Mary Saunders

Date of birth might be 1643.

Date of death might be 1695.

Mrs. Louise Prosser Bates of Westerly, a highly educated woman and descended from Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke and William Crumb, spent years in research of original records in Westerly and left her papers by bequest to the state of RI. Unfortunately they have never been printed. The following is from her papers:

• "The first wife of Joseph Clarke (brother of Dr. John Clarke who is often called the founder of Newport, RI) was a sister of Tobias Saunders.
  • Tobias married Mary Peckham, daughter of John Peckham and Mary Clarke, sister of Joseph Clarke.
  • Tobias and Mary (Peckham) Saunders had a daughter Mercy Saunders who was the first wife of William Crumb (Daniel-1)." This statement is included in the Genealogy of the Peckham.
• Conclusive proof is found in disposition of the estate of James Peckham, son of John & Mary Peckham who died unmarried and intestate 26 Jeb 1711/2. One 25 Dec 1712, Peter & Elizabeth (Saunders) Barker were among James' heirs giving a power of attorney to Philip and William Peckham and John Taylor to sell James' realty. Elizabeth (Saunders) Babcock and her husband James Babcock appointed her brother-in-law, Peter Barker, to "receive in charge, all legacies...[from the estate of] their honored uncle James Peckham." On 19 May 1712, Edward, John, Stephen and Benjamin Saunders appointed their brother-in-law Peter Barker to transact business for them and their sister, Elizabeth. (Bristol Co. Deeds 8:70).
• Children
  • 1. Elizabeth SAUNDERS b: 1667
  • 2. John SAUNDERS b: Abt 1699 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 3. Edward SAUNDERS b: Abt 1672 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 4. Stephen SAUNDERS b: Abt 1675 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 5. Mercy SAUNDERS b: Abt 1677/1680 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 6. Benjamin SAUNDERS b: Abt 1682 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 7. Sarah SAUNDERS b: Abt 1684 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island
  • 8. Susannah SAUNDERS b: Abt 1689 in Westerly,Kings Co.,Rhode Island

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SOURCE 1: Extended Family of Mary

• Religion: Seventh-day Baptist
• Note: See article by Louise Prosser Bates in NEHGR Vol. 63, p 198 regarding the wife of Tobias Saunders.
  • Mrs. Bates in this article shows by a series of probate records that
    • Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders, was a niece of Rev. John Clarke, and that James Peckham of Little Compton, R.I. was uncle to her children.
    • She, therefore, must have been a sister of James Peckham, and her mother must have been a sister of the Rev. John Clarke.
    • Member of the Sabbatarian Church, Newport, RI, From 1671 to 1836.

SOURCE 2: General Info

• Mrs. Louise Prosser Bates of Westerly, a highly educated woman and descended from Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke and William Crumb, spent years in research of original records in Westerly and left her papers by bequest to the state of RI. Unfortunately they have never been printed. The following is from her papers:
  • "The first wife of Joseph Clarke (brother of Dr. John Clarke who is often called the founder of Newport, RI) was a sister of Tobias Saunders. Tobias married Mary Peckham, daughter of John Peckham and Mary Clarke, sister of Joseph Clarke. Tobias and Mary (Peckham) Saunders had a daughter Mercy Saunders who was the first wife of William Crumb (Daniel-1)."This statement is included in the Genealogy of the Peckham.
• Conclusive proof is found in disposition of the estate of James Peckham, son of John & Mary Peckham who died unmarried and intestate 26 Jeb 1711/2. One 25 Dec 1712, Peter & Elizabeth (Saunders) Barker were among James' heirs giving a power of attorney to Philip and William Peckham and John Taylor to sell James' realty. Elizabeth (Saunders) Babcock and her husband James Babcock appointed her brother-in-law, Peter Barker, to "receive in charge, all legacies...[from the estate of] their honored uncle James Peckham." On 19 May 1712, Edward, John, Stephen and Benjamin Saunders appointed their brother-in-law Peter Barker to transact business for them and their sister, Elizabeth. (Bristol Co. Deeds 8:70).
• Researching this line is Jean Reid, 106 Beal's Court, Tama, Iowa 52339
• Researching this line is Nancy ann Norman at exis.net

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* Confusion persists. According to The Clarke Families of Rhode Island, by George Austin Morrison,

• * the Mary Clarke who died in 1695,
  • * daughter of Joseph, son of Thomas, son of John, son of John,
    • married Tobias Saunders and bore, at least, the following children: John, Edward, Stephen, Benjamin, and Susanna.
  • A note says, "Morgan Edwards states in his History of the Baptists, that Rev.
  • William Peckham married ______ Clarke, niece of Rev. John Clarke. She must have been a daughter of Joseph, as John Clarke's other brothers had no children."
• Similarly, according to Babcock and Allied Families, by Louis Effingham De Forest, (who cites Morrison as one of his two sources),
  • Mary Clarke, daughter of Joseph, son of Thomas, son of John, son of John, "was living as late as 1695.
  • She married Tobias Saunders, probably before December 19, 1674, as a memorandum attached to the will of her uncle, Thomas Clarke, names her as one of Joseph's children living at that time, but her surname is crossed out, as though it had been changed."
  • The same source says Tobias Saunders "married before December 19, 1674. His wife, Mary Clarke, who survived him and was living as late as 1695, was named as his executrix, and received all his movable estate." This source names a son John.
• These lead me to believe that the parents of Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders (1630-1695), are not Sir John Peckham and Mary Peckham (Clarke), but Joseph Clarke and Margaret Clarke (Turner?).
• Hypothesis considered for a brief moment: Mary Saunders was born to Mary Clarke out of wedlock? Does that explain why she is sometimes Mary Clarke and sometimes Mary Peckham? "There are reasons for believing that Mary Clarke was the mother of John Peckham's daughter Mary, who married Tobias Saunders, and of his four sons, John, Thomas, William and James." (From The Peckham Genealogy, p. 207-216)
• But the later "Peckham Family," by Charles Wesley Peckham asserts matter-of-factly that Mary Clarke, daughter of Joseph Clarke, married John Peckham. Their daughter Mary middle-name-Clarke Peckham married Tobias Saunders. This means The Clarke genealogy that has so confused me, and the Babcock and Allied Families book that cites it, are just plain wrong (being off by one generation): Mary Clarke, daughter of Joseph Clarke, did NOT marry Tobias Saunders; her daughter did.

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Geni Discussion 8/8/2018: (8:58AM, 9:57) I just realized that Morrison is one of the two sources De Forest cites for his information about Tobias Saunders' wife. So that means I have not two but really just one assertion that Mary's maiden name was Clarke, not Peckham. I have just requested some Peckham research materials, so I'll see what I can find in those. Meantime, I will not yet link Mary Clarke, daughter of Joseph, as the spouse of Tobias Saunders, but I'd be delighted for others to weigh in, if you feel like you have already settled this question definitively. Sincerely, E. Paige Weston

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Find A Grave Memorial ID: 33830451

Mary Peckham Saunders

• Birth: 1642 Newport County, Rhode Island, USA
• Death: 1696 (aged 53-54) Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
• Burial: Unknown
• Born 12 Jan 1648/9 to Joseph & Alice (Fenn) Clarke in Dedham or Medfield MA.
• Died after 1695, perhaps in Westerly RI.
• Find A Grave contributor Dennis Borkman adds:
  • Her parents are most likely John and Mary (Clarke) Peckham.
  • From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 63, p. 198 "Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders, was a niece of Rev. John Clark, and that James Peckham of Little Compton was uncle to her children. She must therefore have been a sister of James Peckham, and her mother must have been a sister of Rev. John Clark. Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, must therefore have been Mary (Peckham) Saunders, and daughter of John and Mary (Clark) Peckham of Newport."
  • Mary was born about 1642 in Newport, RI.
  • Seems most likely burial is the Clark Ground same as Tobias, but no supporting info.
• Family Members:
  • Parents:
    • John Peckham 1595–1681
    • Mary Clarke Peckham 1607–1648
  • Spouse: Tobias Saunders unknown–1695 (m. 1661)
  • Children:
    • Stephen Saunders 1675–1746
    • John Saunders 1675–1748
  • Siblings: John Peckham 1645–1712
  • Half Siblings: Rebecca Peckham Spooner 1658–1699

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The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Contributor: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Publisher: The Society, 1909. page: 198

• Rev. John Clark of of Newport made his will Apr 20, 1676. Mentions his brother, Joseph Clarke, children by his first wife, and by his second wife; cousin ____ Fish, wife of Samuel Fish, and her children; his cousin Mary Saunders, wife of Tobias Saunders, and her children, etc. Inventory of estate of Peter Barker, made Dec. 9, 1725. (Westerly, R.I., Council and Probate Records, vol. 2, file 6, p. 171.)
• On May 30, 1651, Joshua Coggeshall and his mother Mary Coggeshall of Newport, sold to Walter Conigrave land in Newport bounded in part “on land granted to Mary Clark, dec. sometimes wife to John Peckham.” [The Rev. John Clark had a sister Mary born in 1607.]
• The above records show that Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders, was a niece of Rev. John Clark, and that James Peckham of Little Compton was uncle to her children. She must therefore have been a sister of James Peckham, and her mother must have been a sister of Rev. John Clark. Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, must therefore have been Mary (Peckham) Saunders, and daughter of John and Mary (Clark) Peckham of Newport.
• Mary (Peckham) Saunders must have the the only child, or the only surviving child, of John and Mary (Clarke) Peckham at the time of the death of Rev. John Clark in May, 1676, whose will would seem to indicate that he had another sister whose daughter married a Samuel Fish, and that she was the niece to whom and to whose children a legacy was left.
• Tobias and Mary (Peckham) Saunders had six children living in 1712:
  • Elizabeth, b. 1663, d. Mar 3, 1730, m. Capt. James Babcock;
  • Susannah, m. Peter Barker;
  • John
  • Edward,
  • Stephen;
  • Benjamin Saunders
• Tobias Saunders in his will speaks of his cousin (i.e. nephew) Joseph Clark. This Joseph Clark was son of Joseph Clark by his first wife whose name is unknown. Since Joseph Clark was a nephew of Tobias Saunders, his mother must have been a sister of this same Tobias, and it is possible that through this connection the origin and family of one more of the earliest of Rhode Island settlers may be discovered. Louise P Bates, AM Oak Lawn, RI

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Peckham-5

Mary Saunders formerly Peckham

• Born about 1642 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island
• Daughter of John Peckham and Mary (Clarke) Peckham
• Sister of Thomas Peckham, John Peckham, William Peckham, Stephen Peckham [half], James Peckham [half], Rebecca (Peckham) Spooner [half], Clement Peckham [half], Sarah (Peckham) Weeden [half], Elizabeth (Peckham) Taylor [half], Deborah (Peckham) Taylor [half] and Phoebe (Peckham) Gray [half]
• Wife of Tobias Saunders — married 1661 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island
• Mother of Elizabeth (Saunders) Babcock, John Saunders, Edward Saunders, Stephen Saunders, Mercy Saunders, Benjamin Saunders, Sarah Saunders and Susannah (Saunders) Wells
• Died 1695 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island

Bio

• John Peckham and Mary Clarke, were married and their marriage was blessed by their firstborn, Mary Peckham born in 1640 or 1643 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island. She grew to womanhood and was betrothed to another patriarch, Tobias Saunders in 1661 Westerly, Providence Plantations, Rhode Island about the time when Tobias was fighting for the land at Misquamicut.
• Toby and Mary's first child was Elizabeth, born in 1662 at Westerly. She came when her father was in the Boston prison fighting for the right to keep his land at Misquamicut. Tobias had paid a high price for this time of imprisonment as he was separated from his new bride for the first year of their marriage; Mary was left without her husband to protect them and without a father for her firstborn. Elizabeth blended the Saunders and Babcock families in 1685. The Babcocks were also from Newport.
• Their second child, John, was born in 1669 at Westerly. He eventually inherited the Saunders family Mouse Hill farm just north of Westerly. John married Silence Belcher in 1694, one year before his parents, Tobias and Mary, departed this earth. John's marriage to Silence brought another prominent colonial family into the fold from Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• Edward was next in line. He was born in 1672 at Westerly, and married in 1700 to Sarah from the same town. We don't know her family lineage.
• Stephen was their fourth child, born in 1675 at Westerly. Stephen would be the son whose great grandchildren brought the combined heritage to the Illinois prairies of Fulton County and Peoria County, Illinois. Stephen Saunders married Thankful Crandall, daughter of Joseph Crandall and Deborah Burdick Crandall, in 1710 at Westerly.
• Mercy was the next child of Tobias and Mary Saunders. She was born at Westerly like all of her brothers and sisters. Mercy married William Crumb in 1697, two years after Tobias and Mary Saunders died.
• Benjamin came next, born in 1682, and married Ann from Westerly, Rhode Island. We know nothing of her ancestry.
• Susannah was the baby of the family, born in 1689. She married Peter Wells, Jr. in 1727. Peter was the son of Peter Wells, Sr. of Colchester, Essex, England, and Ann Watson of Kingstowne, Rhode Island.
• It is recorded that all three of Tobias and Mary's daughters died of smallpox as adults.
• Tobias and Mary's children produced between 35 and 40 grandchildren to populate Rhode Island during the Colonial era, and many of them moved on to the Hudson River Valley in Rensselaer County in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
• Mary Peckham Saunders died in 1695 in Westerly, Providence Plantations, Rhode Island

Sources:

• From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 63, p. 198:
  • "Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders, was a niece of Rev. John Clark, and that James Peckham of Little Compton was uncle to her children. She must therefore have been a sister of James Peckham, and her mother must have been a sister of Rev. John Clark. Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, must therefore have been Mary (Peckham) Saunders, and daughter of John and Mary (Clark) Peckham of Newport."
  • Peckham Note: This information is from Vol. III, pp. 1155-1158 of Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, edited by Cuyler Reynolds (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911). It is in the Reference collection of the Schenectady County Public Library at R 929.1 R45 [1]

Notes

• There is conflicting information regarding the date of her marriage to Tobias. Torrey, "U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700", places it at 19 Dec 1674. If the above account, and the birth date for her oldest child Elizabeth, are correct, it seems that 1660 or 1661 is more likely.
• Rhode Island colony was founded on what is now commonly called Aquidneck Island, and included the settlements of Newport and Portsmouth. Providence Plantations was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence.
• In 1644, Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport united for their common independence [from Massachusetts Bay Colony] as the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. That is the official name of the State till this day.[2]
• Newport County was constituted on 22 June 1703 as one of the two original counties of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. As originally established, Newport County consisted of four towns: Portsmouth, Newport, Jamestown, and New Shoreham. In 1746-47, two towns, Little Compton and Tiverton, were acquired from Massachusetts.[3]
• Washington County, Rhode Island was created from Providence Plantations in 1729 as Kings County. It was renamed Washington County only on October 29, 1781, in honor of General and President Washington.[4]

Sources:

• 1. http://pac.sals.edu/polaris/Search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0....
• 2. Wikipedia - History of Rhode Island
• 3. Wikipedia - Newport County, Rhode Island
• 4. Wikipedia - Washington County, Rhode Island

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According to The Clarke Families of Rhode Island, by George Austin Morrison, the Mary Clarke who died in 1695, daughter of Joseph, son of Thomas, son of John, son of John, married Tobias Saunders and bore, at least, the following children: John, Edward, Stephen, Benjamin, and Susanna. A note says, "Morgan Edwards states in his History of the Baptists, that Rev. William Peckham married ______ Clarke, niece of Rev. John Clarke. She must have been a daughter of Joseph, as John Clarke's other brothers had no children."

Similarly, according to Babcock and Allied Families, by Louis Effingham De Forest (who cites Morrison as one of his two sources), Mary Clarke, daughter of Joseph, son of Thomas, son of John, son of John, "was living as late as 1695. She married Tobias Saunders, probably before December 19, 1674, as a memorandum attached to the will of her uncle, Thomas Clarke, names her as one of Joseph's children living at that time, but her surname is crossed out, as though it had been changed." The same source says Tobias Saunders "married before December 19, 1674. His wife, Mary Clarke, who survived him and was living as late as 1695, was named as his executrix, and received all his movable estate." This source names a son John.

These lead me to believe that the parents of Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders (1630-1695), are not Sir John Peckham and Mary Peckham (Clarke), but Joseph Clarke and Margaret Clarke (Turner?).

GEDCOM Note

[3026504.ged]

• Mrs. Louise Prosser Bates of Westerly, a highly educated woman and descended from Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke and William Crumb, spent years in research of original records in Westerly and left her papers by bequest to the state of RI. Unfortunately they have never been printed. The following is from her papers: "The first wife of Joseph Clarke (brother of Dr. John Clarke who is often called the founder of Newport, RI) was a sister of Tobias Saunders. Tobias married Mary Peckham, daughter of John Peckham and Mary Clarke, sister of Joseph Clarke. Tobias and Mary (Peckham) Saunders had a daughter Mercy Saunders who was the first wife of William Crumb (Daniel-1)." This statement is included in the Genealogy of the Peckham. Conclusive proof is found in disposition of the estate of James Peckham, son of John & Mary Peckham who died unmarried and intestate 26 Jeb 1711/2. One 25 Dec 1712, Peter & Elizabeth (Saunders) Barker were among James' heirs giving a power of attorney to Philip and William Peckham and John Taylor to sell James' realty. Elizabeth (Saunders) Babcock and her husband James Babcock appointed her brother-in-law, Peter Barker, to "receive in charge, all legacies...[from the estate of] their honored uncle James Peckham." On 19 May 1712, Edward, John, Stephen and Benjamin Saunders appointed their brother-in-law Peter Barker to transact business for them and their sister, Elizabeth. (Bristol Co. Deeds 8:70).
• Researching this line is Jean Reid, 106 Beal's Court, Tama, Iowa 52339 Researching this line is Nancyann Norman at exis.net In this article, Louise Prosser Bates shows, by a series of probate records, that Mary, wife of Tobias Saunders, was a niece of Rev. John Clarke, and that James Peckham of Little Compton, Rhode Island was uncle to her children. She, therefore, must have been a sister of James Peckham, and her mother must have been a sister of the Rev. John Clarke. [Research of Earl P. Crandall] "NEHGS Register"; Jane Fletcher Fiske, editor; 63:198; New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts (974.0 NEa SCGS) (F74 P41 CSL) (974.48 S41 NYSL)
• "The first wife of Joseph Clarke (brother of Dr. John Clarke who is often called the founder of Newport, Rhode Island) was a sister of Tobias Saunders. Tobias married Mary Peckham, daughter of John Peckham and Mary Clarke, sister of Joseph Clarke. Tobias and Mary (Peckham) Saunders had a daughter Mercy Saunders who was the first wife of William Crumb. " This statement is included in the Genealogy of the Peckham. Conclusive proof is found in disposition of the estate of James Peckham, son of John & Mary Peckham who died unmarried and intestate, February 26, 1711/2. On December 25, 1712, Peter & Elizabeth (Saunders) Barker were among James' heirs giving a power of attorney to Philip and William Peckham and John Taylor to sell James' realty. Elizabeth (Saunders) Babcock and her husband James Babcock appointed her brother-in-law, Peter Barker, to "receive in charge, all legacies . . . [from the estate of] their honored uncle James Peckham." On May 19, 1712, Edward, John, Stephen and Benjamin Saunders appointed their brother-in-law Peter Barker to transact business for them and their sister, Elizabeth. (Bristol Co. Deeds 8:70). [Research of NancyAnn Norman] Information taken from private papers of (Mrs) Louise Prosser Bates of Westerly, on deposit with the Rhode Island Historical Society; Providence, Rhode Island.
• Mary Saunders appears on the membership role of the Sabbatarian Church in Newport, Rhode Island in 1692. "Sabbatarian Church (Seventh Day Baptist) Members, Newport, Rhode Island, 1671 to 1830" from "The Free Baptist Cyclopaedia, Historical and Biographical"; by Rev. G. A. Burgess. A. M. and Rev. J. T. Ward, A.M.; Free Baptist Cyclopaedia Company; 1889
• "Early Settlers of Westerly, Rhode Island"; by J.D. Champlin from the "Genealogies of Connecticut Families: New England Historical and Genealogical Register"; Gary Boyd Roberts; p. 681; Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.; Baltimore, Maryland; 1983 (Gen 974.6 G3265 LAPL) (974.5 RI/Genealogy SCGS)
• "The English Origins of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, Rhode Island"; by Paul A. Saunders; 29:4:583-588; The Connecticut Nutmegger (CT Per SCGS)
• "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island Comprising Three Generations of Settlers Who Came Before 1690"; by John Osborne Austin; p. 147;
• The Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.; Baltimore, Maryland; 1978 (974.5 RI/Genealogy SCGS) (974.5 fA93 NYSL) (RI 38 SR)