1st wife of Richard Wright

Richard Wright of Lynn, Boston, Braintree & Seekonk, was born in England about 1598.

He may have been the Richard Wright who married January 8, 1625/6 Margaret ( .. ) Padding at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, Middlesex, England (2nd wife?); at the time he was of Ratcliffe-Carman of Middlesex.

He came to New England with the Winthrop fleet in 1630. He was accompanied by three of his daughters and his mother, Margaret Wright. (His two daughters in depositions made seventy-one years later, said that they had come with "their father," with no mention of a mother.)

Harris and Prittie (1994) state that Richard Wright married a woman named Margaret in Stepney, Middlesex, England on Jan. 8, 1625/26, though they claim she was not the mother of his five daughters.

Children

By first wife,[4]

1. Elinor aka Elizabeth b. c. 1621; living 29 Dec 1701, when Elinor testified, age "fourscore yeares or thereabouts," that to "her best remembrance she was about nine or ten yeares of age when she first came into this country, and that she came over with her father Richard Wright." She married James Clark. Apparently there is also an entry in the church records "Elizabeth Clark, wife of James Clarke, she is bro wrights daughter"
2. (probably) Ann b. c. 1622 (age 45 in 1667 from Winthrops Journal) m. Thomas Burnham
3. Abigail b. c. 1623; living in Roxbury 4 Nov 1701. she testified "about seventy eight yeares or thereabouts" that she was "about eight yeares of age when she came first into this country with her father Richard Wright". She m. (1) Robert Sharpe; m. (2) Thomas Clapp; m. (3) Capt William Holbrook.

They did not have a daughter Mary Sabin, (fictional)

No known relationship with Francis Cooke, "Mayflower" passenger.

Disputed claims

Origins and disputed information

Harris and Prittie (1994) state that Richard Wright married a woman named Margaret in Stepney, Middlesex, England on Jan. 8, 1625/26, though they claim she was not the mother of his five daughters.[citation needed]

Regarding the above sentence, Gale Ion Harris in his 1992 TAG 67 article (see sources) made no claim to the specific name or identity of Richard Wright's first wife. He stated on page 37 that his primary sources (Davis, see sources and NEHGR vol 99 1945 "Early Rehoboth..." by Richard LeBaron Bowen) had found no evidence identifying Richard's first wife, that she had likely died in England prior to 1630, and that she was presumably the mother of the children he brought to New England. On page 38 Harris listed 3 known children of this first presumed wife (Elinor/Elizabeth, possibly Ann and Abigail) and acknowledged that there could be others.

Regarding the "Harris and Prittie" statement, this exact phrase with no sourcing appears multiple places on the internet. A possible clue is found here 1st wife of Richard Wright which also includes this phrase: (without identifying who "Powell" is):

Powell states Capt. Richard Wright married Margaret Adam c 1619 and had one child named Mary before she died. On January 8 1625/26 a Richard Wright married in Stepney, Middlesex, England a Margaret (Unknown). She would appear to be his second wife and not the mother of his five daughters

A marriage between Richard Wright and Margaret Padding is found at St. Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex on that date[1] and possibly it was not her first marriage, but there does not seem to be a particular reason to link this marriage to the Richard Wright of Rehoboth, Podunk and 12 Mile Island. Wright was an agent of John Humphrey of Dorset County in England but there does not appear to be any obvious connection of Wright to Middlesex.

3 other marriages appear in the same parish of a Richard Wright in 1609 (Alice Goodman), 1612 (Mary Sawyer) and 1614 (Patrice Stockile) but no baptisms of children of Richard Wright with any of these women and/or matching any of his known children's names appear in that parish (see same FHL film group) before his 1630 emigration.

Note further that NEHGR vol 99 (see sources) does NOT claim that he was from Stepney and state that "Planters of the Commonwealth" by Banks is unsupported by any original source record in claiming a Stepney origin.

Find A Grave Memorial# 126866112; http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=126866112

Margaret Wright

• Birth: 1599 in Greater London, England
• Death:  Dec. 17, 1675 in Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA  Family links: 
• Spouse:  Richard Wright (1598 - 1644) 
• Children:
  • Elizabeth Wright (1617 - 1701)*
  • Mary Wright Sabin (1618 - 1660)*
  • Abigail Wright Holbrook (1620 - 1702)* 
• Burial: Unknown

************************** http://polenpoore.org/getperson.php?personID=I2790&tree=tree1

Name Wright, Elinor (Abigail) 

• Born 1620 in Stepney, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, England  
• Gender Female 
• Died 1707 in Scituate, Plymouth, Mass  
• Father Wright, Richard,  
  • b. 1598, Stepney, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, England ,  
  • d. 1667, Connecticut  
• Mother Adam, Margaret,  
  • b. 1599, Stepney, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, England ,  
  • d. 17 Dec 1678, Roxbury, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts  
  • Married 1617 in Stepney, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, England  

***************************

Powell states Capt. Richard Wright married Margaret Adam c 1619 and had one child named Mary before she died. On January 8 1625/26 a Richard Wright married in Stepney, Middlesex, England a Margaret (Unknown). She would appear to be his second wife and not the mother of his five daughters

Harris and Prittie (1994) state that Richard Wright married a woman named Margaret in Stepney, Middlesex, England on Jan. 8, 1625/26, though they claim she was not the mother of his five daughters.

Children of Richard Wright and Margaret (Unknown) his 1st wife

1. Elinore Wright b. c 1621
2. Elizabeth Wright b c 1622
3. Abigail Wright+ b. 1623

They had no daughter Mary, that is a mixup with Richard Wright's 3rd wife

Notes

from http://www.conovergenealogy.com/famous-p/p70.htm#i3452

Captain Richard Wright came over in the Winthrop Fleet in 1630 from Stepney, Middlesex, England with his three daughters Elinore/Elizabeth, Abigail and Elizabeth along with a Margaret Wright. It is not known if this Margaret is his wife, mother or sister.

(His two daughters in depositions made seventy-one years later, said that they had come with "their father," with no mention of a mother.)

comments

From Geni member Steven Tim Kilburn:

In Torrey's "New England Marriages" William Sabin's entry goes," Sabin, William(-1687) and 1st wife_____[Wright] (-1660); by 1640? Rehoboth" with 11 references. [ ] for Torrey means he has found a reliable source that identified the brides maiden surname with a great deal of confidence.

no proof this is the same couple:

• "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NKGR-7YP : 10 December 2014), Richard Wryte and Margeret Street, 23 Jan 1619; citing Saint Stephan Coleman Street,London,London,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 375,013.

Richard Wright and Margaret Adams were married on January 8,1625 in Saugus, Massachusetts.

Their chidren born in Massachusetts.

Mary Wright born about 1625.

Richard Wright born bout 1626.

Elizabeth Wright born about 1627.

Abigail Wright born about 1629