Mary Bailey

Sister of William Jeffers

Mary Sharpes assignment of a certificate for land.

• IMary Sharpe the widow of Robert Sharpe do here by assign all my right of this certificate unto [-] Thomas Broughton, witness my hand the 20th of [ ] 1655.
• Mary Sharpe her mark
• Witness - William Walker
• 21st July 1656 this assignment of Mary Sharpes [--] the certificate was recorded.

In “Bailey-Britton History and Genealogy” by T. H. Bailey of Kingsport, Tennessee (1962) there is the following statement: “In May 21, 1660*, he (Stephen Bailey) married in Northumberland County, Ann, widow of William Walker…..” The noted asterisk is “Entry by William Jeffers May 21, 1660”.

As to Walker, there is a very close family relationship over several generations. William Walker married Mary Jefers, b. 1632, widow of Sharpe. He died in c. 1656 and she married Stephen Bailey. The May 21, 1660 date is wrong. That was the date of a Northumberland Co. court hearing involving Stephen and young William Walker. They were married before then.
Walker's will and court documents make quite clear that the name was Mary, not Ann nor Mary Ann. William's son, William (II) sold Stephen Bailey land near Kinsale in 1672. He was raised by Stephen and Mary. In addition there was another son of William (I) Walker also named William who was the son of Mary Jefers. He owned land on which Stephen and Mary lived (her life estate) prior to 1672.

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jeffers-493

The maiden name of Ann [SIC: Mary] was Jeffers, not Jeffries. A Northumberland VA record dated 7 July 1656 refers to a prenuptual agreement between William Jeffers (Ann's brother) and his wife Elizabeth Austin (Fleet, p. 553). The record suggests they were already living as husband and wife prior to the marriage. Later that month (21 July 1656) at a court hearing, a Mary Laud gave testimony to a vigorous dispute that broke out between Mrs.Walker (=Ann) and her brother William Jeffers at the funeral of John Meekes in November of 1655 at Northumberland Co. VA regarding Elizabeth's moral status. Laud's testimony (Fleet, p. 562) claimed that Ann insulted her brother by accusing Elizabeth of being a fallen woman, whereas her brother defended her reputation, calling her "an honest woman" (Fleet, p. 562). In her insult, Ann referred to Elizabeth as "the Fiddler's wife", possibly an indication that Elizabeth was still married to another man. Brother William Jeffers' age in the document is given as 31 or thereabouts as of 21 July 1656 (Fleet, p. 554).
After the death of William Walker (between 1656 and 1660, Northumberland Co., VA) , Ann remarried Stephen Bailey 21 May 1660 at Northumberland Co VA (Fleet, p. 503).She had a child, William Walker Jr. by her late husband and she assumed his guardianship until her remarriage to Stephen Bailey.
Fleet (p. 553-554) refers to a court record 21 May, 1660 in which William Jeffers received custody of his sister Ann's son, William Walker Jr. But two months later, 21 July 1660, custody of William Jr. was awarded to Stephen Bailey and Ann despite William Jeffers' charge that stepfather Stephen Bailey "doth much abuse" the orphan. The court then ordered that both parties cease their "turbulent suits."
From Rootsweb :Stephen Bailey, Gloucestershire, England married Mrs. Mary Ann Jefferies Walker ("Ann"), widow of William Walker and mother of two children.

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People of early Charles County, Maryland

https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/... Page 63

William Jeffers acquired half of 600 acres on the Potomac River.

Mary Jeffers was a servant whose service period was passed upon by the court.

References

• http://forums.baileyhistory.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0716...
• Virginia Colonial Abstracts. By Beverley Fleet. Page 501. GoogleBooks Page 553 - 554. GoogleBooks
• Virginia Colonial Abstracts. By Beverley Fleet. Page 623. GoogleBooks