Martha Cory

Not the same as Martha Parkhurst

Parents

Martha was the daughter of John Denham and Mary Gano. [1]

Birth

She was the eldest of three daughters and was probably born in Newtown, New York, from a reading of the source material referenced. They also had four sons, born in 1700, 1702, 1704 and 1706/7. Since John Denham died in 1713, Mary was born before 1713.[1]

Marriage

She married John Cory, son of John Cory & Priscilla Osborne, in 1733. The family moved first to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, but soon moved on to Westfield. He was one of the elders of the Presbyterian church there. He and Martha are both buried in the churchyard there.[1]

Children

[1]

Hannah
John
Jacob
Sarah
Phebe
David
Abram [sic: Abner]
Rachel

The Will of John Cory bears date of Oct. 29, 1765 proved Aug. 26 1768. He willed the 63 acre farm to his son David, mentions wife Martha, sons, John (eldest) Jacob, Abner, David, brother Elnathon, Father John Cory (deceased), daughters Hannah, Phebe, Sarah, and Rachel. Executors sons Jacob and Abner.

Martha's will was proved 5 March 1778, Liber 18, page 681. Executor: Son Abner Cory and son-in-law Benjamin Scudder. (Cory's of America Ancestors and Descendants" Second Edition, Vo. I, Pg 13; Compiled by Al Bertus Cory)

The inscription on Martha's tombstone reads "Here lieth the body of Martha, wife of Mr. John Cory(,) who departed this life Sept ye 24, 1777 in the 71st yrar of her life." She was buried next to her husband.

Notes

From Martha Denman Cory we have one Huguenot, and two interesting Dutch descents. She was the dau. of John Denman, 2nd, son of John, the pregenitor of that family in America. …

John Denman, 2nd, came from Southampton, L. I. It is recorded of him: "John Denman treated with three Indian chiefs for New Town, L. I." dated Oct. 3rd, 1662. He died there 1713. He married Mary Gennung (Guinon), dau. of Jeremiah, son of Jean Guinon, a French Huguenot living in Flushing, L. I. After the death of John Denman, 1713, his family sold all their property in Long Island and moved to New Jersey. For one of their plots of land they received £350. Their dau. Martha married John Cory in 1738. She was born 1706. They settled in Elizabethtown and the family gave £350 toward the erection of St. John's Episcopal Church there. Their home was in Westfield, that part now Cranford. The homestead still stands to-day and in the possession of a Denman, remarkable as one of the few places showing a clear title for over 250 years, a mortgage never having been placed upon it. All the children and grandchildren were baptized in St. John's Episcopal Church, in Elizabeth. They were all members of that Church until the Revolution when it was closed and they then attended the Presbyterian Church. There were two slaves in the family, Ann and Jude, the former 45 years in their service, and the latter, 60 years. Both are buried in the burial plot, in Elizabeth, with the members of the Denman family.

The Denmans are recorded as a family of wealth and culture for that time and possessed of many luxuries. John Denman's "Bokes and riding chair," are mentioned in the inventory of his effects. They always kept a pew in the Presbyterian Church and entertained all Ministers who came to preach in the "Olde Log Schoole Hous," where services were first held.

Source: “Some Chronicles of the Cory Family Relating to Eliakim and Sarah Sayre Cory ... By Harriet Cory Dickinson. < GoogleBooks >

Source: Windecker, Gross and allied families. Page 61-62. < AncestryImage >

Will

Source: Ancestry.com. New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Volume XXXIV, Abstracts of Wills, 1771-1780 Page 109. < AncestrySharing >

References

• Denman Family History, p. 11
• "Some Chronicles of the Cory Family" by Harriet C. Dickinson (pp. 17-18)
• Calendar of New Jersey wills, administrations, etc. ser.1 v.33 1928 (p. 92, John Cory will abstract)
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Denman-12 cites
  • Denman Family History: From the Earliest Authentic Records Down to the Present Time. Compiled by Mrs. Harriet N. Harris. 1913. The Glendale News, Glendale, California. Pages 10-12. < Archive.Org >
• Some Chronicles of the Cory Family Relating to Eliakim and Sarah Sayre Cory ... By Harriet Cory Dickinson. < GoogleBooks >; page 87 < GoogleBooks >
• Windecker, Gross and allied families: Corey. (1943) Page 61< AncestrySharing >; page 62 < AncestrySharing >
• Martha Cory in New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 < AncestrySharing > Name Martha Cory Residence Date 1773 Residence Place New Jersey, USA Death Place Elizabeth, Essex Will Date 29 Apr 1773 Probate Date 5 Mar 1778 Household Members 2
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19163989/john-cory
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19163988/martha-cory (shows Martha, daughter of Benjamin Parkhurst of Westfield, NJ.)