III. THE JOHN ALBRO x MARY STOKES/STAPLES CONFUSION

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John Albro (II), son of the John Albro who came to America in 1634, is claimed to have married Mary Stokes and/or Mary Staples. Various sets of dates (birth, marriage, death) can also be found in various family trees on the Internet. He is sometimes listed as John Albrough ²⁷ , and is listed as John (Hon.) Albro on several website trees.

Mary Stokes is the more documented of the two Marys. Nothing is claimed as to her parents, but she is stated ²⁸ to have been born abt. 1652, or in other claims ¹³³ about 1672, in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. All sources agree on April 27, 1693 as the date of her marriage to John Albro II, but both abt.1720 and 1729 have been claimed as her date of death (in East Greenwich, Kent, Rhode Island.)

A Stokes Coat of Arms

The FGR for John (AFN: GL90-H7) and Mary (AFN: GQ0W-BF) ²⁸ lists the date of their marriage as 27 April 1693, in Portsmouth, Newport, RI, and states that she died in 1729 [age 77] in East Greenwich, RI. John is claimed here to have been born in Portsmouth in 1650. This FGR gives very inconsistent information about their children:

John Albro b. abt. 1676 when she was 4 or 24, 17 years before the marriage. AFN:10CS-367
Mary Albro b. abt. 1678 when she was 6 or 26, 15 years before the marriage. AFN:10CS-37F
John Albro b. 23 Aug 1694 when she was 22 or 42 AFN:GQ0V-B9
Mary Albro b. abt 1696 when she was 24 or 44 AFN:HZPJ-F4
Dorothy Albro b. 19 Feb 1697 (died at birth) when she was 25 or 45. AFN:LDQG-JD
Sarah Albro b. abt 1698 when she was 26 or 46. AFN:HZPJ-G9
Samuel Albro b. 16 Jun 1701 when she was 29 or 49. AFN:GL90-FV
Mary Albro b. abt 1703 when she was 31 or 51. AFN:LDQJ-74
Ruth Albro b. abt 1703 when she was 31 or 51. AFN:HZPJ-HG
Sarah Albro b. abt 1705 when she was 33 or 53. AFN:LDQG-G2
and Anna Albro b. abt 1710 when she was 38 or 58. (Albro Forum, not this FGR)

In the above list of children, "Dorothy" has been listed as "Dorothy Potter Albro" in some of the on-line gedcoms from World Family Tree, so it is possible John II's mother has been confused with being his child. "Ruth" could be referring to Ruth Lawton, John & Mary Albro's daughter-in-law . "Anna" is unexplained. For the most believable list, see the entry below attributed to Martha A. Benns.

Submitters of this FGR (Ancestral File):

Christopher Gleason Clark, Santa Barbara, CA AF90-101645
Larry Russell Knudsen, Yuba City, CA
Willis H Muse, Salt Lake City, UT AF92-001285, film 1512671
Delwin K. McCarthy, Hemet, CA
Keith Ellis, Midvale, UT AF91-100427
Margaret F Forester, Chico, CA AF91-100505
Carol Burgin Oleson, Roanoke, VA AF92-100744
Cynthia Moon Bohn, Provo, UT
Beverly A. Pickett, Tempe, AZ
Marilyn J Hutchings, Sandy, UT AF93-102953
Carol Giffen Berchtold, Brigham City, UT AF93-102967
D Jason Hatch, Bountiful, UT AF94-101016
Gordon W. Tanner, Redmond, VA

"Notes on the Albro Family" by Martha A. Benns ¹² says Mary Stokes died "before 1720", and lists John, Mary, Sarah and Samuel as the children. Dates of birth are given only for John (23 August 1694) and Samuel (16 June 1701), and her main source is listed as the will of John Albro (II), Portsmouth Book 2.

Beaman's "A Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth" ³ states that "John [Albro], b.ca 1651, d. 4 Dec 1724 at Portsmouth; mar 27 Apr 1693 at Portsmouth Mary STOKES b ca 1672 of Portsmouth, d.1729 at Portsmouth."

"160 Allied Families" by John Osborne Austin ¹ , under ALBRO, has John, fourth child of John and Dorothy, marrying Mary STOKES 27 Apr 1693. She is listed as having died by 1720, no date of birth or parents names.

"Genealogies of Rhode Island Families" ³⁰ has John Albro b.Portsmouth, RI, d.4 Dec 1724, m.27 Apr 1693 to Mary Stokes; she d.1720.

Other records identify this John Albro's wife as Mary Staples . LDS records ²⁹ list Mary Staples' birth as abt. 1655, "of" Portsmouth, Newport, RI, and her marriage to John Albro as abt. 1676 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. Only the above Samuel Albro is attributed to her in the LDS FGR²⁸ that lists her as AFN:GL90-JD and John as AFN:GL90-H7 (familyid=4624583). Mary Staples was claimed in the FGR to have been born abt. 1654 in Portsmouth, RI, no date or place of death given. In contrast to Mary Stokes, cited repeatedly, the only apparent record for Mary Staples being married to John Albro seems to be ²⁹ the one IGI record, submitter unidentified, and the FGR cited above that doesn't even suggest a marriage date.

Submitters of claims that this Mary Staples married this John Albro and had this child:

Larry Russell Knudson, Yuba City, CA AF90-101484
D. Jason Hatch, Bountiful, UT AF94-101016

A Staples Coat of Arms

We could speculate that the relevant Mary Staples was born 24 September 1655 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, was AFN:XD40-SB, daughter of Samuel Staples (b.1623, Dedham, Norfolk, MA, m.30 June 1652 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA) and Mary Boles (b.1631, Dedham, Norfolk, MA.), with siblings John, Rachel, Sarah and Samuel Staples. But it would be sheer speculation and serve no useful purpose.

Two other Mary Staples were born in Smithfield, RI about the right time - one married Simim Ballou and the other a Constalk. (R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.12 and Vol.5, No.4, Abstracts of Smithfield wills.)

Mary is listed as Mary "Staples (Stokes)" in "Our Line of Descent from John Albro" by Mrs. H.W. Beck ¹⁴ . She accounts for four children only; John, Mary, Sarah and Samuel.

Additional Information from other Sites:

The web site at www.willowtree.com/~yankeez/sawyer, Ancestors of Penny Sue Sawyer, gives as her "Eleventh Generation", John Albro, b.abt 1660 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI, d.4 December 1724 in East Greenwich, Providence, RI, m. Mary Stokes on 27 April 1693. Children listed as John, Samuel, Sarah and Mary, no dates. [Note: East Greenwich is in Kent, not Providence Co.; Providence Co. was in the LDS source record from which this entry was derived.]

The web site at www.genealogy.org/~svpafug/v_price/p.124.htm, lists John Albro, b.abt 1650 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI, d.4 December 1724 in E. Greenwich, Kent, RI. Parents John and Dorothy Albro. Married Mary Stokes 27 April 1693, she b.abt 1652 in Portsmouth, d.1729 in E. Greenwich (p.125). Only child listed is John Albro. Ref.No. GL90-H7.

The ICFA Database - Descendants of Abraham Cummings Jr., at www.mtjeff.com/~bodenst/ ICFA/abe/abraham.htm lists John Albro, b.1650 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI, d.4 December 1724 in East Greenwich, Kent, RI, parents John and Dorothy (Widow Potter) Albro; married Mary "(Stokes) Staples" 27 Apr 1693 "prob. In Rhode Island". Mary is listed as b.abt 1679, death 1720; children : Samuel Albro. [Note that this would make her married at 14. PWA]

The georgen gedcom at www.my-ged.com/georgen, owned by Cynde Georgen-Baskin, p.906, has John Albro (1650-1724) married to Mary Stokes, with children John, Samuel, Sarah, Mary, and Dorothy Potter Albro. But the Orr gedcom, and the Crandall gedcom, p.332, have John born in 1660 d. in Portsmouth, married to Mary Stokes in Portsmouth with no children listed.

Summary of Dates

We have two popular but conflicting dates for John's birth, abt. 1650 and 1660, general agreement on his date of marriage to Mary Stokes (27 April 1693), and agreement on his date of death (4 December 1724). One piece of evidence opposing the 1660 date is the fact that he was, on 31 October 1677, among those granted part of the 5000 acres of land that was to become East Greenwich ¹ . One reason given for this grant was his earlier participation in King Philip's War (1675-1676), unlikely if he was not born until 1660. We seem to have essentially pure guesswork about the date of birth for Mary (generally derived from John's age, except for the guesses of 1672 to 1679 that were most probably made for compatibility with the second set of childrens' ages.) We have two numbers for her date of death. The first, in or before 1720, clearly derives from the fact that she was not mentioned in her husband John's will ¹¹⁸ dated 1720. The second date, 1729, probably derived in most cases from the statement to that effect in Beaman's article ³ in the R.I. Genealogical Register. The 1729 date does not appear in any of Beaman's primary references, so it must be supposed it came from a secondary reference.

We must wonder why John Albro II would have waited until he was over 40 years old to get married and start raising a family, and why so many incompatible dates of birth have been assigned to three of his children. The case for his wife Mary having been Mary Staples seems weak compared to that for Mary Stokes, and it is frustrating that there are no candidates proposed for Mary Stokes' parents. Clearly the evidence one way or another is not conclusive and must await additional findings for resolution. It is even possible that John II visited England, had two children there by Mary Staples, then returned and eventually married Mary Stokes. Again, all is wild speculation.

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.

³ "A Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth" by Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.1, No.1, (1986) p.30.

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.

¹⁴ "Our Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth, Newport County, R.I.", compiled by Mrs. H.W. Beck, Manitou Beach, Michigan, 1965-1966, filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971.

²⁷ IGI film number 2034557.

²⁸ IGI film 2034522, PRF Disc #21 PIN #875017, and LDS Ancestral File family id 4651675, where she is listed as AFN:GQ0W-BF and John as AFN:GL90-H7.

²⁹ IGI film number 2034522.

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.

¹¹⁸ "Abstracts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island Wills" by Nellie M.C. Beaman; R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol. 3, No.4, p.360.

¹³³ LDS IGI film 447922 ref. 17823; LDS PRF Disc #2 PIN submitted by Jack Danner, Chattanouga, TN; LDS PRF Disc #17, PIN #358934 submitted by Victor E. Bird.