's and John's birthdays is usually enough to convince dedicated genealogists that Mehitabel died when Joseph was born and sometime before 1706 John b 1659 married 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, Mercy Mansfield. Only John's children and grandchildren used the name Mehitabel. The name Jackson presents an unsolved difficulty. Sarah Bourne md John Jackson but could not have been Mehitabel Jackson's mother. She probably was the mother of one or more Smith children who intermarried with Bristols. They were all members of Davenport's church.

Savage was conflicted about John b 1706 and suggested that John b 1686, if he lived, may have been the father of John b 1706. This is of no concern to Descendants of Joseph because we know from the above that Mercy Mansfield was not his birth mother.
Joseph would have been 17 years old when John b 1706 was born. Such long gaps in years between births almost always mean a 2nd wife for the later birth.

For many years it was thought that Joseph's grandson, John, Jr had all his children by his 2nd wife, but the records show that he married the 2nd wife after his first child, Daniel, was born. See other discussions about this elsewhere.

The incorporated Bristol Family Association has held that Joseph was the son of John and Mehitabel UNK and won't budge without legitimate proof--no speculation accepted.

Genealogy is not an internet game.

John E Bristol