VI. WHO WAS ALICE, WIFE OF REV. SAMUEL ALBRO?
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The Samuel Albro usually designated Reverend Samuel Albro was the son of John Albro and Abigail Ballou. He was born in Portsmouth, Newport, RI on October 10, 1716 and died in Exeter, Washington, RI on March 26, 1767. This much is generally agreed upon by all sources. The issue is his wife Alice. Samuel and Alice are the only Albros buried in RI Historical Cemetery NK019, the "Old Baptist Cemetery" on Old Baptist Road in North Kingstown, Washington, RI. Alice's tombstone reads: "In Memory of Alice Albro who departed life March 20, 1787 Aged 68 years" ( direct observation, GJAS.)
The issue is, who was Alice? The two candidates that are argued by various researchers are Alice (or Alse, Alce) Waite (or Weight) and Alice Rogers.
First we must dispose of a group of records on file with the Latter Day Saints concerning a Samuel Albro who, if he existed, did marry an Alice Waite 68 . This Samuel Albro was supposedly born in 1743, of Exeter, Washington, RI, no parents listed. This Alice Waite was supposedly also of Exeter, with Samuel and Sarah Waite as parents. The marriage was supposedly in 1768, with one son, William, born in 1769. This is clearly not Rev. Samuel Albro, who died the year before this marriage occurred. Moreover, this Alice Waite is younger than some of the children attributed to Rev. Samuel and his wife Alice. This Alice Waite is always listed 69 as "probably m. Samuel Albro."This couple has been confused with Rev. Samuel Albro and his wife Alice in many published family trees.
The Smith (F1127) gedcom lists Samuel Albro, Rev., 1716-1767, and gives his wife as Alice Waite, b. June 1747 in Exeter, no marriage date, her parents as Samuel and Sarah Waite. Thus it sees no problem with the 30-year discrepancy in their ages, or with the fact that she was born after Samuel and Alice were most probably married.
The RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project, tree of Debbie Gordon lists Samuel Alboro, son of John Alboro III and Abigail Ballou, b.1716, marrying Alice (Alse) Waite, daughter of Samuel Waite and <unknown> and b.1719, no marriage date, son Waite Albro b.1753.
Abstract of Rev. Samuel's will65 : "ALBRO, Samuel of Ex, yeoman. Will dated 19 March 1767, proved 18 April 1767, pgs.39-43. Mentions wife Alice Albro, sons Weight Albro under 21, Samuel Albro under 21, Martin Albro under 21, and Thomas Albro. Daughter Alice Albro. Witn: Benjamin Barber, Joseph Weight, Benjamin Reynolds." Since Thomas was not listed as under 21, Samuel and Alice probably married before 1746. Thomas was reportedly12 born July 28, 1745, so we can probably set the date of marriage as about 1744 or earlier. "Weight" Albro was Samuel and Alice's sixth child. Their fifth, Martin, was born February 2, 1752, so Weight may have been born in or shortly after 1753. The name is spelled "Waite" in several other early compilations 66,67 .
From Alice Albro's will85 : "ALBRO, Alse, of Ex, widow. Will dated 20 Mar 1787, proved 9 Apr 1787, pgs. 30-32. Mentions: Sons Thomas Albro, Samuel Albro, & Martin Albro, Daughter Alse Tefft wife of Joseph Tefft - see receipts pgs. 55-56. Grandson Irus Albro. [Notes: Ex TCP 5:55-56 receipts this will: Settled with William Albro for a legacy given to Irus Albro the son of said Albro's wife an infant 21 Apr 1787. Ex TCP 5:118 Ex 6 Nov 1791 John Albro of WG appointed guardian to Irus Albro of Ex son to Wait Albro late of Ex dec.] Granddaughters Alse Albro daughter of Thomas Albro, Alse Albro under age daughter of Martin Albro, Alse Albro under age daughter of Samuel Albro, & Ancestress Tefft an infant (daughter of Joseph Tefft see receipts pgs 55-56). Witn: Sarah Potter, Marcy Spencer, Alexander Hopkins."
Martha Benns' Notes 12initially left a space for the maiden name of "Alice", the wife of Rev. Samuel Albro, b.1719-1720 (back-calculated from age at death). Then "Waite" was written in the space. Later, with a different pen, "Rogers" was written in above the name Waite. However, Waite was not crossed out. One of the children of this marriage was given as "Weight Albro". The most probable reason for writing in "Alice Rogers" as Samuel's wife is that Martha Benns usually used Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode Island 70 as a primary source, along with the Rhode Island Genealogical Register, which contains abstracts of the wills used by Arnold to establish relationships. The statement that Alice Rogers' husband was Samuel Albro appears in the abstract of her father's will (below). However, there is no indication of which Samuel Albro. The will of Alice's brother Thomas Rogers (below) has been interpreted as suggesting that she may instead have been married to Thomas Albro. We believe the Thomas Albro who served as admin. of Thomas Rogers' will was actually Alice's son, Thomas Rogers' nephew.
Alice Rogers was the daughter of Samuel and Alice Rogers (mother's maiden name unknown). Samuel Rogers was b.abt 1690-1691, Of, W. Greenwich, Kent, RI. He died 24 April 1773 in W. Greenwich. His wife Alice was buried in W. Greenwich August 8, 1782. Their daughter Alice was claimed to have died 20 March 1787 in Exeter, Washington, RI, but this is based on the presumption that she was the Alice buried next to Samuel Albro. Her date of birth is given as 1719 in a number of references73 . This is compatible with her birth order among Samuel & Alice Rogers' children. She supposedly74 married Samuel Albro in 1738. The marriage of Samuel Albro (parents not named) to "Alice Rogers of Samuel [& Alice]" is stated in R.I. Vital Records75 .
Abstract of Samuel Rogers' will71 : "ROGERS, Samuel, of WG, yeoman. Will dated 8 Jun 1753 (beginning will) or 28 Aug 1753 (Final Will), proved April 1773. pgs 185-186. Mentions wife Alice Rogers, sons Thomas Rogers & Clark Rogers, daughters Mary Rathbun wife of Thomas Rathbun, Alce wife of Samuel Albro, & Marcy wife of Benjamin Greene. Grandsons George Rogers & Joseph Rogers."
Abstract of Thomas Rogers' will72 : "ROGERS, Thomas, of WG, yeoman. Will dated 8 Aug 1782, proved 6 Jan 1808, pgs 4-5. Mentions: Wife Mary Rogers. Brothers Samuel Rogers late of Newport dec & Clarke Rogers of Hancock, Mass. Sisters Mary Rathbun of Exeter, Alice Albro of Exeter, & Mercy Green of West Greenwich wife of Benjamin Green. Wife Mary Rogers sole exix. Pg 8: Thomas Albro Admr est of Thomas Rogers late of WG presented Inv last Mon Jan 1808 -- possibly the husband of sister Alice Albro".
Since none of the secondary references identify the parents of the Samuel Albro who married Alice Rogers, we should take a look at the "other" Samuel Albro3,76 born in 1716. He was the first child of John Albro and Margaret Sweet, born 1716, died after 12 Jan 1756 when he was appointed guardian of his brother William. This "Major Samuel Albro" married Lois Browning, daughter of Samuel Browning and Mercy Clark, born 16 March 1720 at North Kingstown, on June 3, 1736. Land transfers signed by both Samuel and Lois were recorded77,78 fairly frequently between 1742 and 1761. The marriage of Samuel Albro to Lois Browning is recorded at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Narragansett, R.I. They had several children spanning a period beyond 1746, so this Samuel Albro could not have married Alice Rogers in 1738-1744.
If we rule out the Alice Waite born in 1747, we find that there were several other Alice Waites in the right place at the right time (for a complete discussion see ref. 16 below.) Alice Waite AFN: 2012-VH1, b.abt. 1736 in N. Kingstown, Washington, RI to John Waite and Sarah Smith, was certainly too young to marry in 1738-1744. Alice Waite b. 23 April 1729 to Thomas Waite (b. 23 April 1683 in Dartmouth, Bristol, MA) and Mary Tripp (b. 22 August 1689 in Dartmouth 37 ) might be a possibility except that her marriages to non-Albros are well documented (see below.)
One promising candidate for an Alice Waite b. abt. 1719 and able to marry Samuel Albro might have been the daughter of Joseph Waite and Elizabeth Wolfe (a near relative of Gen. James Wolf; see the on-line waitegenealogy.org reference above). Joseph was a blacksmith in Dartmouth, MA living near Westport. He was the son of Reuben Waite and Tabitha Lounders, and the brother of the Thomas Waite who also had a daughter Alice (b.1729 - see above). Thomas and his family had moved to W. Greenwich, Kent, RI but maintained their property in Dartmouth, MA as well. There is no date of death listed for Alice Waite, daughter of Joseph Waite of MA. It may be significant in terms of Martha Benns' Notes 12 above that Joseph's will, dated 15 September 1761 and proved 15 August 1774, spells his own name as "Waite", but his children's names as "Weight" ("Whereas I, Joseph Waite, upon trust and confidence which I had and am firmly in my son Samuel Weight...."). The most conflicting piece of evidence, unfortunately, is in this will where he mentions his daughter Alice Shearman. Alice Waite's "intention" to marry Robert Shearman was published at Dartmouth, MA, 26 November 1742. That makes the marriage date of 21 November 1741 in Westport, Bristol, MA as reported on the Guyette, Sherman, Autry et al. web site 37 rather unlikely, but the date of 18 December 1742 in Dartmouth, Bristol, MA as reported elsewhere 79 quite possible. The latter reference has Alice's date of birth as September 1725, later than in the waitegenealogy.org reference. Eight children are attributed to Alice and Robert 37 with five of them assigned "Abt.1746" as date of birth!
One of the children of Rev. Samuel Albro was named Thomas, but none was named Joseph. Thomas Waite's daughter Alice would not have been old enough to marry in 1738-1744 according to the above information, but one LDS reference80 has the birth of Alice Waite, daughter of Thomas Waite and Mary Tripp, as 22 Apr 1720 in E. Greenwich, Kent, RI. This conflicts with another LDS reference81 which has Alice's date and place of birth as 23 April 1729 in Bristol, Dartmouth, MA. G. Andrews Moriarity, Jr. 82 gives the date of Alice's birth in East Greenwich as 22 April 1729, as does "The Descendants of Thomas Waite of Portsmouth, R.I."78 . Since Thomas & Mary's daughter Maribee Waite was born 20 July 1720, as listed in the town records of both East and West Greenwich, RI, the 1929 date for Alice must be preferred. That would put her age between 9 and 15 in 1738-1744. She reportedly 83 married a Potter (first name unknown) in 1752, and Joshua Green84 in 1771.
The Gardner Gedcom cited previously73 suggests that there were two marriages, to Alice Rogers in 1738 and to Alice Waite in 1744. This conflicts with Samuel Rogers' will, which has Alice Rogers still married to Samuel Albro in 1753. I would offer yet another, more wild speculation: Rev. Samuel Albro performed many marriages, one of which was of Phoebe Waite to Robert Bailey86 . Phoebe was the daughter of Joseph Weight and Elizabeth Sheffield mentioned above. Could Samuel have "married" Alice Waite to someone else also? But then why was one of his children named Weight Albro?
Rev. Samuel and Alice named their first son John (presumably for Samuel's father.) Their third son was named Samuel, for both Rev. Samuel and presumably for Alice's father. The amenities being satisfied, they could name their other sons as they pleased. Joseph Weight was obviously a close family friend. He was one of the witnesses on Samuel's will, and was the supervisor of the road crew in which Samuel worked in 175287 . Samuel Albro and Joseph Weight served on the town jury together in 174388 . Samuel was a witness for a land transfer from Joseph to his son George Weight in 175189 . This was the Joseph Weight known as Joseph of Exeter, who married Elizabeth Sheffield and was father of the Alice Waite who married Stephen Albro, Rev. Samuel's brother. His name is spelled "Weight" rather than "Waite" in the cited references, as Weight Albro's name was spelled in Samuel's will and in Martha Benns' Notes 12 . We would speculate that Weight Albro was named in honor of this Joseph Weight. (If this speculation bothers you, try the relationship between Rev. Samuel's son Martin Albro, b.1752, and George Martin's son Albro Martin, b.1750.)
Then what are we to make of the Alice Waite, born in June, 1747 90 to Samuel and Sarah Waite in Exeter, Washington, RI, and always listed as "probably married Samuel Albro", date of marriage91 about 1768? The many references to this "probable" marriage derive from "Thomas Waite of Portsmouth, R.I. and Some of His Descendants" 82which notes that it in turn is making a speculation based on the reference to wife Alice and son Weight in Samuel's will. But since she could not have married Rev. Samuel Albro, which, if any, Samuel Albro could she have married? Samuel, son of Rev. Samuel, married Patience Bull about 1770 (Martha Benns' Notes12 ), and also had a son Waite Albro. But it seems most probable that Alice married Samuel, son of the "other" Samuel Albro (i.e. the son of Major Samuel Albro, and grandson of Samuel Albro and Lois Browning), who was born about 1739 Of, Exeter, and has no other record of a marriage or children.
A note in passing 92 : Alice Wayte married John Rogers in Chatham, Kent, England on 16 January 1620.
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.
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.
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.
37 Deeds and Land Transfers, Ontario County, NY Archives, Hopewell, NY; copied May 2000.
65 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.6, No.1, p.75.
66 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.1, No.2, p.75, Washington Co. Marriages to 1850;
67 R.I. Vital Records, NS Vol.4, Washington Co., R.I. Births from Probate Records 1685-1860
68 IGI film 1985249 and Individual Family Record AFN: JK44-6P (Samuel Albro) with AFN: FKXS-0S (Alice Waite), submitted by Sherry T. Christensen, West Valley City, UT (AF90-001673.)
69 "Thomas Waite of Portsmouth, RI., and Some of His Descendants" by G. Andrews Moriarty, Jr., in 'Genealogies of Rhode Island Families", Vol.II, CD #180, © The Learning Company, Inc. 1989.
70 "Vital Records of Rhode Island, 1636-1850: a family register for the people" by James Newell Arnold (1844-1927).
71 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.2, No.3, p.148.
72 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.3, No.4, p.356.
73 The Gardner Gedcom, World Family Tree #33850; LDS film 2034717; and in LDS AFN: 2473-4XX familyid= 13487769
74 Austin's "Genealogy of Rhode Island Families"; "Descendants of Thomas Rodman" by Teri Yop Ferguson; and LDS film 2034726
75 R.I. Vital Records, NS, Vol.7, p.1, Greenwich, R.I. Marriages from Probate, Grave & Death Records 1680-1860.
76 "A Line of Descent from Nathaniel Browning of Portsmouth", R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.20, p.3-4.
77 Abstracts of Richmond Land Evidence and Abstracts of Exeter Land Evidence, R.I. Genealogical Register, vol.7 and vol.20.
78 "The Descendants of Thomas Waite of Portsmouth, R.I." on www.waitegenealogy.org/SurnameHistory web site.
79 LDS FGR AFN:VCZB-HL recid="3"1383415.
80 FamilySearch Pedigree Resource File CD#6, Pin #401109.
81 LDS FGR familyid=8477351.
82 "Thomas Waite of Portsmouth, R.I. and Some of His Descendants" by G. Andrews Moriarity, Jr., published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register in 1919 with additions in 1959 and 1962, compiled in Genealogies of Rhode Island Families, Vol.II, CD #180, © The Learning Company, Inc. 1989..
83 LDS Ancestral Files for AFN: VQP0-CG, 16RH-ZST.
84AFN:16RH-ZT2.
85 R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.8, No.2, Abstracts Exeter Wills, Oct 1985, pp.170-171.
86 "Records of the Bailey Family: Descendants of William Bailey", publication PROVI895, RIHS, 1898, p.38.
87 Abstracts of Exeter Town Council Records, R.I. Genealogical Register, vol.8, no.2, p.192.
88 Abstracts of Exeter Town Council Records R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.4, No.4, p.309.
89 Abstracts Exeter Land Evidence, R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.8, No.3, p.277.
90 AFN: FKXS-0S and Ref.6 above.
91 LDS PRF CD #16, Pin #112117 and IGI film 1985249.
92 IGI batch 8522791 source 1396068.
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Copyright © 2000 Phillip W. Albro, Cary, NC; last revised November 26, 2000. All rights reserved.