Mary

!On the Mayflower, married, age abt. 51. !Death: MD 32:2 Her maidenname and parentage are unknown and unproven. In fact, it is really not known whether Mary of the Mayflower was his first and only wife and mother of his children, or if she was a second wife. As to her identity, a number of theories exist: (1) That she was Mary, dau. of Thomas and Grace (Gasciogne) Wentworth. This is the most popular of all the theories, and well liked by descendants due to the very distinguished nobility. It is also one of the most credible, but is certainly not proven. This theory is advanced by Walter Burgess in "John Robinson the Pastor of the Pilgrims" (1920), p.80; John G. Hunt, "New Light on the Brewsters of Scrooby and New England" TAG 41:1 (however, Hunt later abandoned the Wentworth claim, see below). See also Stratton's Plymouth Colony Its History & People 1620-1691, p. 250-1. "The will of Thomas Wentworth of Scrooby Manor, dated 27 March 1574 mentions a daughter Mary, evidently the eldest, but without indication of whether she was married or single." (Burgess p.81). (2) That she was Mary Wyrall of Loversall (near Doncaster), dau. of Thomas and Frences (Mallory) Wyrall. This theory was convincingly developed and advanced in a 1984 booklet "Of Mary Brewster" published by John G. Hunt, Bowling Green, Va. Hunt also elaborates Mary Wyrall's gentile ancestry, also containing royalty. This is also cited in Terry/Harding, "A Notebook on the Descendants of Elder William Brewster of Plymouth Colony.". Also given in "Calkins World" a newsletter of the Calkins Family Association. (3) "Mary STUBBE?", given in Melinde Lutz Sanborn's "Supplement to Torry". I know of no primary evidence for this claim. (4) Mary, dau. of Edward Wentworth. I saw this somewhere, but lost the source. (5) Mary Love. From a County History (I didn't record the source). Didn't look very credible, but the reasoning behind this conjecture is clear. A review by E. A. Stratton in the Spring 1985 issue of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine argues that her parentage is still unproven. See also Dr. Bangs in MQ 51:165-6, footnote 1. If Mary of the Mayflower was his second wife, the following marriage records are possible (Banks' English Ancestry p.35-9). 1. William Brewster and Mary Welles, June 21, 1599 at St. Mary Woolchurch, London. 2. William Bruster and Mary Scrobs Jan 24, 1604 in Stoke Bruern, Northants. 3. William Brewster and Mary Morden December 22, 1608 at St. Peter Eastgate, Lincoln. What is known is that his wife was named Mary, was born Abt 1569, d. at Plymouth on 27 Apr 1627, and was probably from Scrooby. !Death: From The Brewster Book. Credits to Cathy (Malfaedor@aol.com) for much of the above information. The pedigree of Mary Wentworth back to Charlemagne comes from "Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Vol 2", compiled by Aileen Lewers Langston and J. Orton Buck, Jr. It is probably probably an accurate pedigree for Mary Wentworth (most royal parts can be verified with an encyclopedia), but the link that Mrs. Mary Brewster is Mary Wentworth is not proven.