John Albro's Wife

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John Albro (many diverse spellings of the surname) came to America from England aboard the ship Francis, arriving in Boston in 1634. Most of the Albros in the United States claim descent from this John Albro, who was one of the original founders of Portsmouth, RI, where he lived throughout the rest of his life from 1638 to 1712.

John Albro's wife's given name was Dorothy, as attested on many records of land transfers, Portsmouth town records, and reports of early historians. The issue is, of course, her maiden name. John was, as best we can determine, still single at the time (1639) he was given land in Portsmouth, RI on the condition that he build a house within a year^1,2 . This was also a traditional prerequisite for marriage in those times, so we may suppose he would not have been married before 1640. His first child, Samuel, was born in Portsmouth in 1644 or 1645, according to Samuel's burial records ^3,4 , and there is no reason to believe Samuel was illegitimate, so we may tentatively assume John Albro's marriage did not occur later than early 1645.

It has been claimed ⁵that the customs of the times would have precluded John's first wife having been previously married. We believe John's early life, his leaving his family and traveling to America, his becoming a Quaker ⁶ and later a Presbyterian², his Portsmouth family support of the American side in the subsequent Revolutionary War, and the general impression of his life, indicate that he would not have been particularly impelled by the "customs of the times". We believe he was well aware that he was founding a family line in America, and that he would have counted a previous marriage with proof of child bearing ability a plus rather than a minus. The article making the "custom" claim contains so many other inaccurate conjectures about John Albro, we are inclined to discount it as evidence on this issue.

That John married his Dorothy in 1643 or 1644 is attested by Martha A. Benns ¹² in her "Notes on the Albro Family of Rhode Island", in the family tree of Penny Sue Sawyer ⁴ which relies heavily on LDS records, in the extensive database on "The Descendants of Alexander de Greene de Boketon ⁷ ", the georgen gedcom ⁸, and LDS IGI records ¹⁷ . The Orr gedcom, citing the compilation by Clarence Torrey¹³² , has the marriage as "Aft.1644", an estimate based presumably on the uncertainty in date of death (1644 or before¹³) of Dorothy's previous husband. The time period in which marriage could have occurred, 1640 to 1644, seems rather too short to support the claim of multiple wives unless a first wife died soon after the marriage, a dramatic situation that would probably have been recorded.

That Dorothy had previously been the wife of Nathaniel Potter (and therefore she is sometimes identified as Dorothy Potter) is attested in LDS Pedigree Resource files ⁹ , by Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D. in several of his "Line of Descent" articles in the R.I. Genealogical Register ^2,10,11 , in Martha Benns' notes and a book partially derived from them^12,6 , by Austin¹ in his "160 Allied Families", and by Irene B. Wrigley ¹³ in her "Descendants of Ichabod Potter". This claim has been repeated in many other references, and no one appears to have seriously tried to refute it. In part, the claim is based on the fact that Nathaniel Potter died in Portsmouth about 1643 or 1644, leaving a wife Dorothy and at least two children (Nathaniel Jr. and Ichabod¹³ , b.1637 and 1639 respectively), yet Dorothy did not apply for a widow's pension which implies she remarried soon thereafter. Nathaniel and Ichabod are not named in John Albro's will, but they had both died before the will was written in 1710. (Nathaniel died in 1704, Ichabod in 1676, John Albro in 1712.) As for primary evidence, Nathaniel Potter had received land in the original Portsmouth distribution, and there is no record of him having sold it. That land was in fact sold by John Albro according to the reproduced deed¹²² in "The Early Records of Portsmouth", p.331, dated 24 November 1656, referring to 30 acres given and granted by the Town of Portsmouth to Nathaniel Potter deceased. John would have acquired the property automatically if he married Nathaniel Potter's widow. Still, since the Potter/Albro claim has never been "proven", it is usually stated that John's wife "may have been" the widow Potter.

There are four candidates for the maiden name of the Dorothy who married first Nathaniel Potter and later John Albro. One was Dorothy Wilbur (Wilbore), daughter of Samuel Wilbore and (perhaps) Ann Bradford, and another was Dorothy Perkins, daughter of John Perkins. H.W. Beck ¹⁴ , in her "Our Line of Descent from John Albro", claims that John first married Dorothy Potter and later "Dorothy Perkins, widow of Nathaniel Potter." The "Register Report of George Potter" has John Albro I (and previously, Nathaniel Potter) married to a Dorothy Andrews ¹⁵ . Finally, Alden G. Beamon states in his "A line of Descent from Nathaniel Potter of Portsmouth" ¹⁰ that "According to secondary sources which cited no evidence she was Dorothy Allen." This is reflected in LDS IGI film 2034603, which claims John Albro married Dorothy Allen abt.1638 in <of, Portsmouth> , Newport, Rhode Island. Again, this is accepted in LDS PRF Disk #48, pin #146885, having Dorothy Allen b.1617 and marrying Nathaniel Potter bef. 1637, second marriage John Albro (no date). LDS IGI v.5 (after 1991) hedges all bets by having "Dorothy Allen or Wilbur" marrying "John Albro or Alborow" about 1643.

Martha Benns states ¹²that John married "Dorothy Potter. She b.1617 d. Feb 19, 1696 (wd of Nathaniel)." The Orr gedcom states that John married Dorothy Wilbore b. 1617 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, while the Guyette, Sherman & Autry, et al. gedcom spells it Dorothy Wilbur ¹⁶ . The marriage of Dorothy Wilbur or Wilbore to Nathaniel Potter is stated in LDS IGI film 2034857 (Abt.1636), PRF pin# 880746 (Bet.1635 and 1637), and AFN: 9P2L-X8 (1635). None of these are primary sources. One can find the date of death of Nathaniel Potter given as "in or before 1644" in many sources, including Wrigley ¹³ and citations therein.

We have found no evidence of a Dorothy Perkins/ Nathaniel Potter marriage. The only "Dorothy Perkins" we can find close to the right age was christened 28 July 1616 in Stratford-On-Avon, Warwick, England, parents Mr. and Mrs. John Perkins (IGI film 459105), with no evidence that she ever left England. It is possible that H.W. Beck guessed at this Dorothy because of the place of birth, since she accepted Savage's speculation that John Albro came from there^14,5 . There was also a Dorathey Perkins b.abt.1623 in Butley Abbey, Suffolk, England, and a Dorothie Perkins christened 11 May 1623 in Stoke, Warwick, England. Again, we can find no evidence that they ever left England.

Although the LDS have over 400 listings for "Dorothy Andrews" (various spellings), there is no record of a marriage to John Albro, or any record of a Dorothy Andrews being born, christened, or married in Rhode Island in the 17th century. The only listing of a Dorothy Andrews' marriage in New England around the right time was to John Hale or Heald, in Concord, MA, or to John Hall of, Windsor, Hartford, CT ¹⁷. There is no record of either Dorothy Perkins or Dorothy Andrews in either the R.I. Genealogical Register, or the R.I. Vital Records, New Series.

A Dorothy Allen does appear in the R.I. Vital Records, New Series, but only as the wife of Elisha Allen. She was a co-signer of a land transfer in 1754, still married to Elisha. She would not have been born by the time John Albro married his Dorothy. On the other hand there was a Dorothy Allen born 3 December 1619 in Lammas, Norfolk, England, daughter of Samuel Allen and Martha Scrivener. Her father's name was appropriate for John's first son, but it is noteworthy that none of the sons of Nathaniel Potter were named Samuel.

There were several Dorothy Potters born to the name around the right time in England ¹⁸, such as Dorytie Potter, christened 14 Nov 1619 in Dean Prior, Devon, England (Father = Barnabie Potter); Dorothee Potter, christened 22 February 1618 in Kirkby Fleetham, Yorkshire, England (Father = Thomas Potter); Dorothie Potter, christened 18 Jun 1620 in Stockport, St. Mary, Cheshire, England (Father = George Potter); Doritie Potter, christened 4 Feb 1622 in Blockley, Gloucester, England (father = Jerimie Potter); and Dorothy Potter, Born 1613 in Iddesleigh, Devonshire, England (Parents Tobias Potter and Suzan Osborne.) We can find no evidence linking them to John Albro or indicating that they came to New England; other names appear as probable husbands - William Mountaine, Richard Attenborough, Thomas Williams, Robert Crealake.

The tentative conclusion we must draw, is that we have no reason to refute the opinion of those who believe John Albro's wife was the widow of the Nathaniel Potter who died in Portsmouth about 1643-1644. Further, we have found no primary evidence that clearly proves which, if any, of our four candidates was the wife of Nathaniel Potter.

[Note added: I have cited a few Internet on-line family tree web sites, obviously not primary or even secondary sources, because these particular sites have extensive listings of their sources available. This should be encouraged. PWA.]

References:

¹ "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families" by John Osborne Austin, Providence, RI (1893); CD504 Early New England Settlers, Surnames A-H,© The Learning Company, Inc., July 22, 2000.

² "Biographical Dictionary" and "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island", by John Osborne Austin, 1887, p.234.

³ "A Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth" by Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.1, No.1, p.30.

⁴ "Ancestors of Penny Sue Sawyer", www.millcomm.com/~yankeez/trees/sawyer/sawyer.htm, downloaded June, 1999.

⁵ "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England", James Savage, Boston, 1860.

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

⁷Localsonly.wilmington.net/~ggreen/greene-d/pafg333.htm; also available on al7fl.abts.net/green-page/green.htm.

⁸www.my-ged.com/db/surnames/georgen/A

⁹ FamilySearch Pedigree Resource Files, Compact Disk #8 Pin #880746, and Compact Disk #2, AFN: 9P2L-X8, 7/2/2000.

¹⁰ "A Line of Descent from Nathaniel Potter of Portsmouth", Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.20, p.35.

¹¹ "A Line of Descent from Benjamin Congdon of Portsmouth and Kingstowne", Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.4, No.2, p.147.

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.

¹³ "Descendants of Ichabod Potter", by Irene B. Wrigley, R.I. Genealogical Register Vol.3, No.3, p.208.

¹⁴ "Our Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth, Rhode Island", H.W. Beck, Manitou Beach, Michigan, 1965.

¹⁵ "Register Report of George Potter" in William James & Family (1625-2000) Newport, Rhode Island by Norman V. James, www.familytreemaker.com/users/j/a/m/Norman-V-James/Book-0001/bookindex.html.

¹⁶ LDS IGI batch F507755 source 1553409 sheet 44; film 2034681; batch F856442 source 1396010 sheet 30; LDS IGI films 1903744, 2034681; RootsWeb World Connect Project: Orr gedcom id=1351; P.J. Autry gedcom id=11084, available through worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ign.cgi.

¹⁷ LDS IGI film batch F506000 source 1553316 sheet 43.

¹⁸ LDS IGI films, batch C009432 source 0090134 printout 6906718; C050811 source 0917195; P015071 source 0098534 printout 1235385; M049571 source 0908916 printout 6910043; 6932162 source 0538122 sheet 73; M131581 source 0992508 printout 6906614; M051491 source 0916865 printout 1037041.

¹²²Deed reproduced in "The Early Records" (Portsmouth), p.331, dated 24 Nov 1656.

¹³²"New England Marriages Prior to 1700" by Clarence Almon Torrey, Genealogical Publ. Co., Baltimore, 1985

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