Mary Shepard

Biography

Updated 10 February 2024

Mary, parents unknown, was born about 1585 in Groton, Suffolk, England, and died after 1674 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

She married first on 18 November 1612 in Groton to Robert Pond (1592-1648). He was the son William Pond and Judith Gordon.

After his death, Mary married secondly, about 1650 in Cambridge, to Captain Edward Shepard, II, of Cambridge as his 2nd wife; he was Violet Shepard
‘s widower. There were no children of that marriage.

Charles Banks concluded that "Robert Pond" had emigrated from Groton in Suffolk with his wife Mary as part of Winthrop's fleet of 11 ships in 1630, settling in Dorchester, Massachusetts.[1][2]

Robert and Mary Pond may have left two children (Robert and William) in England. Evidence that William subsequently joined them comes from Dorchester church records showing that "William Pond" and his wife "Goody Pond" were admitted to the church on 28 February 1641/2 [DChR 6].[6] Anderson concluded that "Whether William was son of the Robert who died in 1637 [sic; see below] is unknown, but some kinship relation is likely."[7]

Robert Pond, of Dorchester and his wife Mary had the following children:

From “Ancestors of Sharon Lynn Ideman: The Pond Family.” < PDF >. Children of Robert Pond and Mary _____: (All but Mary are supposed children, probably born in England. They are listed alphabetically.)

1. Daniel, b. 1627;4 d. Feb. 4, 1697/8, Dedham; m. 1) Abigail Shepard; 2) Sep. 18, 1661, Ann Edwards, who died June 6, 1732, aged 92 year.5
2. Mary, listed as eleven years of age when her mother joined the church at Cambridge; m. John Blackman.
3. Robert, d. bef. mid-life; m. 1) Mary Ball who m. 2) Nicholas Allen and outlived him; m. 3) Daniel Henshaw.
4. William, d. Apr. 4, 1690; m. Mary Dye.

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Notes

Robert and Mary Pond came from Groton, Suffolk, England to Massachusetts in 1630 with the Winthrop fleet of 11 ships. In this group was:

• John Pond of Groton, Suffolk to Boston [returned to England]
• Robert Pond of Groton, Suffolk to Dorchester [carpenter, d 1637]
• Mrs. Mary Pond [wife of Robert; m 2nd John Blackman] {SIC: their daughter Mary married John Blackman}

NOTE: She is mentioned on the Pond Family Stone here. Not likely buried here.
Wife of 1) Robert Pond (married abt 1631) and 2) Edward Shepard (married 1649). Her son Daniel Pond married Edward Shepard's daughter Abigail Shepard (married 1652).
[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153352888/mary-pond]

From Pond Family, in Gendrot, Almira Torrey Blake Fenno. The ancestry and allied families of Nathan Blake 3rd and Susan (Torrey) Blake: early residents of East Corinth, Vermont. (Salt Lake City, Utah, United States: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972), pp 42-43.

POND Robert1 was from County Suffolk, England. Settled in Dorchester, Mass., about 1632, though not found in the list of Dr. Harris; was there to partake, 1636, in division of Cow Common. He died 1637. The inventory of his estate was taken 27 Dec. 1637. A chest of carpenter's tools and pump tools are mentioned. Mary and William Pond petitioned the Court for administration of the estate, and it was ordered 10 May 1648. His widow married in 1649 or 1650, Edward Shepard of Cambridge, who conveyed 24 Feb. 1650/1 to John Blackman, son-in-law to the late Robert Pond, one half the house and lands which Widow Pond had owned. In the memoirs by Rev. Mr. Mitchell written in 1658, we find this extract. "Mary now wife of Edward Shepard was dismissed hither from Church at Dorchester and is in full communion with us. Her daughter Mary Pond, baptized at Dorchester was eleven years old at her mothers joyning with us (1643)." Mrs. Mary Pond lived at Cambridge, she being widow of Robert Pond, who died in 1637; it is also probable that she brought other children with her to Cambridge and that Daniel Pond who married Abigail Shepard (daughter of Edward Shepard) was her son.

From Descendants of Edward Shepard, Cambridge, Mass. (1639) by Shepard, James, 1838-1926; Sheppard, Edward Naman, 1850-; Shepherd, Ann Elizabeth Bontecou Published 1878 Publisher Boston : David Clapp & Son, printers Pages 38

We have no record of their marriage, but Violet Shepard died Jan. 9, 1648/9. The daughter of Mary Pond married John Blackman, and their first child was born Aug. 10, 1656. We may therefore conclude that Mrs. Mary Pond lived at Cambridge before her marriage with Edward Shepard, a conclusion the more probable because her first husband, Robert Pond, died in 1637 ; that it is also probable that she brought other children with her to Cambridge, and that Daniel Pond, who married Abigail Shepard, was her son. Edward Shepard's name, as also that of his son John Shepard, appears in the town and county records in various relations until 1680-81, when his will was proven Aug. 20, 1680, and John sold the homestead Sept. 18, 1681, to Owen Warland.

From Find A Grave Memorial# 41895643

He married a 2nd time to Mary Pond.

From page 880 of The History of the Descendants of John Dwight of Dedham, Mass By Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight

I. Edward Shepard of Cambridge, Mass., the settler, was made freeman there in 1643. His first wife, Violet, d. Jan. 9, 1643. By his second wife, Mary, he had 4 children: John, Abigail, Deborah and Sarah.

From https://minerdescent.com/2010/06/17/robert-pond/

It appears that Robert and Mary Pond had at least a couple of children (William & Robert) that they left in England, and who came to America before 1641, maybe with Rev. Mather.

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References

• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Robert_Pond_%281%29
• "Mary Margaret Hawkins was born 1596 in Groton, Suffolk, England. After Robert died she married Edward SHEPARD on 1649 in Cambridge, Mass. Edward was also her son Daniel’s father-in-law." [https://minerdescent.com/2010/06/17/robert-pond/]
• http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~hwbradley/genealogy/aqwg1118.htm#19610
• WikiTree contributors, "Mary (UNKNOWN) Shepard (1585-aft.1674)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/UNKNOWN-86129 : accessed 10 February 2024).