The post by Sandra is copied and pasted from Find-a-Grave. The statement that 'Mercy was a caretaker for her parents' grossly misrepresents Genealogies of Mayflower Families (1985). In fact, she was cared for by her parents because she was too feeble in body and mind to care for herself. The article summarized research by Maclean McLean that proved Mercy Nye was unmarried as of 1704 and 1713. He cited a 9 Jun 1704 conveyance from her father, Banjamin Nye, in which the grantor gives all of his lands, mills and appurtenances in Sandwich to his son Jonathan. This bequest was given with the restriction that Jonathan was to continue to care for, relieve and support Mercy Nye. The conveyance stated that Mercy was unable to support herself "by reason of weakness and other infirmities." Later in 1713, Jonathan Nye gave his son Jonathan substantial land provided that the son care "for my sister Mercy who is feeble in body and mind." This history does not match the wife of Mathias Ellis, who was the mother of all of his children from 1679 - 1699 and was appointed co-executor of his will on 13 Nov 1744.
Sources:
Roberts, Gary Boyd. Genealogies of the Mayflower Families. 1985, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. Vol. II, Pp. 757 - 758, Mercy Nye and Mercy, Wife of Lt. Matthias Ellis, available on Ancestry.com.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=FLHG-M...
McLean, Maclean W. Notes and Corrections, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018. Source citation: Vol. 125, page 140-141.
https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11599/140/23512777
Mary Burgess could not have been the wife of Matthias because the birth records of his children and the probate records of Mathias show his wife was named Mercy and not Mary. I have found no such marriage record for Mary Burgess on FamilySearch. It's interesting that there's a lot of literature written about Matthias Ellis, and none of them cite such a marriage record. All literature I've seen is missing a marriage record for Matthias and estimate his marriage date based on the birth of his first child.
A marriage between Mary Burgess and Matthias Ellis has been rejected by the following published sources:
Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Third Supplement to Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700. 2003, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. p. 89. Available on Ancestry.com.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=NewEng...
Note that Torrey's specifically deleted the suggestion of a marriage between Mary and Matthias as originally shown in the first edition:
Torrey, Clarence A.. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=NewEng...
A very detailed article with thorough sourcing:
Brownson, Lydia B. (Phinney); McLean, Maclean W., Lt. John and Elizabeth (Freeman) Ellis of Sandwich, Mass., The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 119 (Oct 1965), p. 267-268. Available on AmericanAncestors.org.
https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11651/267/23519527
Also see:
Mathias Ellis in the Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991. Probate and Guardianship Records, 1674-1950 (Barnstable County, Massachusetts); Author: Barnstable County (Massachusetts). Register of Probate; Probate Place: Barnstable, Massachusetts.
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=USProb...
Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch : 3 November 2017, Mehitable Ellis, 05 Nov 1681; citing Birth, Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 775,836.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29L-RRVQ
Some lay researches try to get around the issue of Mary having the wrong name by claiming she was also known as Mercy. This is a fallacious argument because Mary had a living sister named Mercy who survived to adulthood and married. See:
Burgess, Ebenezer. Burgess Genealogy. Memorial of the Family of Thomas and Dorothy Burgess, who were settled at Sandwich, in the Plymouth Colony, in 1637. Boston: Press of T.R. Marvin & Son, 1865. Source citation: Page 12 (image 27) Repository: Archive.org. https://archive.org/details/burgessgenealog00burggoog/page/n26
