Family:Jonas Weed and Mary Unknown (1)

The Will of Jonas Weed and the Birth Order of his Children

In his will, dated 26 November 1672 and proved 7 November 1676, Jonas Weed Sr. bequeathed to 'his wife Mary Weed the house he now lives in and the use of the houselot with two acres of meadow and two acres of upland lying in the East Field during her lifetime,' as well as £20 in moveables, including 'his great Bible'; to 'his eldest son John Weed two acres of meadow lying in Rockie Neck and more to the value of five pounds'; to 'his son Daniell Weed' £10; to 'his son Jonas Weed' £1; to 'his daughter Mary Abbot the wife of Georg[e] Abbot' 30s.; to 'his daughter Dorcas the wife of James Wright' 10s.; to 'his son Samuell' £20; to John Rockwell 5s. and 'five pounds in Daniel's hands for Elizabeth'; to 'his daughter Sarah the sum of five shillings and in case she do return again to the truth then he doth by will give unto her the sum of five pounds'; to 'his daughter Hannah Benj[amin] Hoit's wife' £10; wife Mary Weed, son Daniel Weed and son Jonas Weed to be executors [Fairfield PR 3:16]. … The sequence of children as named in the will of Jonas may be seen as two groupings: first, John, Daniel, Jonas, Mary and Dorcas; and second, Samuel, Elizabeth, Sarah and Hannah. All those in the first group appear to be older than those in the second group, and within each group the sons are named before the daughters. If this interpretation reflects reality, then we would conclude that Jonas had two wives, and that the two groups represent sets of half-siblings. As there is no evidence for two wives other than these speculations on birth order, only one wife is assigned here to Jonas Weed, but the possibility of there having been two wives remains."^[1]

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 .

   (Jonas Weed married) … by about 1637 Mary ----- (assuming she was mother of all his children).