Individual Details

Mary Sargent

(22 January 1637 - 30 November 1671)

The following is from The Essex Genealogist (13:166 "Allen2 Breed's
Wife Identified as Mary Sargent", Volney A. Plumb):
1. As to the assertions [many on the Internet, but this piece references P. E. Rittmer and H. V. Crary "Breed 1573 - 1975"] that she is "Mary Elizabeth Osborne": First, this is much too early for middle names. Second, a Mary Elizabeth Osborn did marry an Allen B. Breed at Danvers (per Danvers Vital Records), but this was in 1849, about 200 years after this Mary married.
2. This author's [Plumb] assertion that she is Mary Sargent, daughter of William:
     a. Torrey's source for calling her Mary Sargent was "The Mayflower Descendant" 2:185. The will of Ruth Chipman is given in full in that source and gives "compelling" evidence of Mary's parentage. Ruth (Sargent) Winslow Bourne Chipman was the daughter of William Sargent and his 3d wife Sarah [although Plumb erroneously says her mother was 2d wife Mary] and was the half-sister of Mary Sargent, William's daughter by his 2d wife Mary. Ruth's will names "my kinsman Joseph Bread", his daughters Sarah and Elizabeth, and two other children of "my sister Bread". Joseph Breed was the son of Allen2 Breed and his wife Mary (__) and he (Joseph) had daughters Sarah and Elizabeth. Given the reference to the two other children (i.e., other than Joseph), "my sister Bread" must refer the mother of Joseph Breed. So, Allen's wife must have been Mary Sargent.
     b. The only problem with the theory above is that Moriarty and others (including Stratton [_Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691_, Part Three: Biographical Sketches Sargent, William,] who was probably quoting Moriarty) have said that Mary, the daughter of William and his 2d wife Mary, probably died young. Plumb thinks that she did not die young but that others may have thought she did because she was not named in her father's will. However, the Mary who married Allen Breed died in 1671, several years before William Sargent wrote his will. Also, William and his 1st wife Hannah did have a daughter Mary who died as an infant in England, which may explain the "died young" notation. Plumb ends the article, "In conclusion, having disposed of the 'roadblocks' (the Osborn alternative and the probable early death), I don't see any way to interpret the will of Mrs. Chipman other than that Allen2 Breed's wife was Mary Sargent."

Events

Birth22 January 1637Northampton, England
ImmigrationAft 1637Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay
MarriageBy 1654Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts Bay - Allen Breed (Bread) Jr.
Death30 November 1671Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Families

SpouseAllen Breed (Bread) Jr. (1626 - 1707)
ChildElizabeth Breed (1667 - 1709)
FatherWilliam Sargent (1602 - 1682)
MotherMary/Marie ( - 1637)

Endnotes