Excerpt from: NICHOLAS GENTRY, THE IMMIGRANT: A Case Study of Erroneous Data Entry; by: Willard Gentry
Source: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg07a.htm
LUCY CORNELIUS, ALLEGED SPOUSE OF NICHOLAS GENTRY
In point of time, the next questionable point . . . that was added to the Nicholas Gentry data skeleton, was a wife who was identified as Lucy Cornelius. This started some time after 1909, for Richard Gentry does not include any mention of this possibility in his book. A record of an LDS Church "endowment" of Lucy, dated November 1923, sets a bound for the latest date of originating this data entry. This writer has never been able to track the source of the suggestion that Lucy Cornelius was a wife of Nicholas. So far, no one has come forward with any reference to the existence of Lucy outside of the Nicholas family trees. While it is not possible to prove that Lucy Cornelius was never a wife of Nicholas, conversely no one so far has been able to prove that she ever existed. It is significant that in a census of parish families in St. Peters Parish in 1689, neighbors of Nicholas, there were no Cornelius families listed. It is highly probable that Lucy's name was inserted in a family submission to the patron files of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons, commonly abbreviated as LDS). As to how and why that may have occurred, we cannot say. Once included in the Ancestral File or International Genealogical Index, by church policy, changes are never made. The only corrections are by means of a new submission that includes the proper information. Like the internet today, the LDS records have always been a database that is widely available to genealogists. Its very availability makes it easy for incorrect information to be easily spread by users who do not have the inclination or the ability to properly evaluate that data.
LUCY CORNELIUS EMBELLISHMENTS
In the 425 Nicholas Gentry family trees in our study sample, 290 (68%) gave Lucy Cornelius as a wife of Nicholas. A substantial portion of these trees also listed a second, and in a few cases, a third wife. The alternative wives will be considered below, but for the moment let us concentrate on Lucy. A great deal of gratuitous information has been added to the records of the hypothetical Lucy Cornelius. We can summarize this as:
Date of birth (added to 55 records): 1657 in Essex, England; 1659 in New Kent County, Virginia; 1655-1658 in England; 1665 in England; but most often 1660 in England.
Date of death: 1704; after 1704; 1706; 1710; 1734; 109 entries (38%) had 1754 or "before 1754".
Place of death: Most indicated New Kent, Virginia; "New Kent County, Hanover, Virginia"; or simply Virginia; 49 give Fort Nashboro, Tennessee [how this originated is difficult to imagine since Fort Nashboro was not built until 1779].
Marriage: 1677 to 1695, most often about 1686; the place was most often given as New Kent County, Virginia. Several trees added the notation "National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars lists marriage as 1686". A number of family trees, and some documents relating the history of the Gentry family, indicated that Lucy was married to Nicholas by proxy, the marriage taking place in the "Faculty Office" of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England, in 1690. [This is a legitimate possibility on its face, since the Faculty Office of the Church of England did perform proxy marriages under special circumstances. This possibility has been disproved, however, by a search of the record of marriages from 1685 to 1695 (stored in the Lambeth Palace Library in London, England) in which there is no mention of either a Nicholas Gentry or a Lucy Cornelius.]
OTHER SUGGESTED WIVES FOR NICHOLAS GENTRY
Compared to Lucy Cornelius, the next most common proposal for a wife of Nicholas was Mabel (or Mable) Wood. In the sampling of Nicholas Gentry family trees used for this study, 122 (29%) listed Mabel as the only wife or as one of two or more wives of Nicholas. A dozen of these trees go further in listing her as "Jane Mabel/Mable Wood". The name Mabel Wood has a source that we will trace in a moment, but the addition of Jane as a first name is difficult to reconcile. The best explanation is probably that the originator of this name was confused with Nicholas Gentry Jr., son of Nicholas Sr. Nicholas Jr. died in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1787, and included a wife, Jane in his will.
The name, Mabel Wood, undoubtedly has been taken from the Vestry Book records of St. Peters Parish. In 1701, Nicholas Gentry was reimbursed by the parish for the cost of clothes and funeral expenses for a Mabel Wood. In the context of other entries in the Vestry Book, this was certainly not related to expense for a wife of Nicholas (for which he would certainly have been responsible himself), but was an example of the care provided by the parish for members who were impoverished, widowed, or otherwise in need. Typically, a neighbor was charged with providing the necessary care and then was reimbursed for the expense.
What is very unusual in the proposals that Mabel was a wife of Nicholas, is the date of marriage most commonly given which is 1683 or 1684 (though a few family trees cite "after 1708"), followed by a second marriage to Lucy Cornelius in about 1686. This certainly has no relationship to the parish records and indicates a complete lack of knowledge of the origin of the name. Another unusual entry in a few trees was the fact that the mother of Mabel Wood was given as Jane Guthrie. As in the case of Lucy Cornelius, a large number of family trees are not content to leave an empty space on their family group sheet form or on the computer input screen, and a gratuitous addition of a date of birth has been included. One birth entry is truly confused, giving a date of birth of 1657 and the place as Albemarle County, Virginia (nearly ninety years before the creation of this county)!
A half-dozen of the Nicholas Gentry trees in the internet sampling gave an Elizabeth as a spouse for Nicholas, in most cases leaving her surname as unknown. The source for this name is completely unknown, but a date of birth of about 1670 in England was listed. A final proposed wife for Nicholas in the sampling was Jane Brown (or in one case just "Unknown Brown"). Like the addition of the name Jane to Mabel Wood mentioned above, this is surely a co-mingling of data for Nicholas Sr., and his son Nicholas Jr. (for whom Jane Brown is often identified as a wife). One tree listing Jane gives her as a third spouse, and in the next generation of the family tree, lists two spouses for Nicholas Jr., namely Mary Brooks and Jane Martin.
© 2015, W.M. Gentry - All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author and journal name) is included.
Children of Nicholas Gentry and wife:
Source: Journal of Gentry Genealogy (http://www.gentryjournal.org/tree/Nicholas_1-2.pdf) Roman numerals only refer to generation from Nicholas Gentry, the immigrant, who is generation I.
. .Joseph II Gentry b. abt. 1685
. .Mary Gentry (probably) b. abt. 1687
m. John Spradling
. .Elizabeth Gentry b. abt. 1689 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1689)
. .Samuel II Gentry b. abt. 1692 d. aft. 1779
m. Ann Allen (?) abt. 1716
. .Nicholas II Gentry 11 b. 1697 d. 1779 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1697)
m. Jane B(?)
. .Mable Gentry b. abt. 1702- (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1702)
. .James II Gentry b. abt. 1705 d. abt. 1767
. .David II Gentry b. abt. 1707 d. abt. 1765
m. 1st. Unknown; m. 2nd. abt. 1736 Sarah Brooks
. .John Gentry b. abt. 1709
Source: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg07a.htm
LUCY CORNELIUS, ALLEGED SPOUSE OF NICHOLAS GENTRY
In point of time, the next questionable point . . . that was added to the Nicholas Gentry data skeleton, was a wife who was identified as Lucy Cornelius. This started some time after 1909, for Richard Gentry does not include any mention of this possibility in his book. A record of an LDS Church "endowment" of Lucy, dated November 1923, sets a bound for the latest date of originating this data entry. This writer has never been able to track the source of the suggestion that Lucy Cornelius was a wife of Nicholas. So far, no one has come forward with any reference to the existence of Lucy outside of the Nicholas family trees. While it is not possible to prove that Lucy Cornelius was never a wife of Nicholas, conversely no one so far has been able to prove that she ever existed. It is significant that in a census of parish families in St. Peters Parish in 1689, neighbors of Nicholas, there were no Cornelius families listed. It is highly probable that Lucy's name was inserted in a family submission to the patron files of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons, commonly abbreviated as LDS). As to how and why that may have occurred, we cannot say. Once included in the Ancestral File or International Genealogical Index, by church policy, changes are never made. The only corrections are by means of a new submission that includes the proper information. Like the internet today, the LDS records have always been a database that is widely available to genealogists. Its very availability makes it easy for incorrect information to be easily spread by users who do not have the inclination or the ability to properly evaluate that data.
LUCY CORNELIUS EMBELLISHMENTS
In the 425 Nicholas Gentry family trees in our study sample, 290 (68%) gave Lucy Cornelius as a wife of Nicholas. A substantial portion of these trees also listed a second, and in a few cases, a third wife. The alternative wives will be considered below, but for the moment let us concentrate on Lucy. A great deal of gratuitous information has been added to the records of the hypothetical Lucy Cornelius. We can summarize this as:
Date of birth (added to 55 records): 1657 in Essex, England; 1659 in New Kent County, Virginia; 1655-1658 in England; 1665 in England; but most often 1660 in England.
Date of death: 1704; after 1704; 1706; 1710; 1734; 109 entries (38%) had 1754 or "before 1754".
Place of death: Most indicated New Kent, Virginia; "New Kent County, Hanover, Virginia"; or simply Virginia; 49 give Fort Nashboro, Tennessee [how this originated is difficult to imagine since Fort Nashboro was not built until 1779].
Marriage: 1677 to 1695, most often about 1686; the place was most often given as New Kent County, Virginia. Several trees added the notation "National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars lists marriage as 1686". A number of family trees, and some documents relating the history of the Gentry family, indicated that Lucy was married to Nicholas by proxy, the marriage taking place in the "Faculty Office" of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England, in 1690. [This is a legitimate possibility on its face, since the Faculty Office of the Church of England did perform proxy marriages under special circumstances. This possibility has been disproved, however, by a search of the record of marriages from 1685 to 1695 (stored in the Lambeth Palace Library in London, England) in which there is no mention of either a Nicholas Gentry or a Lucy Cornelius.]
OTHER SUGGESTED WIVES FOR NICHOLAS GENTRY
Compared to Lucy Cornelius, the next most common proposal for a wife of Nicholas was Mabel (or Mable) Wood. In the sampling of Nicholas Gentry family trees used for this study, 122 (29%) listed Mabel as the only wife or as one of two or more wives of Nicholas. A dozen of these trees go further in listing her as "Jane Mabel/Mable Wood". The name Mabel Wood has a source that we will trace in a moment, but the addition of Jane as a first name is difficult to reconcile. The best explanation is probably that the originator of this name was confused with Nicholas Gentry Jr., son of Nicholas Sr. Nicholas Jr. died in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1787, and included a wife, Jane in his will.
The name, Mabel Wood, undoubtedly has been taken from the Vestry Book records of St. Peters Parish. In 1701, Nicholas Gentry was reimbursed by the parish for the cost of clothes and funeral expenses for a Mabel Wood. In the context of other entries in the Vestry Book, this was certainly not related to expense for a wife of Nicholas (for which he would certainly have been responsible himself), but was an example of the care provided by the parish for members who were impoverished, widowed, or otherwise in need. Typically, a neighbor was charged with providing the necessary care and then was reimbursed for the expense.
What is very unusual in the proposals that Mabel was a wife of Nicholas, is the date of marriage most commonly given which is 1683 or 1684 (though a few family trees cite "after 1708"), followed by a second marriage to Lucy Cornelius in about 1686. This certainly has no relationship to the parish records and indicates a complete lack of knowledge of the origin of the name. Another unusual entry in a few trees was the fact that the mother of Mabel Wood was given as Jane Guthrie. As in the case of Lucy Cornelius, a large number of family trees are not content to leave an empty space on their family group sheet form or on the computer input screen, and a gratuitous addition of a date of birth has been included. One birth entry is truly confused, giving a date of birth of 1657 and the place as Albemarle County, Virginia (nearly ninety years before the creation of this county)!
A half-dozen of the Nicholas Gentry trees in the internet sampling gave an Elizabeth as a spouse for Nicholas, in most cases leaving her surname as unknown. The source for this name is completely unknown, but a date of birth of about 1670 in England was listed. A final proposed wife for Nicholas in the sampling was Jane Brown (or in one case just "Unknown Brown"). Like the addition of the name Jane to Mabel Wood mentioned above, this is surely a co-mingling of data for Nicholas Sr., and his son Nicholas Jr. (for whom Jane Brown is often identified as a wife). One tree listing Jane gives her as a third spouse, and in the next generation of the family tree, lists two spouses for Nicholas Jr., namely Mary Brooks and Jane Martin.
© 2015, W.M. Gentry - All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author and journal name) is included.
Children of Nicholas Gentry and wife:
Source: Journal of Gentry Genealogy (http://www.gentryjournal.org/tree/Nicholas_1-2.pdf) Roman numerals only refer to generation from Nicholas Gentry, the immigrant, who is generation I.
. .Joseph II Gentry b. abt. 1685
. .Mary Gentry (probably) b. abt. 1687
m. John Spradling
. .Elizabeth Gentry b. abt. 1689 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1689)
. .Samuel II Gentry b. abt. 1692 d. aft. 1779
m. Ann Allen (?) abt. 1716
. .Nicholas II Gentry 11 b. 1697 d. 1779 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1697)
m. Jane B(?)
. .Mable Gentry b. abt. 1702- (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1702)
. .James II Gentry b. abt. 1705 d. abt. 1767
. .David II Gentry b. abt. 1707 d. abt. 1765
m. 1st. Unknown; m. 2nd. abt. 1736 Sarah Brooks
. .John Gentry b. abt. 1709
Excerpt from: NICHOLAS GENTRY, THE IMMIGRANT: A Case Study of Erroneous Data Entry; by: Willard Gentry
Source: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg07a.htm
LUCY CORNELIUS, ALLEGED SPOUSE OF NICHOLAS GENTRY
In point of time, the next questionable point . . . that was added to the Nicholas Gentry data skeleton, was a wife who was identified as Lucy Cornelius. This started some time after 1909, for Richard Gentry does not include any mention of this possibility in his book. A record of an LDS Church "endowment" of Lucy, dated November 1923, sets a bound for the latest date of originating this data entry. This writer has never been able to track the source of the suggestion that Lucy Cornelius was a wife of Nicholas. So far, no one has come forward with any reference to the existence of Lucy outside of the Nicholas family trees. While it is not possible to prove that Lucy Cornelius was never a wife of Nicholas, conversely no one so far has been able to prove that she ever existed. It is significant that in a census of parish families in St. Peters Parish in 1689, neighbors of Nicholas, there were no Cornelius families listed. It is highly probable that Lucy's name was inserted in a family submission to the patron files of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons, commonly abbreviated as LDS). As to how and why that may have occurred, we cannot say. Once included in the Ancestral File or International Genealogical Index, by church policy, changes are never made. The only corrections are by means of a new submission that includes the proper information. Like the internet today, the LDS records have always been a database that is widely available to genealogists. Its very availability makes it easy for incorrect information to be easily spread by users who do not have the inclination or the ability to properly evaluate that data.
LUCY CORNELIUS EMBELLISHMENTS
In the 425 Nicholas Gentry family trees in our study sample, 290 (68%) gave Lucy Cornelius as a wife of Nicholas. A substantial portion of these trees also listed a second, and in a few cases, a third wife. The alternative wives will be considered below, but for the moment let us concentrate on Lucy. A great deal of gratuitous information has been added to the records of the hypothetical Lucy Cornelius. We can summarize this as:
Date of birth (added to 55 records): 1657 in Essex, England; 1659 in New Kent County, Virginia; 1655-1658 in England; 1665 in England; but most often 1660 in England.
Date of death: 1704; after 1704; 1706; 1710; 1734; 109 entries (38%) had 1754 or "before 1754".
Place of death: Most indicated New Kent, Virginia; "New Kent County, Hanover, Virginia"; or simply Virginia; 49 give Fort Nashboro, Tennessee [how this originated is difficult to imagine since Fort Nashboro was not built until 1779].
Marriage: 1677 to 1695, most often about 1686; the place was most often given as New Kent County, Virginia. Several trees added the notation "National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars lists marriage as 1686". A number of family trees, and some documents relating the history of the Gentry family, indicated that Lucy was married to Nicholas by proxy, the marriage taking place in the "Faculty Office" of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England, in 1690. [This is a legitimate possibility on its face, since the Faculty Office of the Church of England did perform proxy marriages under special circumstances. This possibility has been disproved, however, by a search of the record of marriages from 1685 to 1695 (stored in the Lambeth Palace Library in London, England) in which there is no mention of either a Nicholas Gentry or a Lucy Cornelius.]
OTHER SUGGESTED WIVES FOR NICHOLAS GENTRY
Compared to Lucy Cornelius, the next most common proposal for a wife of Nicholas was Mabel (or Mable) Wood. In the sampling of Nicholas Gentry family trees used for this study, 122 (29%) listed Mabel as the only wife or as one of two or more wives of Nicholas. A dozen of these trees go further in listing her as "Jane Mabel/Mable Wood". The name Mabel Wood has a source that we will trace in a moment, but the addition of Jane as a first name is difficult to reconcile. The best explanation is probably that the originator of this name was confused with Nicholas Gentry Jr., son of Nicholas Sr. Nicholas Jr. died in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1787, and included a wife, Jane in his will.
The name, Mabel Wood, undoubtedly has been taken from the Vestry Book records of St. Peters Parish. In 1701, Nicholas Gentry was reimbursed by the parish for the cost of clothes and funeral expenses for a Mabel Wood. In the context of other entries in the Vestry Book, this was certainly not related to expense for a wife of Nicholas (for which he would certainly have been responsible himself), but was an example of the care provided by the parish for members who were impoverished, widowed, or otherwise in need. Typically, a neighbor was charged with providing the necessary care and then was reimbursed for the expense.
What is very unusual in the proposals that Mabel was a wife of Nicholas, is the date of marriage most commonly given which is 1683 or 1684 (though a few family trees cite "after 1708"), followed by a second marriage to Lucy Cornelius in about 1686. This certainly has no relationship to the parish records and indicates a complete lack of knowledge of the origin of the name. Another unusual entry in a few trees was the fact that the mother of Mabel Wood was given as Jane Guthrie. As in the case of Lucy Cornelius, a large number of family trees are not content to leave an empty space on their family group sheet form or on the computer input screen, and a gratuitous addition of a date of birth has been included. One birth entry is truly confused, giving a date of birth of 1657 and the place as Albemarle County, Virginia (nearly ninety years before the creation of this county)!
A half-dozen of the Nicholas Gentry trees in the internet sampling gave an Elizabeth as a spouse for Nicholas, in most cases leaving her surname as unknown. The source for this name is completely unknown, but a date of birth of about 1670 in England was listed. A final proposed wife for Nicholas in the sampling was Jane Brown (or in one case just "Unknown Brown"). Like the addition of the name Jane to Mabel Wood mentioned above, this is surely a co-mingling of data for Nicholas Sr., and his son Nicholas Jr. (for whom Jane Brown is often identified as a wife). One tree listing Jane gives her as a third spouse, and in the next generation of the family tree, lists two spouses for Nicholas Jr., namely Mary Brooks and Jane Martin.
© 2015, W.M. Gentry - All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author and journal name) is included.
Children of Nicholas Gentry and wife:
Source: Journal of Gentry Genealogy (http://www.gentryjournal.org/tree/Nicholas_1-2.pdf) Roman numerals only refer to generation from Nicholas Gentry, the immigrant, who is generation I.
. .Joseph II Gentry b. abt. 1685
. .Mary Gentry (probably) b. abt. 1687
m. John Spradling
. .Elizabeth Gentry b. abt. 1689 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1689)
. .Samuel II Gentry b. abt. 1692 d. aft. 1779
m. Ann Allen (?) abt. 1716
. .Nicholas II Gentry 11 b. 1697 d. 1779 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1697)
m. Jane B(?)
. .Mable Gentry b. abt. 1702- (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1702)
. .James II Gentry b. abt. 1705 d. abt. 1767
. .David II Gentry b. abt. 1707 d. abt. 1765
m. 1st. Unknown; m. 2nd. abt. 1736 Sarah Brooks
. .John Gentry b. abt. 1709
Source: http://www.gentryjournal.org/archives/jgg07a.htm
LUCY CORNELIUS, ALLEGED SPOUSE OF NICHOLAS GENTRY
In point of time, the next questionable point . . . that was added to the Nicholas Gentry data skeleton, was a wife who was identified as Lucy Cornelius. This started some time after 1909, for Richard Gentry does not include any mention of this possibility in his book. A record of an LDS Church "endowment" of Lucy, dated November 1923, sets a bound for the latest date of originating this data entry. This writer has never been able to track the source of the suggestion that Lucy Cornelius was a wife of Nicholas. So far, no one has come forward with any reference to the existence of Lucy outside of the Nicholas family trees. While it is not possible to prove that Lucy Cornelius was never a wife of Nicholas, conversely no one so far has been able to prove that she ever existed. It is significant that in a census of parish families in St. Peters Parish in 1689, neighbors of Nicholas, there were no Cornelius families listed. It is highly probable that Lucy's name was inserted in a family submission to the patron files of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons, commonly abbreviated as LDS). As to how and why that may have occurred, we cannot say. Once included in the Ancestral File or International Genealogical Index, by church policy, changes are never made. The only corrections are by means of a new submission that includes the proper information. Like the internet today, the LDS records have always been a database that is widely available to genealogists. Its very availability makes it easy for incorrect information to be easily spread by users who do not have the inclination or the ability to properly evaluate that data.
LUCY CORNELIUS EMBELLISHMENTS
In the 425 Nicholas Gentry family trees in our study sample, 290 (68%) gave Lucy Cornelius as a wife of Nicholas. A substantial portion of these trees also listed a second, and in a few cases, a third wife. The alternative wives will be considered below, but for the moment let us concentrate on Lucy. A great deal of gratuitous information has been added to the records of the hypothetical Lucy Cornelius. We can summarize this as:
Date of birth (added to 55 records): 1657 in Essex, England; 1659 in New Kent County, Virginia; 1655-1658 in England; 1665 in England; but most often 1660 in England.
Date of death: 1704; after 1704; 1706; 1710; 1734; 109 entries (38%) had 1754 or "before 1754".
Place of death: Most indicated New Kent, Virginia; "New Kent County, Hanover, Virginia"; or simply Virginia; 49 give Fort Nashboro, Tennessee [how this originated is difficult to imagine since Fort Nashboro was not built until 1779].
Marriage: 1677 to 1695, most often about 1686; the place was most often given as New Kent County, Virginia. Several trees added the notation "National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars lists marriage as 1686". A number of family trees, and some documents relating the history of the Gentry family, indicated that Lucy was married to Nicholas by proxy, the marriage taking place in the "Faculty Office" of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England, in 1690. [This is a legitimate possibility on its face, since the Faculty Office of the Church of England did perform proxy marriages under special circumstances. This possibility has been disproved, however, by a search of the record of marriages from 1685 to 1695 (stored in the Lambeth Palace Library in London, England) in which there is no mention of either a Nicholas Gentry or a Lucy Cornelius.]
OTHER SUGGESTED WIVES FOR NICHOLAS GENTRY
Compared to Lucy Cornelius, the next most common proposal for a wife of Nicholas was Mabel (or Mable) Wood. In the sampling of Nicholas Gentry family trees used for this study, 122 (29%) listed Mabel as the only wife or as one of two or more wives of Nicholas. A dozen of these trees go further in listing her as "Jane Mabel/Mable Wood". The name Mabel Wood has a source that we will trace in a moment, but the addition of Jane as a first name is difficult to reconcile. The best explanation is probably that the originator of this name was confused with Nicholas Gentry Jr., son of Nicholas Sr. Nicholas Jr. died in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1787, and included a wife, Jane in his will.
The name, Mabel Wood, undoubtedly has been taken from the Vestry Book records of St. Peters Parish. In 1701, Nicholas Gentry was reimbursed by the parish for the cost of clothes and funeral expenses for a Mabel Wood. In the context of other entries in the Vestry Book, this was certainly not related to expense for a wife of Nicholas (for which he would certainly have been responsible himself), but was an example of the care provided by the parish for members who were impoverished, widowed, or otherwise in need. Typically, a neighbor was charged with providing the necessary care and then was reimbursed for the expense.
What is very unusual in the proposals that Mabel was a wife of Nicholas, is the date of marriage most commonly given which is 1683 or 1684 (though a few family trees cite "after 1708"), followed by a second marriage to Lucy Cornelius in about 1686. This certainly has no relationship to the parish records and indicates a complete lack of knowledge of the origin of the name. Another unusual entry in a few trees was the fact that the mother of Mabel Wood was given as Jane Guthrie. As in the case of Lucy Cornelius, a large number of family trees are not content to leave an empty space on their family group sheet form or on the computer input screen, and a gratuitous addition of a date of birth has been included. One birth entry is truly confused, giving a date of birth of 1657 and the place as Albemarle County, Virginia (nearly ninety years before the creation of this county)!
A half-dozen of the Nicholas Gentry trees in the internet sampling gave an Elizabeth as a spouse for Nicholas, in most cases leaving her surname as unknown. The source for this name is completely unknown, but a date of birth of about 1670 in England was listed. A final proposed wife for Nicholas in the sampling was Jane Brown (or in one case just "Unknown Brown"). Like the addition of the name Jane to Mabel Wood mentioned above, this is surely a co-mingling of data for Nicholas Sr., and his son Nicholas Jr. (for whom Jane Brown is often identified as a wife). One tree listing Jane gives her as a third spouse, and in the next generation of the family tree, lists two spouses for Nicholas Jr., namely Mary Brooks and Jane Martin.
© 2015, W.M. Gentry - All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided that proper attribution (including author and journal name) is included.
Children of Nicholas Gentry and wife:
Source: Journal of Gentry Genealogy (http://www.gentryjournal.org/tree/Nicholas_1-2.pdf) Roman numerals only refer to generation from Nicholas Gentry, the immigrant, who is generation I.
. .Joseph II Gentry b. abt. 1685
. .Mary Gentry (probably) b. abt. 1687
m. John Spradling
. .Elizabeth Gentry b. abt. 1689 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1689)
. .Samuel II Gentry b. abt. 1692 d. aft. 1779
m. Ann Allen (?) abt. 1716
. .Nicholas II Gentry 11 b. 1697 d. 1779 (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1697)
m. Jane B(?)
. .Mable Gentry b. abt. 1702- (baptized St. Peter's Parish 1702)
. .James II Gentry b. abt. 1705 d. abt. 1767
. .David II Gentry b. abt. 1707 d. abt. 1765
m. 1st. Unknown; m. 2nd. abt. 1736 Sarah Brooks
. .John Gentry b. abt. 1709
Family Members
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