Question: I am looking for a source for the death date of Sarah Mary Bartholomew , wife of John Gedney. She was born in England in 1612 and came to Salem with her husband and three children in 1637. On the internet I have found so many mixed up family trees stating her death before the birth of her last child.
Answer:
There are three wives according to an article in The American Genealogist (14:84). First off it is very uncommon for a middle name in the seventeenth century, and I believe that some of the online pedigrees are merging two wives. John left from Norwich, England heading into the port of Salem, Mass aboard the "Rose of Yarmouth" in May 1637. Aboard ship was his wife Sarah aged 25 years. The article states "His wife, Sarah, apparently died on the voyage or soon after landing, as Mary Gedney, apparentl his second wife, was admitted to the First Church in Salem in 1637". The article also states his third wife by 1647 was Catherine the widow of William Clarke. It would seem Sarah died in 1637, and he was soon after married to Mary. Both Sarah and Mary's maiden names are not identified in this article.