Richardson's PA3, p. 115 states that John Butler m. (1) Cresset St. John
and
(2) Mary Gedge. He further asserts that Mary was the daughter of Thomas
Gedge.
Morant's History of Es***, 2:74 indicates that James Gedge (d. 1555) left
three daughters: Mary, aged 14; Joan, aged 13; and Joan (again), aged 10.
It
was James Gedge's daughter Mary who married three times: (1) Christopher
Harris, (2) Anthony Berners and (3) John Butler. These marriages are
addressed on Will Johnson's corrections to PA3 (noted at the this website:
http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/PAC/Bletsoe),
though
without source citations. The NEHGR for April 2008 (vol. 162), p. 131 (in
an
article on the Eliot ancestry by William Fiske) also confirms that Mary
was
the daughter of James Gedge and married three times, as noted above.
PA3 goes on to state that John Butler & Mary Gedge had four children:
Nathaniel, James, Elizabeth and Sarah. This is where another problem
arises.
Mary was born circa 1540/41, being aged 14 on 22 Aug. 1555. Her first
husband died 26 Dec. 1571 [NEHGR 162:131 note 190]. Her second husband,
Anthony Berners, "came of age Jan. 30, 1583" [Wilde, "Ingatestone and the
Es*** Great Road with Fryerning" (Oxford: University Press, 1913.), p.
27].
Anthony was about twenty years Mary's junior. Even if he died the same
year,
Mary could not have married John Butler before she was 42 or 43 years old.
She then was allegedly the mother of four more children by the said John
Butler. Although not impossible, it does begin to stretch the timeline a
bit
and I was wondering if anyone had primary evidence that Mary Gedge was the
mother of John Butler's four youngest children. Dorman's "Claiborne of
Virginia" (Gateway Press, 1995) also asserts that John & Mary (Gedge)
Butler
were the parents of the four children as noted in PA3, so Richardson is
not
alone in this assertion.
Fiske's article also asserts that John & Mary (Gedge) Butler are the
parents
of Nathaniel Butler, "colonial governor of the Bermuda Company" [NEHGR
162:131]. Some secondary sources assert that Nathaniel Butler was born
circa
1580. However, his birth would have to be after 1583, if he is the son of
Mary Gedge.
If anyone has evidence bearing on these issues, I hope they are willing to
share their findings. Thank you.
Hal Bradley
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