Was Bathsheba Bates married three times?

Question

Could someone please take a look at Bathsheba's profile? It seems she was married three times, but no single source confirms this. I haven't had the time to look for more recent research. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

Comments

Here are links to the actual deeds.

Volume 44

Volume 67

I see in the NEHGR article that deeds confirm that Thomas Gaines of Hartford removed to Hingham by about 1714.  

Looks pretty definite to me that the Bathsheba Bates who married Thomas Gaines is not the same one who married Clarke and Perry.

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Great minds think alike, I've just edited my post with the links ;)

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Agreed, it is clear from the deeds that Bathsheba was still married to Thomas Gains in Feb 1744 when the last deed was acknowledged by them at Hull.

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Its funny...when I saw you posted about the Probate I thought, I could probably stop looking at the deeds, I bet Bobbie's going to do that next.

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:) Like minded researchers :)

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Name	Bathsheba GALES
Marriage	1731
Location	Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
Original Text	(see also Gale), Bathsheba, and Joseph Clark, both of Hingham, July 20, 1731. C. R. 7.
Town Info	Newbury
Volume Name	Newbury - V2
Page	18

Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016).

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/rd/7769/187/141722456

Thank you all for your comments and research on this line up from Sarah Gaines. I took the cue of “Gales not Gaines” and found the record above. It seems many, even the published researchers, have wrongly given Bathsheba Bates to Clark and Perry, when in fact it was a different Bathsheba, Bathsheba Gales, from Hingham.

If all agree, I will work on creating a new profile for Bathsheba Gales, and moving her two spouses from Bates to Gales.

I will do more research first, and contact the profile managers for their input.

Again, thank you Traci Thiessen, M Cole and Bobbie Hall.

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That would be a nice solution, unfortunately, I think “Gales” is an error. In the marriage record to Benjamin Perry she is called Bathseba Clark. The marriage of Bathsheba Bates to Benjamin Perry is confirmed in her father’s will, those two marriages seem to be pretty certain.

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I don’t see a contradiction. I agree the two marriages are correct.

Bathsheba Bates married Thomas Gaines, then removed to Truro after selling property in Suffolk County.

Bathsheba Gales married first Joseph Clark. Second Benjamin Perry.

The original question was about Bathsheba Bates marrying three times. Looks like no, she married once. The other Bathsheba, last name Gales, as shown in the record I posted here today, married twice, as you said.

There were two Bathshebas.

Maybe I’m missing something, which would not be the first time :)

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Yes, its a little confusing. (And perhaps, I'm the one missing your point). Too many Bathshebas! (actually I love Bathshebas. Its Marys and Elizabeths that are usually the problem).

The things we know for certain:

• The Bathsheba who married Joseph Clark cannot be the same Bathsheba as the one who married Thomas Gaines, as Thomas Gaines's wife Bathsheba appears in church records and in deeds after the marriage of Joseph Clark to Bathsheba (Gales or Bates).
• Bathsheba Bates, daughter of Joshua Bates married Benjamin Perry, because Joshua calls her Bathsheba Perry in his will.  (I just added source and abstract to Joshua's profile, which I should have done earlier).  
• We also know that Joshua's wife Bathsheba was previously married to a Clark because she is Barsheba Clark in the marriage record to Benjamin Perry, so its reasonable to conclude that "Gales" from the previous marriage could be a transcription or clerical error.

So, Bathsheba Bates d/o Joshua Bates didn't marry three times, only twice: m1 Joseph Clark, m2 Benjamin Perry.

There is another Bathsheba Bates who married Thomas Gaines. (Probably an older woman closer to Thomas' age, possibly a widow).

Anyway, that's what I think the evidence says, but there are probably some crazy scenarios that provide an alternate explanation.

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Ok yes I do agree. You've made the case for me, especially seeing Joshua's will. That completely seals it. So I will make a new profile for Bathsheba Bates, wife of Thomas Gaines, mother of Sarah, and disconnect Thomas from Bathsheba Bates Clark Perry.

I really do appreciate the work you did, even as it leaves my tree with a mysterious Bathsheba. Darn it. I will continue researching her.

Thanks again!

Answer 1

Now I’m confused again. Are we saying this is false, about Thomas and Bathsheba?

Homer W. Brainard, "Henry Gaines of Lynn, Mass. and Some of his Descendants" in Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the NEHGR, Volume 1, p. Homer W. Brainard, "Henry Gaines of Lynn, Mass. and Some of his Descendants" in Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the NEHGR, Volume 1, p.660-661

Comments

I'm not sure specifically what you're looking at.  Are you talking about the possibility of there being a Thomas Gaines Jr?

If that is what you're talking about, I would say its still a possibility, but because there is no longer a specific birth date attached to the wife Bathsheba, there's less of a need to explain the age difference. 

I actually think that Bathsheba's aunt is a possibility...The birth of her last child is pushing the boundaries of her child bearing years though (but not impossible). Perhaps the first Bathsheba died, and another one was born later, but not recorded in the vital records?? Unfortunately, her father only referred to his "four daughters" in his will and did not name them individually.  I was hoping that she might have been named last suggesting that she was younger. (But no such luck).

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I guess I was having a hard time accepting that several of the older records were indeed wrong, including from NEHGS, even though plenty of people cite them as true (including me, but I have been reformed). I'll add all the facts I can find to Thomas' profile, and maybe something more will surface in the future.