Over 95 Years in Early New England — Mary Lothrop

B. before 4 Oct 1640 in Barnstable, Massachusetts¹
M. (1) 20 Dec 1656 in Barnstable, Massachusetts²
Husband: John Stearns
M. (2) 6 May 1669 in Billerica, Massachusetts³
Husband: William French
M. (3) 1684 in (probably) Massachusetts⁴
Husband: Isaac Mixer
D. after 1735 in Massachusetts⁵

Mary Lothrop saw a lot of history in her long life, outliving three husbands in Puritan Massachusetts. She was born in the Cape Cod village of Barnstable, where she was baptized on October 4, 1640.¹ Her parents were Thomas Lothrop (sometimes spelled Lathrop) and Sarah Learned. Mary’s grandfather, Reverend John Lothrop, was a founder of Barnstable and the minister of its church.⁶ She was the oldest in a family of five children, but when she was 12-years-old, her mother died.⁷ Her father never remarried, and Mary likely helped to take care of her siblings.

When Mary was just 16, she married her first husband, John Stearns.² The wedding took place in Barnstable, but soon after, the couple settled in Billerica, a new town northwest of Boston. Between 1658 and 1665, Mary gave birth to five children, all boys; only the first one died as an infant.⁸ She became a widow when John passed away on March 5, 1669,⁹ and she quickly remarried to William French,³ one of Billerica’s leaders. He was almost old enough to be her grandfather, but in spite of their age difference, they had four daughters together, with the youngest born in 1676.¹⁰ On November 20, 1681, William died,¹¹ and Mary was on her own again.

A couple of years passed before Mary found a new husband. He was Isaac Mixer, the brother of Sarah Mixer, who was the first wife of her first husband John. No record of the marriage has survived; one source says the wedding took place on June 29, 1684.⁴ Isaac had fathered 16 children with his two previous wives, but by now Mary was in her mid-forties and she had no children with him. By the time he died on November 27, 1716, they had moved to Watertown, Massachusetts.¹²

Mary's "M" on a receipt regarding her third husband's probate. (Source: FamilySearch.org)

In Mary’s final widowhood, she went through some legal battles with her children as to who was going to support her. The surviving children were son Isaac Stearns, and daughters Mary Dunklin, Sarah Crosby and Hannah Child. In 1722, Stearns seemed be the only one of Mary’s children offering support, and Mary and Isaac sued to have the three daughters and their husbands contributing as well. An October 1723 court record stated that she was “an aged, poor and infirm widow unable to support herself.” It must have been an ordeal for Mary, who was now 83, to have this matter aired out in public. Unfortunately the archive of records don’t indicate a ruling in the case.¹³

By this time, Mary was considered among the very elderly in New England. The Puritans had a reverence for anyone reaching an advanced age; only one in five made it to 70, and this was often seen as a sign from God that they were special. Mary would far exceed that number; she was said to be “very aged” on a Watertown record in 1735,⁵ and must have been at least 94. The date of her death is unknown, but likely happened within a few years. Among Mary's descendants were Eli Whitney, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush.¹⁴

Children by John Stearns:
1. Isaac Stearns — B. 17 Apr 1658, Massachusetts;¹⁵ D. 9 Oct 1659, Massachusetts⁸

2. Samuel Stearns — B. about 3 Sep 1659, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁶

3. Isaac Stearns — B. 23 Dec 1661, Cambridge, Massachusetts;¹⁷ M. Mary Merriam (1664-1734), about 1700, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁸

4. Nathaniel Stearns — B. about 30 Nov 1663, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁹

5. Thomas Stearns — B. 6 Dec 1665, Billerica, Massachusetts;²⁰ D. 9 Feb 1697, Billerica, Massachusetts;²¹ M. Rebecca Chamberlain (1663-1728), 20 Jun 1688, Watertown, Massachusetts²²

Children by William French:
1. Mary French — B. 30 Apr 1670 Billerica, Massachusetts;²³ M. (1) Robert Sharp (1670-?), 20 Jun 1687, Watertown, Massachusetts;²⁴ (2) Nathaniel Dunklin (1670-?), Billerica, Massachusetts²⁵

2. Sarah French — B. 29 Oct 1671 Billerica, Massachusetts;²⁶ M. Joseph Crosby (1671-?), 6 May 1691, Billerica, Massachusetts²⁷

3. Abigail French — B. 14 Apr 1673 Billerica, Massachusetts;²⁸ D. 13 Apr 1674, Billerica, Massachusetts²⁹

4. Hannah French — B. 25 Jan 1676, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹⁰ M. John Child (1669-1748), 5 Sep 1693³⁰

Resources:
1    Barnstable, Massachusetts Church Records, 1639-1892
2    Marriage record of John Stearns and Mary Lathrop, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
3    Marriage record of William French and Mary Lathrop, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
4    Marriage record of Isaac Mixer and Mary Lathrop, Massachusetts, T. C., V. & T. R.
5    Find-a-Grave listing for Mary Mixer, but uncertain about the original source 
6    The Great Migration, Robert Charles Anderson, page 345, 1999
7    Find-a-Grave listing for Sarah Lothrop  
8    Death record of Isaac Stearns (older), M., T. C., V. & T. R
9    New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts, Town Death Records, 1620-1850, Ancestry.com
10  Birth record of Hannah French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
11  Death record of William French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
12  Death record of Isaac Mixer, M., T. C., V. & T. R 

13  Probate records 1648-1924 (Middlesex County, Massachusetts), FamilySearch.org
14  FamousKin.com listing for Mary Lothrop 
15  Birth record of Isaac Stearns (older), M., T. C., V. & T. R
16  Birth record of Samuel Stearns, M., T. C., V. & T. R
17  Birth record of Isaac Stearns (younger), M., T. C., V. & T. R
18  Estimated marriage based on birth record of oldest child Mary, M., T. C., V. & T. R
19  Birth record of Nathaniel Stearns, M., T. C., V. & T. R
20  Birth record of Thomas Stearns, M., T. C., V. & T. R
21  Death record of Thomas Stearns, M., T. C., V. & T. R
22  Marriage record of Thomas Stearns and Rebecca Chamberlain, M., T. C., V. & T. R
23  Birth record of Mary French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
24  Marriage record of Thomas Stearns and Mary French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
25  The Great Migration, Robert Charles Anderson, page 345, 1999
26  Birth record of Sarah French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
27  Marriage record of Joseph Crosby and Sarah French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
28  Birth record of Abigail French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
29  Death record of Abigail French, M., T. C., V. & T. R
30  Marriage record of John Child and Hannah French, M., T. C., V. & T. R