XI. The Mysterious Ruth Lawton
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Samuel Albro135, son of John Albro Jr., and grandson of the original John Albro who came to America in 1634, was born 16 June 1701 in or of Portsmouth, Newport, RI and died 5 October 1766. He married Ruth Lawton135, of Portsmouth, Newport, RI, on 25 November 1725 in Portsmouth. This information, taken from an LDS Ancestral File, can also be found in The History of the Albro Family by Darrel Conder6. The marriage was reported in Vol.1 of Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode Island70. Ruth Lawton was reported as having been born about 1706 in LDS IGI film 445921. But who was Ruth Lawton? Names of her parents are not to be found in IGI records, LDS Ancestral files, Vital Records of Rhode Island, New Series, or the Rhode Island Genealogical Registry. Compilations such as Rhode Island Genealogies #1, 1600s-1800s30, Martha Benns' Notes on the Albro Family12, and many on-line family tree files are silent on the issue.
Arnold's Vital Records list a Ruth Lawton born 26 February 1708 to Thomas and Margaret Lawton in "Bristol", which has been variously interpreted as Bristol, Bristol, RI and Dartmouth, Bristol, MA. Unfortunately, Vital Records also lists this date of birth as 26 March 1721 (see below.) Another Ruth Lawton was reportedly born in "Bristol, Bristol, RI" on 10 October 1739, this time to Thomas and Susannah Lawton, cited in the same LDS IGI batch C502031 (source, Arnold's Vital Records).
These various dates are quite changed in the database on the Descendants of Sir Alexander de Greene de Boketon7 which has Samuel Albro born about 1686 in RI, married Ruth Lawton about 1710 in RI. The stated source is the book on the Greene family by Lora S. La Manche136. This is in conflict with the generally accepted parentage of Samuel, i.e. John Albro and Mary Stokes, who married in 1693 (see the Stokes/Staples controversy, another article in this series.)
One speculative family tree for Ruth Lawton can be found in a few of the downloadable gedcom files on the Internet, but with no supporting early source references. According to this speculation, Ruth was the daughter of Thomas Lawton (b.25 April 1687 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI, d. Unknown) and Margaret Allen (b.abt.1691 possibly in Portsmouth, d. Unknown.) Thomas was the son of Isaac Lawton (b.11 December 1650 in Portsmouth, RI, d.25 January 1731/1732) and Elizabeth Tallman (b.1654 in Portsmouth, RI, d.20 May 1701 in Portsmouth.) The main weakness in this speculation is that Ruth (Lawton) Albro is not mentioned in Thomas Lawton's will. Moreover, as mentioned previously, LDS IGI batch C502031 (derived from Arnold's Vital Records), has two conflicting dates for the birth of their daughter Ruth; 26 February 1708 and 26 March 1721. The speculation is somewhat supported by LDS IGI film 2078091, which states that Thomas Lawton and Margaret Allen were married Abt. 1707 Of, Prudence Island, Newport, RI. However, another LDS IGI record (on line, no film number listed), has the marriage date as Abt. 1712 (too late) and the place as <portsmouth>, Newport, RI.
Recently, a claim has appeared in the form of an LDS Pedigree Resource File137, stating that the Ruth Lawton who married Samuel Albro was the daughter of Daniel Lawton (no dates given) and Ruth (maiden name unknown, no dates given.) Daniel was the son of Daniel Lawton (b.1639 in Portsmouth, RI, d. 1719) and Rebecca Mott (b.1649 in Portsmouth, RI, no date of death given.) The Lawton and Mott ancestries are followed back to England and Holland in this PRF. Information on sources has been requested. Further information can be found on the Gates-Nichols Genealogy web site138. This also reports that the Daniel Lawton (adding b.28 Oct 1667 in Portsmouth) who was the son of Daniel and Rebecca married a Ruth <unknown>. The date of birth is confirmed on Richard Harrison's web site139, although the source of the information is unclear. That the wife's name was Ruth may be one basis for this speculation about Ruth Lawton Albro's parents.
The Daniel Lawton who died in 1719 left a will140 in which he names his eight sons, including a Daniel, and his three daughters. He names two grandchildren, but none of them were of his son Daniel. The only other Daniel Lawton whose will was proved in Portsmouth in the 18th century141 was that of a Daniel Lawton (d.1780) whose wife's name was Elizabeth and who obviously could not be the Daniel Lawton born in 1667. This will names only three sons (Jeremiah, Christopher and Nathaniel) and one daughter Abigail. By a strange coincidence (?), Arnold's Vital Records, cited in LDS IGI file batch C501241 printout 0933413, lists a Ruth Lawton born 24 November 1727 to a Daniel Lawton and wife Abigail.
The R.I. Genealogical Register abstract of Samuel Albro's will142, proved in 1766, states that it mentions his wife Ruth Albro, sons James, Jonathan, David, Josiah, Samuel, and Daniel Albro Dec'd, daughters Ruth, Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah, along with a grandson John, son of Daniel dec'd. Other researchers12,135,137 add a son John to the list, born after Samuel and Mary but before Daniel. The birth order of sons would have been Samuel, named for his father, John (if he existed), named for his paternal grandfather, and Daniel, named for his maternal grandfather if this speculation is correct. It may be noteworthy that there was no son Thomas. The first girl (Mary) was probably named for Samuel's mother, and the second was named Ruth. This naming order is not followed by other early Albros, but there is no one "traditional" order that can be identified.
To summarize, the evidence for Ruth Lawton's parents being Thomas and Margaret are the entries in Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode Island70 indicating that Thomas and Margaret married at an appropriate time, and that they had a daughter Ruth at the appropriate time, with the Portsmouth, RI association. Unfortunately, Vital Records contradicts those dates in other entries. The evidence favoring Daniel and Ruth as the parents are the name "Ruth", the asociation with Portsmouth, and the fact that Samuel & Ruth Albro named their third son Daniel, but did not have a son Thomas. We lack any early record stating that Daniel had a daughter Ruth, and we lack his will (if he had one.) Readers, make your choice!
References:
6 "The Albro Family History: Information From Rhode Island, New York, Switzerland Co. Indiana, Gallatin & Grayson Counties Kentucky". researched and written by Mrs. Alice Simonton Seibenthal Pendry, Vevey, Indiana, 1943 and Darrell W. Conder, Pasadena, California, 1990
7 Localsonly.wilmington.net/~ggreen/greene-d/pafg333.htm; also available on al7fl.abts.net/green-page/green.htm.
12 "Notes on the Albro Family of Rhode Island" by Martha A. Benns, made at the Rhode Island Historical Society, 1942, filmed at Providence, RI 17 July 1950 by the Genealogical Society of Salt Lake City Utah, roll # 22322.
30 "Genealogies of Rhode Island Families", Vol.I, Adams-Slack Genealogical Publ.Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD. 1983, and/or Rhode Island Historical Society, filmed at Providence, RI by the Genealogical Society of Salt Lake City, UT, 17 July 1950, roll #23322.
70 "Vital Records of Rhode Island, 1636-1850: a family register for the people" by James Newell Arnold (1844-1927).
135 LDS Ancestral File for AFN:GL90-FV and AFN:GL90-G2, v.4.19.
136 "The Greene Family and its Branches" by Lora S. La Mance, Mayflower Publishing Co., Floral Park, NY, 1904, p.243.
137 LDS Pedigree Resource File – CD#2 – Submission Search: 307646-061299190921, submitted by Jack Danner, Chattanooga, TN, 1999.
138 http://www.uftree.com/UFT/WebPages/smgdavis/GATES/d0/i0002275.htm
139 http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~richard/tallufti/p4078.htm
140 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.3 No.4, Abstracts Portsmouth Wills, © The Learning Co., Inc., 2001, page 363.
141 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.13, Abstracts of Portsmouth Wills, © The Learning Co., Inc., 2001, page 89.
142 R.I. Genealogical Register, vol.12, Abstracts Portsmouth Wills, © The Learning Co., Inc., 2001, page 73.
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